Originally Posted by
Abasmajor
Hi Danny,
I suppose Webley included the possibility of cocking their pistol from the opposite end in their patent to preclude somebody from doing just that, impractical as that may seem to have been. It's my understanding that the possibility of infringement of the Wenley Patent 219872 was a contributory factor to ending production of the Certus. As you rightly say, given the compactness and efficiency of the Webley design, it's surprising that respected gun makers such as Cogswell & Harrison and A.G.Parker believed that the Certus or Parker pistols would have a chance against the Webley. In my experience, the only pistol that came close to the Webley was the ABAS Major with its concentric barrel, tap loading and ratchet safety cocking lever offering superior features to the Webley, Unfortunately, these advantages would have come at an increased price which would meant the pistol would have been at a commercial disadvantage in a financially sensitive environment.
Regards
Brian