Webley MKVI Revolver

OLD AND NEW
MARKING THE
It’s a hundred years since the Webley & Scott
MKVI went into action. Matt Clark looks at a fitting
tribute to that pistol
I
t has seen active service round
the world; was held in the
hands of figures such as the
legendary Lawrence of Arabia and
is quintessentially British. I am, of
course, talking about the Webley &
Scott MKVI revolver.
Often known as the ‘Webley Six’,
this sturdy sidearm has fought its
way into the history books. The MKVI
version was the pinnacle of a long line
of revolvers adopted for military use,
going back to the MKI in 1887. The
legend continues with the modern
Webley producing a replica CO2 version
of its iconic pistol to celebrate the
100th anniversary of the MKVI. You
can imagine the excitement when I
was given the chance to shoot this
CO2 version, the first of its kind in the
world.
With the weight and balance being
identical to the real MKVI, the CO2
version may look good and feel like
the real thing, but would it work
well as a BB pistol? Yes, is the short
answer.
Class Leader
The trigger on the pre-production CO2
version was remarkably good. You
VI
Main Picture: The
replica complete
with authentic
uniform and leather
holster
Above: The Webley is a
full scale replica
Above: An officer in the
Far East during World
War 2 wears a Webley
Vl in a webbing holster
don’t
have to be
an expert
to realise that
the smooth and precise mechanism of
this airgun’s trigger is a class leader.
Keith, our new designer, who often
accompanies us on our test shoots
and is rapidly becoming a good shot,
picked up the Webley and without any
prompting said: “I don’t know that
much about pistols, but that trigger
feels really nice.” That is a testament
to the workmanship that has gone
into this pistol, and this was after
the pistol had seen service at many
shooting shows, including the CLA
Game Fair, where some of you will
already have had a glimpse of it.
Accuracy also seemed to be
particularly good considering it was
a BB shooter, rather than a pellet
pistol. The trigger is single- as well
as double-action, again, just like the
real thing. You can select single-action
when you are taking deliberate aimed
shots or double-action when you
want to unleash a volley. However, we
will bring you more on the accuracy
and shooting characteristics on this
exciting new pistol in a later feature. 
www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIR GUNNER 61
OLD AND NEW
OLD AND NEW
“I love the Webley MKVI CO2 replica because it’s a tribute to the
real pistol that has earned its place in history and without it we
might not have known the freedoms we enjoy today.”
Iconic Design
As a top-break design, the Webley
is opened by a thumb lever at the
side of the pistol’s hammer and there
is an extractor on the cylinder to
eject spent brass. The BBs are loaded
into the faux bullet heads of the
cartridges, which is a system you
will be familiar with from the CO2
revolvers made by ASG. This adds a
little extra realism to the replica and
even the cartridge cases are stamped
with the .455 calibre of the real pistol,
rather than the .177 calibre of the BB
replica. The cartridges are then loaded
into the cylinder of the pistol and you
are ready for action.
Everything on this pistol is
designed to operate like the real
thing: it can even be field-stripped.
The only concession to modernity is
the inclusion of a manual resettable
safety catch just below the cylinder.
This has been kept discreet and does
not in any way impact on the realism
of this pistol, but it’s nice to know it’s
there.
CO2 bulbs are loaded into the grip of
the pistol by removing one half of the
grip like most other BB pistols. Unlike
some CO2 pistols, the bulbs were easy
to fit and pierce in the Webley by
using the lanyard ring at the heel of
Bottom: The CO2 bulb
fits into the grip and is
secured by turning the
lanyard ring
Right: Peaked cap,
glove, swagger stick
and a Webley six:
Everything an officer
needs!
Below: Officers in
World War 1 would have
carried their revolvers
on a ‘Sam Browne’ belt
made of leather like
this one.
the grip. A lanyard is simply a bit of
cord that keeps the pistol attached
to the user and was important for
soldiers who might lose grip of their
weapon in the heat of action.
Real Thing
The real Webley MKVI certainly saw a
lot of action as a service revolver with
British and Commonwealth troops. It
came into service in 1915 and replaced
the previous MKV revolver, having a
squared-off grip and six-inch barrel
instead of a four-inch one.
It saw some of the most horrific
fighting, not only on the Western
front, but in other theatres of World
War One, such as Arabia and the
Dardanelles. Being used by soldiers,
airman and sailors too, you could
almost say that the Webley won the
peace for the commonwealth, just as
the Colt Peacemaker won the Old West.
Favoured amongst many servicemen
because the .455 round had ‘stopping
power’, which is soldier’s parlance
meaning that if you hit your enemy
anywhere with a slow-moving bullet
of that size, they wouldn’t be getting
up again, the Webley may not have
been advanced as say a German Luger
FACTS
pistol, but it certainly did the job.
Old Favourite
Even though the MK VI was declared
obsolete by 1932 and replaced by the
smaller calibre Enfield MKI .38 calibre
revolver, it nevertheless remained
a favourite sidearm of officers and
non-commissioned officers throughout
World War Two with the last ones
being decommissioned as late as 1947.
Indeed, some countries used Webley
VI as there service revolvers as late as
1963.
The only thing that changed in that
time was that the holsters used to
carry the pistol in action in the Second
World War were made of webbing rather
than leather because it was deemed a
more durable and lightweight material.
In this beautifully crafted CO2
replica, Webley have resurrected
an icon and we can hold a bit of
gunmaking folklore in our hands. At
£199 the price might seem a bit steep
for a BB air pistol, but if you look at
the work that’s gone into it, it’s even
better than the real thing. Especially
as a deactivated MKVI will set you back
£600 to £1000 and at least with the CO2
pistol you can have a paper puncher
with some character.
I don’t usually like replicas of
military firearms. The whole thing for
me about airguns is that they are not
designed as weapons, but are for more
enjoyable things like target shooting.
However, I love the Webley MKVI CO2
replica because it’s a tribute to the
real pistol that has earned its place in
history and without it we might not
have known the freedoms we enjoy
today. ■
SPECS
Manufacturer: Webley
Distributor: Highland
Outdoors
Tel: 0845 099 0252
Model: Webley MK VI
Length: 28cms
Barrel Length: 15cms
Weight: 1036g (2.3lbs)
Safety: Manual resettable
Calibre .177 (4.5mm) BB
Available at all good
gunshops in November
RRP: £199.00
Top: The pistol is
opened by depressing
this latch
Left: The BBs go in the
bullet heads
During World War One, most
officers had to buy their own
service revolver. The only
stipulation being that the pistol
must use regulation .455 rounds.
It just goes to show that the
Webley MKVI was so highly
regarded that most officers used
it as their weapon of choice.
It was not just officers who
carried Webley revolvers; noncommissioned officers, tank
crews, machine-gun crews and
any soldier deemed to need a
back-up weapon were issued
with the pistol.
The effective firing range of a
Webley revolver was around 50
metres, although to be accurate
with a pistol at that range would
take some skill.
During World War One, the
Webley revolver was used by
many literary figures, including
the poets, Siegfried Sassoon and
Wilfred Owen and academics
and authors like C.S Lewis and
J. R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien’s Webley
pistol (below) can be seen at
the Imperial War Museum North
in Manchester. The museum is
open daily from 10am - 5pm with
free admission at The Quays,
Trafford Wharf Road, Manchester
M17 1TZ. Telephone 0161 836
4000, or visit: www.iwm.org.uk
Far left: Six gleaming
cartridge cases tell you
the pistol is ready for
action
Hobbit author, J R R Tolkien’s
pistol on display in the Imperial War
Museum North. Note the lanyard
Picture courtesy of IWM North
Left: The cartridges
are ejected from the
cylinder
62 AIR GUNNER www.airgunshooting.co.uk
Right: Loading the
cartridge cases with
BBs is all you need for
some paper punching
www.airgunshooting.co.uk AIR GUNNER 63