A Love Affair Renewed

I consider myself a “revolver guy” even though I don’t use revolvers exclusively. My love for firearms can be traced back to several films, one of which being Dirty Harry. Now everyone knows Dirty Harry carried a .44 magnum Smith and Wesson model 29 and I, like most Americans, have wanted one for as long as I can remember. But alas, there is another revolver that has sat on my “Want List” for almost as long and in my opinion is the second coolest revolver of all time: the Webley and Scott revolver.

For the uninitiated, W&S was founded in the late 1700s, began making firearms in the mid-1830s and produced them all the way up until 1979. In that time frame they produced pistols, shotguns and of course revolvers. Numerous models in numerous calibers sat in the holsters of military and police across the world for almost a century. Today’s focus will be on my personal favorite: the MK VI. The Webley Mk VI revolver is a six shot, double action/single action, top break, self-ejecting, large frame revolver. It carries a 6” barrel and six shots of .455 Webley caliber ammunition (similar in ballistics to our .45 Colt).

Now, I have always wanted one of these revolvers. They are just so cool! There isn’t really a rhyme or reason as to why I like these revolvers so much. Perhaps it’s the large frame, or the hefty feel of that squared off grip, or the sleek but solid look of the flat sided barrel. Maybe it’s the break action? Break action revolvers such as the Smith and Wesson Model 3 and its variants have always peaked my interest. It’s something different! After shooting a dozen swing out cylinders and a dozen loading gate equipped firearms, one that drops down and pops empty brass out on its own really is a change of pace.

The problem and leading factor to why I have yet to acquire a Mk VI is their age. Don’t get me wrong; I love old guns. Unfortunately I am not an expert on them. Is this one original caliber or has it been reamed out for .45 ACP or .45 Colt? Original finish? Original grips? How’s the bore? It can be exhausting. And finding one locally in good shooting shape is a chore in and of itself. How about buying online? I don’t know if I would be able to buy a 100 year old revolver off the internet with a few dimly lit pictures. Woe is me! If only the new and improved Webley & Scott that has been pumping out some nice shotguns as of late would start producing them again!!! (I imagine the devil smiling here)

They are! Or at least they will be! I attended the 2015 SHOT Show and had the pleasure of speaking with Roger Williams at the Webley & Scott booth. A pair of MK VI’s on the wall caught my attention and I almost fell over I stopped so hard. As I got closer I was heartbroken to see the numbers .177 and 6mm on either side of them; they were airgun and airsoft replicas. After chatting with Roger he informed us that W&S had indeed been debating about bringing back production on the MK VI, this being the 100 year anniversary of the Mk VI’s adoption. I said “YES” so fast I almost bit my tongue off!

They had recently converted the original schematics for the Mk VI series to digital and are able to start production. The catch is, they need interest and Roger wasn’t sure if there was enough interest in the American market. We assured him there was and he asked for our opinion on a “Founder’s Club” where they would ask for 1000 people to sign up with $100 down payments to start production. I immediately raised my hand and proclaimed myself to be “first in line”

 Well within a week of the show ending, the Founder’s Club had started. I’ve already signed up myself and if you are at all interested in owning one of these amazing firearms, I highly suggest you sign up. They are shooting for an MSRP of under $1000 and with the price some of the 100 year old models are currently running, this is an excellent deal. So please, do yourself a favor and sign up for a Webley. I have, and I can’t wait to get mine and try it out. Heck, I might even pick up one of the airguns in the meantime to fulfill the Webley shaped gap in my life.

Check out http://webleymkvi.com/ to join the founders club.

            

                

Missouri Pheasant Hunting

Walking up through a patch of milo we slowly but anxiously follow the dogs, waiting for something (preferably a pheasant) to take flight. Suddenly, the dogs are on something. It takes flight. The guns go up. We stop. A sparrow. We laugh and reset the safeties on our shotguns and continue on up the patch. Shortly, the dogs are again on something. We ready our guns as a rooster pops into the air and heads right over us. I slide the safety into the off position and raise my borrowed Springfield 511 12 gauge SxS into the air. I've got two rounds of Federal 12 Gauge #4 shot ready to go behind the fixed modified/full chokes. The bird is in the air and I bring the gun snugly into my shoulder. I line up the bead about a foot in front of the bird and pull the first trigger…. Nothing. It’s moving farther and I rest my finger on the second trigger for the full choke. I squeeze and the gun bucks but the bird continues off into the distant treeline. I miss my first pheasant.

My first pheasant!

 Early in January I had the opportunity to hunt pheasant in Missouri with my father and his brother. It was a spur of the moment event, something we hadn't planned but the opportunity presented itself. My uncle lives outside of Gallatin and had used a hunting service there a couple times before with his sons. So we hit up Wal-mart, grabbed a couple boxes of shotgun shells and some blaze orange and hit the road. The outfitter we used has a farm of sorts where they raise pheasant. We paid for ten birds and our licenses and then followed them out to a field. We waited patiently as they dropped the birds randomly throughout the field and then waved goodbye. We let the dogs, Danner and Buck, out of the truck and they immediately started sniffing around. They knew what the next few hours held.

Two dogs... and Danner & Buck.

Grabbing our gear we began anxiously loading shells into our vests and lastly into the guns. My dad had not hunted pheasant since he was younger, and this was my first time. My uncle was not going to be shooting today, just controlling the dogs. So we started toward the first plot where we had seen them drop a bird. I’m almost shaking with excitement. This is a completely different experience than hunting dove and quail in my native Arizona, but somehow familiar. My father and I used to hunt birds quite often back home, but upon turning 18, moving out, and getting married, I didn't have as much free time anymore. This was exactly what I needed. Quality time with my dad in the field. It brought back so many memories including the time it took him 4 shots to take a quail!

I was probably 11 or 12 at the time and we were out hunting quail. My dad carried his monster Winchester 120 (it was a monster to me at the time with its 28” barrel) while I lugged around an H&R Pardner in .410 bore that I had received Christmas two years earlier. So a bird took flight and my dad fired off his three rounds at the bird…. and missed all three! He quickly grabbed my H&R and with that final shot took it down. It was a good laugh; something I still harass him about to this day.

5 pheasant and 1 dog. Not a bad day.

But not on this day. No, my dad put me to shame with the first two pheasant, putting them down with a single shot from his brother’s Remington 870 Wingmaster 20 Gauge. And then there was me blasting away with both barrels of the old Springfield like ammo was free. Luckily I got into my groove, caught up and eventually passed his total: 5 to 3. We celebrated that night with pheasant breast, mashed potatoes, and corn. It was a day not wasted, and I brought some feathers back for my wife to use for decorations. Unfortunately that trip had to end, but I knew it wouldn't be our last.

Father and son.

Whether it is hunting birds back home or hunting those majestic pheasant in some field in Middle-Of-Nowhere Missouri, I will always cherish my outdoors trips with my father. I’m fortunate that he is still in my life and I’m sure we will have many more outings like our pheasant hunt in the future.  They were truly some of the best times of my life and I hope that one day I can take my children out on hunting trips just like my dad did with me.