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Webley vs. IOF Revolver - Please advise

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 9:59 pm
by james
One of the relative wanted a advice on finalising .32 Revolver ,his budget is 2.75L ,he is getting a decent webely B series and other option is IOF ,I adviced him IOF ,he has substantional time as he will be buying only after elections,
FEEDBACK considering performance,price, reliablity,rugedness is requested. James...

Re: FEEDBACK

Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 8:46 am
by jonahpach
I would go for the webley any day even if it were a little more expensive

Jonah

Re: FEEDBACK

Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:49 pm
by penpusher
The IOF revolver


1.The IOF has a transfer bar safety, the Webley does not.

2.The current IOF revolver uses a coil spring( which generally do not break) while the Webley uses a leaf spring(which can and do break)

3.The internal component of the IOF are readily accessible through a side plate(read easy to repair ) those of the Webley are not.Keep in mind that at some point of time or the other every revolver would need some TLC.

4.Both fire the same cartridge.

5.Even a B series Webley would be at least 50 years old.

6.The price difference.With that he would be able to buy about 4000 KF .32 cartridges or about 800 imported ones.

Re: FEEDBACK

Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 1:20 am
by Anand
I agree with penpusher, in the case of a Webley you will be getting a revolver no newer than 30+ years old. I reckon they stopped making them in the 70's. While the newness in and of itself means nothing, the possibility of accessing spares in case of a newer make, especially locally made, will be easier. In my experience both are equally bad (or good) in terms of accuracy with IOF ammunition. I have not fired imported ammo through either.

The IOF .32 revolver's frame was based on the Enfield No2 Mk I(& *,**) while the barrel was made to look externally like that of a 3" Webley Mk IV. And so is a slightly modern design than the Webley's and as penpusher said easier to access the internals. Lookswise external fit and finish on a well maitained Webley is ofcourse far superior to that of the IOF, but the IOF's finish is far more durable. The Webley was designed for the .380 Rimmed (.38/200) or .38 S&W cartridge, a more powerful cartridge than the .32 S&W Long. So you dont have to worry about wearing out the Webley with excessive firing.

The only reason I bought my webley was because I like full sized handguns and I could not find a .32 S&W K frame revolver.
Regards,
Anand

Re: FEEDBACK

Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 1:29 am
by james
I totally agree with you penpusher ,2 months back i fired around 18 rounds from IOF Revolver , this was without safety bar feature ,five years old stuff, in one of the shot it seems that some gases tend to come backward towards eyes and face ,nothing really happened but some kind of backward emission was there forsure.This is the only weak area i could identify but i personally feel buying brand new is always better still some old people feel that Webley used better iron to produce Revolvers.I DONT KNOW WHO HAS TESTED THIS.........James.

Re: FEEDBACK

Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 1:36 am
by penpusher
Anand,

The IOF .32 was in production long before it began to be sold commercially.Earlier they used to make it for the police and it was sold only on allotment by the MOD to civilians.There was even an MP quota in it's allotment.Kapil Dev got his some days before my father.The one that my father got and which he later gave to me, was pretty well made and would stand comparison with a Webley.I do not have it any more.Sold it to get a S&W.The quality dipped when commercial sale started.However it has improved in recent times.

The last of the Webley .32 revolvers was made in the late 1950's

-- Sun Mar 29, 2009 8:10 pm --

James,

There is nothing wrong with the steel that IOF gets.It is the workmanship that leaves a lot to be desired.The INSAS is an example of a good design that has been let down by shoddy manufacturing.

Re: FEEDBACK

Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 1:47 am
by Anand
Hi penpusher,
I know for sure that the last commercial Webley & Scott to be produced by the factory in Birmingham was in the 70's. However, I will try to crosscheck again. I'll see if I can post a link.

My grandad was sent the application form under MP's quota (from The Ordnance Factory/RFI?) in 1993.He had also written to Dr.Manmohan Singh Finance Minister at that time (1993). We never follwed it up and then my grandad passed away, I still have the reply letter from Dr.Singh regarding allotment of a NP bore firearm and direction to allot the same from confiscated weapons by the Collector of Customs, New Delhi.

Interesting tidbit about being made for the Police.
Was it alloted to the Police as a service weapon or was it for private ownership?
About your father's IOF revolver, do you rember which year it was alloted?
Thanks,
Anand
PS: I know wiki is not the best source but, link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webley_Revolver
Also I remember seeing for sale the last production W&S revolver for sale on http://www.JoeSalter.com a while back along with a certificate to that effect.

Re: FEEDBACK

Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 10:12 am
by penpusher
Anand wrote: I know for sure that the last commercial Webley & Scott to be produced by the factory in Birmingham was in the 70's. However, I will try to crosscheck again. I'll see if I can post a link.
I will check up.
Anand wrote:Interesting tidbit about being made for the Police.Was it alloted to the Police as a service weapon or was it for private ownership?
It was allotted as a service firearm.The MOH revolver to the IPS's batch topper is an IOF .32.That is obviously for personal use.
Anand wrote:About your father's IOF revolver, do you rember which year it was alloted?
It was either November or December ,1994

Re: Webley vs. IOF Revolver - Please advise

Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 6:53 pm
by penpusher
Anand wrote:Hi penpusher,
I know for sure that the last commercial Webley & Scott to be produced by the factory in Birmingham was in the 70's. However, I will try to crosscheck again. I'll see if I can post a link.
Well you were right.

http://www.armsresearch.co.uk/The%20Web ... chive.html

http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?t=13503

Re: Webley vs. IOF Revolver - Please advise

Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 7:55 pm
by james
Anand wrote:
The Webley was designed for the .380 Rimmed (.38/200) or .38 S&W cartridge, a more powerful cartridge than the .32 S&W Long. So you dont have to worry about wearing out the Webley with excessive firing.

Do everyone in this forum agree to this ,is IOF revolver going to wear off faster than webley where does smith & wesson .32 model 31 stands, JUST THINKING :?:
James.....

Re: Webley vs. IOF Revolver - Please advise

Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 7:36 pm
by dilip
same to same ...
carbon copy bt weight varies...

Re: Webley vs. IOF Revolver - Please advise

Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 7:51 pm
by raman909
hey my dad's got webley b series some 22 years ago but now it do miss some cartidges . i don't know was it ammunition which got old . the ammunition which i was using was kyonch it was in 1986 my dad buy ... well am sure iof revolver don't miss

Re: Webley vs. IOF Revolver - Please advise

Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 8:34 pm
by Timnorris
You cant compare a Webley revolver (in good condition) with an IOF revolver.......................one thing I have noticed in Indian revolvers is that they are very hard to operate by the time you pull the trigger or for that matter just opening the revolver to reload is difficult.......................its very tight..................

The second reson would be resale value ........................I dont think if you some day want to sell your Indian revolver anyone would offer you a higher or even the same price you bought it for ...........................so I think go for Webley it would be like an investment

Timnorris

Re: Webley vs. IOF Revolver - Please advise

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 12:11 am
by saahil
Timnorris wrote:You cant compare a Webley revolver (in good condition) with an IOF revolver.......................one thing I have noticed in Indian revolvers is that they are very hard to operate by the time you pull the trigger or for that matter just opening the revolver to reload is difficult.......................its very tight..................

The second reson would be resale value ........................I dont think if you some day want to sell your Indian revolver anyone would offer you a higher or even the same price you bought it for ...........................so I think go for Webley it would be like an investment

Timnorris
hi mr timnorris
i dont know about the first reason but for the second one you are absolutely wrong.if you buy the iof product directly from the factory it have a five year lock in period,so according to that you cant sell it for five years but,in some special circumstances if you get the permission to sell it before that you absolutely gets a premium. a used iof pistol from factory comes for 70k but if its condition is good and you get the permission to sell it,it commands the price somewhere between 120-135k.can you get that much profit on a firangi gun?

Re: Webley vs. IOF Revolver - Please advise

Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 1:44 am
by Vineet
What are the special circumstances under which we can sell the iof revolver before the actual term i.e five years.