Webley vs. IOF Revolver - Please advise

[sandeep29]

My suggestion is to buy A series Webley.They were made to military specifications. They are far more rugged than B series of Webley available in second hand market. Their production was stopped in 1950`s.

If ammo is culprit than it means iof is culprit .after all who is making that ammo. And if a factory can not make quility ammo how can they make good revolver.
Dear i tried both iof revolver and webley .webley is far ahead than bharat mata revolver.

-- Sun Mar 27, 2011 11:57 am --

My suggestion is to buy A series Webley.They were made to military specifications. They are far more rugged than B series of Webley available in second hand market. Their production was stopped in 1950`s.

If ammo is culprit than it means iof is culprit .after all who is making that ammo. And if a factory can not make quility ammo how can they make good revolver.
Dear i tried both iof revolver and webley .webley is far ahead than bharat mata revolver.

[james]

In this in my earlier post , i wrote
Overall i feel IOF NOT to be best OPTON but BEST avaliable option in INDIA.
James...
With my current experience i have seen 2 cases of firing pin failure in latest IOF revolver , firing pin BROKEN INSIDE REVOLVER BODY .
I was wrong in my earlier post , and i would love to have webley in good condiction than IOF brand new revolver my confidence is totally shaken after such experience.
This is my personal experience and may differ from others..
Regards,
James..

[The Doc]

With my current experience i have seen 2 cases of firing pin failure in latest IOF revolver , firing pin BROKEN INSIDE REVOLVER BODY

Can you please elaborate more on that ? Any pictures ? Where exactly did the pin break ? Which ammo and how many shots were fired ? Any common factors which may have caused the firing pin breakage in both revolvers ?

Rp.

[hks2056]

"A" series Webley has dull matt finish in metal grey colour in contrast to the shining blue finish of later series. They are available in 4 inch and 6 inch barrel and were only meant for police service use. Heat treatment is excellent. Perhaps the metal alloy used is also harder. Cylinder has negligible or no play like S&W.It does not have hammer lock.

[The Doc]

"A" series Webley has dull matt finish in metal grey colour in contrast to the shining blue finish of later series.

Negative ! Not all Webley "A" series were finished in "War Finish" . The Mark IV, "A" series revolvers were made from 1946 to 1959 both in .32 and .38 calibers .

were only meant for police service use.

They were made for civilians too.

Perhaps the metal alloy used is also harder

Negative ! The frame and cylinder used for the .32 and .38 calibers was the same , only the bore was different . Metal was the same.

Source : Arms Research ; Webley & Scott Archive

best,
Rp.

[james]

Hi Doc , I will try to get some photographs soon to clear the doubts. James...

[The Doc]

I will try to get some photographs soon to clear the doubts.

Thanks, that would be great .

best,
Rp.

[hks2056]

Go for "war finish" A series revolver .You would be lucky to find one. I have fired about 100 shots of IOF cartridges from a 38 calibre one in year 1979 which was captured by BSF in Bangladesh war. The weapon was used extensively for training. Yet it was in top condition despite so much usage.Tolerances were factory tight. I tried very hard to get one in 32 calibre at Meerut market from 1987 to 1989.There was a chap there who had one with 6 inch barrel. It was in 99 percent condition.Alas he would not sell it.There is a genre of fire arm owners who never ever fire their weapon.They handle their weapons so gingerly as if they are made of fragile glass.This chap was even loathe to put even ammo in the chamber.Such owners are buyers` dream.Eventually I had to settle for H &R all steel revolver in 98 percent condition.

[winnie_the_pooh]

Go for "war finish" A series revolver .You would be lucky to find one.

That is the first time I have seen some one consider a revolver with a "war finish" to be more desirable than a regular one.A war finish does not mean that it is somehow better.Quite the opposite.These firearms were internally finished to the same level however externally they were left pretty rough to save up on manufacture time.

I would be surprised to see a revolver chambered in .38 S&W shoot loose.It is a pretty anemic cartridge.Supplies of this cartridge in the civilian market date from the 1980's.It is not unusual to have a bullet lodge in the barrel because of improper ignition.Some bullets will even fail to penetrate tin sheets.So much for the "deadly .38 PROHIBITED BORE revolvers"

[ankur1011111]

Hey !!!
Dont go for webley because it uses leaf spring, and new iof is a master piece with coil spring that strikes very hard on bullet.
Weight is bit high.
If you need an extraordinary piece go for ANMOL (recently introduced by IOF)
it cost 1.10L.

Dont go for webley.

-- Wed Mar 30, 2011 4:45 pm --

Hey !!!
Dont go for webley because it uses leaf spring, and new iof is a master piece with coil spring that strikes very hard on bullet.
Weight is bit high.
If you need an extraordinary piece go for ANMOL (recently introduced by IOF)
it cost 1.10L.

Dont go for webley.

[The Doc]

Hey !!!
Dont go for webley because it uses leaf spring, and new iof is a master piece with coil spring that strikes very hard on bullet.
Weight is bit high.
If you need an extraordinary piece go for ANMOL (recently introduced by IOF)
it cost 1.10L.

You seem to have a lot of experience with the Webley & Scott revolvers !

The mark IV .32cal Webley weighs a little more than the IOF .32 revolver . Not buying a Webley just because it uses a leaf spring is not good enough a reason ! Webley doesn't have a transfer bar safety either and thus has a risk of going off accidently if dropped and the hammer struck on the loaded chamber. I would still rate Webley as a superior revolver than its poor cousin manufactured by the IOF .

I also understand that you are selling your "master piece" IOF revolver 2004 model for 1.2L ..... http://indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13333 .

By the way the only thing which is "extra ordinary" about the Anmol is its 2 extra inches of barrel length !

best,
Rp.

[grewal]

It is a testament to the futility of protectionism that today in the year 2011, the IOF handguns are some of the worst in the world. Substandard materials, substandard fit and finish and non-existent quality control and a totally obsolete design. Darra built guns seem to have better fit and finish than IOF products. It says something about a protected industry when it can't even produce a decent copy of a 50+ year old gun.

Well I tend to disagree . I have a .32 IOF revolver which has a very good fit and finish. Looks very neat and fires without any " I mean any" problem . It costed me 84K and is always there in the standby mode " when ever I need it". You seem to have really exaggerated about the poor quality control. Most of the Webleys available in the market are either refurbished or repaired . The gun dealers do not disclose this cause they have to sell that secondhand material by tagging them as NIB stuff.

What will happen if there is no option available in the form of IOF revolver/pistol . Half of the people(license holders) in India would not be able to possess a weapon cause of the unrealistic prices of the so called imported weapons.

i would love to have webley in good condiction than IOF brand new revolver my confidence is totally shaken after such experience.

Well James It could be an isolated case where the poor revolver could have been a victim of dry firing. Most of the people who buy IOF revolver take it for granted and due to lack of proper knowledge of handling weapons , they themself damage the weapons by extensively dry firing them .

[captrakshitsharma]

The only thing i dont like about the IOF is the Trigger being too hard... the fit and finish is sure a compromise but can be sorted by a good gunsmith.If u have the moolah to buy a webley go get it. Better still if u can get a smittie.

[vinay singh]

My dear friend rakshit would certainly endorse a snubbie, he owns one the most well kept peice i have seen.hey buddy, u would be into serious competition as i am going to acquire mine in a couple of days.

[captrakshitsharma]

My dear friend rakshit would certainly endorse a snubbie, he owns one the most well kept peice i have seen.hey buddy, u would be into serious competition as i am going to acquire mine in a couple of days.

Hi Vinay,
great going. i still hope u keep ur beretta .38. its a great cartridge and a good pistol. But knowing your itch of acquiring a new toy every few months i am sure u'll soon be changing it.
A hint to all IFGIan'sopportunity to buy /trade a good pistol with a revolver.