The owner picked it up not long ago, and said he spent the first while cleaning out the cosmoline still hiding in places; apparently it had been carried around a lot(judging by a lot of little dings on the outside) but not thoroughly cleaned. Or else it had been greased up well after hostilities ended and been in storage ever since. The bore and chambers looked pristine, and the lockup a thing of beauty. Seriously, I've seen much newer revolvers that had received expert attention that didn't lock up this tight.
He'd put together some loads using Hornady brass, 3.5 grains of Bullseye powder, and a 265-grain hollow-base bullet that duplicated the later load used in these. So about 650 fps.
How'd it shoot? I was tempted to hit him over the head with something and run with it. The double-action pull was smooth, and the single-action light and clean. And that load shot to point of aim.
If 650fps doesn't sound like much, think of 250 grains of soft lead hitting at that velocity; I think it would do the job. One of the early bullets for this, from what I've read, was the Webley Patented Manstopper Bullet, a 250-265 grain hollow-base bullet with either a slightly domed nose or a hollow-point. Think of a heavy wadcutter in soft alloy hitting at that speed... Lyman used to make a mold for a 250-grain hollow-base wadcutter intended for .45 Colt, and I've looked for one, but those who have one generally don't turn loose of them. Too bad, as it'd pretty well duplicate that bullet.
I once had a chance to buy one of these, but found out that it had been rechambered to .45 Colt. Probably dumb to turn it down(it had been reblued but was otherwise in great condition), but I wanted one in .455. Maybe one of these days.
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I love those older revolvers. Back in 80's, I was lucky to purchase a Brazilian 1937 contract S^W 1917 .45ACP revolver. Smooooth action. And just a little bounce of recoil - you can shoot and really enjoy the experience. And hits are very obvious - .45s leave a big hole to see.
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