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Thread: Webley manufacture date

  1. #1
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    Webley manufacture date

    Hi all
    I wonder if anyone can put a age and model to the following:

    Webley Vulcan serial number 026461

    2 x webley trackers serial numbers:

    20080
    22563

    Any info greatfully received.

    Kind regards

    Sideleverjohn

  2. #2
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    I stand to be corrected, but I don't think it's possible accurately to date Vulcans from the serial number. I've seen Mk2s recorded with lower numbers than early Mk1s. It has been speculated that Webley may have used two concurrent serial number ranges for the Vulcan, further to confuse us.

    If yours has a 15mm diameter barrel, it's a Mk1 (1979-1981). 16mm, straight trigger, Mk2 (1981-85), 16mm and curvy trigger, Mk3 (1985-2000).

    Tracker and Viscount serial numbers may (may) be easier, appearing to begin around 1000 or so and end in the high 40 thousands. And it looks like both variants shared one serial number range. Assuming they were numbered roughly in sequence of production, and also assuming that more Trackers sold when it was relatively new than later on, that would suggest something toward the mid-80s. But that's a guess.

    The Tracker was first offered in 1982. It was officially discontinued in 2000, but I suspect had not been manufactured for some years earlier than that and Webley were selling off old stock made a number of years before.

    Hope this helps, even if it doesn't give you the answer you hoped for.

  3. #3
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    There's a man on here with records of Webley serial numbers, he's dated a few of mine from forum posts.

    I remember reading on Swedish forum that Tracker serial numbers started at 14000. This does seem an odd number but I have had a lot of Trackers and not seen one with a lower than 14000 number. I'm not sure whether this is true or not.

    Cheers
    Greg

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sideleverjohn View Post
    Hi all
    I wonder if anyone can put a age and model to the following:

    Webley Vulcan serial number 026461 - December 1975 ?

    2 x webley trackers serial numbers:

    20080 - January 1986

    22563 - January 1987

    Any info greatfully received.

    Kind regards

    Sideleverjohn

    The above dates are taken from incomplete Webley records, and the serial number for the Vulcan is not marked a such, just listed earlier on the same page as the Trackers etc. which are marked as such.
    Hope this helps.
    Last edited by Troubledshooter; 20-06-2018 at 11:17 AM.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thegreg View Post
    There's a man on here with records of Webley serial numbers, he's dated a few of mine from forum posts.

    I remember reading on Swedish forum that Tracker serial numbers started at 14000. This does seem an odd number but I have had a lot of Trackers and not seen one with a lower than 14000 number. I'm not sure whether this is true or not.

    Cheers
    Greg

    First Tracker serial number I have listed is 14104 in 1982, with no month of production listed until 17756 on 03/09/1984, finishing with 41645 on 24/02/1995.

  6. #6
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    Not 100% sure about this, guys. Let me explain.

    Chris Thrale in his book gives the serials of Vulcans sold by Pax as starting at 558450 in August 1979, rising to 674758 by July 1980 and 904338 in November 1980. Which seems like one serial range.

    But he also identifies an early (no further detail) Vulcan with a 900000 range serial, and a Mk2 with serial 019006. And the OP's is 026461.

    And stop and think about it.

    Chris' data from Pax suggests that if the Vulcans were numbered serially, one at a time, that Webley made about 200,000 Vulcans in a ten-month period and then more than 200,000 in the next five months. 600-1200 a day, if my mental arithmetic is right. If there are, as estimated, 4 million air guns in the UK, then about half of them should be Webley Vulcans.....

    Troubledshooter: it can't be 1975. The Vulcan was introduced in 1979.

    As for the Tracker/Viscount, yes, they appear to have been numbered together, and in a different sequence from the Vulcan. But the Wallis 2006 sale included Trackers numbered 4192, 10012, and 1512. Rifle 4192 was a Camo Tracker, a model introduced in 1986.

    It's all a bit confusing.

  7. #7
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    Webley manufacture dates

    Many thanks guys.

    Sideleverjohn

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Geezer View Post
    Not 100% sure about this, guys. Let me explain.

    Chris Thrale in his book gives the serials of Vulcans sold by Pax as starting at 558450 in August 1979, rising to 674758 by July 1980 and 904338 in November 1980. Which seems like one serial range.

    But he also identifies an early (no further detail) Vulcan with a 900000 range serial, and a Mk2 with serial 019006. And the OP's is 026461.

    And stop and think about it.

    Chris' data from Pax suggests that if the Vulcans were numbered serially, one at a time, that Webley made about 200,000 Vulcans in a ten-month period and then more than 200,000 in the next five months. 600-1200 a day, if my mental arithmetic is right. If there are, as estimated, 4 million air guns in the UK, then about half of them should be Webley Vulcans.....

    Troubledshooter: it can't be 1975. The Vulcan was introduced in 1979.

    Which is why I put a question mark at the end, as I don't have actual figures for the Vulcan.

    As for the Tracker/Viscount, yes, they appear to have been numbered together, and in a different sequence from the Vulcan. But the Wallis 2006 sale included Trackers numbered 4192, 10012, and 1512. Rifle 4192 was a Camo Tracker, a model introduced in 1986.

    It's all a bit confusing.
    I can offer no explanation for the Wallis sale Trackers as the four figure numbers don't make sense and certainly don't tally with the numbers records I have, which came direct from a Webley employee.

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