Customised Webley Air Pistols

[Josie & John]

Inspired by another thread on modifying Webley air pistols, I thought I'd share a few random images from my records of modified and customised Webley air pistols. Most were taken at various arms fairs and some at the club. Not all my cup of tea as I prefer factory unmodified pistols but I know others will disagree, so enjoy. Must admit I two like the twin tier cased Premier.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/HDmgDXxMuFxVc8Gu6

John M

[WebleyWombler]

OOOOH, pure Webley porn. not all my scene but I do like that Premier with the longer barrel in the first photo

[Josie & John]

OOOOH, pure Webley porn. not all my scene but I do like that Premier with the longer barrel in the first photo

Yes, that one is an interesting one, as the modification is subtle. I don't exactly recall where I pictured it - a Birmingham arms fair perhaps?

John

[trajectory]

John, some interesting photos. I like the compactness of the original design but the interchangeable barrel modification similar to a MkII Service on one of them looks like quite a neat idea while using just one set of linkage. Perhaps it could almost have been viable as an after market idea if Webley were not keen to take it up.

[Abasmajor]

Inspired by another thread on modifying Webley air pistols, I thought I'd share a few random images from my records of modified and customised Webley air pistols. Most were taken at various arms fairs and some at the club. Not all my cup of tea as I prefer factory unmodified pistols but I know others will disagree, so enjoy. Must admit I two like the twin tier cased Premier.

John M

Hi John,
Always nice to see interesting modifications, but I'm with you in preferring purely factory released examples arising from production runs, especially if the production run was short. I think the Webley air pistol in its standard form represented the ultimate in a quality and compactness with little room for improvement evidenced by its long dominance with only relatively minor changes.
Brian

[Josie & John]

Hi John,
Always nice to see interesting modifications, but I'm with you in preferring purely factory released examples arising from production runs, especially if the production run was short. I think the Webley air pistol in its standard form represented the ultimate in a quality and compactness with little room for improvement evidenced by its long dominance with only relatively minor changes.
Brian

Must admit Brian, I wouldn't mind an extended barrel one day - just to see how it would perform, of course!

John

[WebleyWombler]

John, some interesting photos. I like the compactness of the original design but the interchangeable barrel modification similar to a MkII Service on one of them looks like quite a neat idea while using just one set of linkage. Perhaps it could almost have been viable as an after market idea if Webley were not keen to take it up.

Certainly does look well carried out using a Tempest front pivot. Mmmm, I have a couple of them spare. I wonder what a cased Premier with 3 barrels ( .177, .20 and .22) would look like.

[WebleyWombler]

You would need 3 sets of pivots unless you modded the forging. I've been told that either the barrels or forgings were heated or cooled (I cannot remember which) then the barrel would be a tight fit in the forging.

Thinking of modifying a forging . barrel sliding in from the rear with a pin to locate it and an 'o' ring for centralisation and friction to hold it in. Pin would sit in a groove in the forging and provide positive location for the rear barrel chamfer. There must be a way to provide MkII facility without disturbing the pivot screw.

One of these days..

[Troubledshooter]

Here's a Senior with extended barrel:
[IMG]
The extension of the barrel is as much as can be accommodated without fouling the trigger guard when being cocked.

[ashf9999]

I must agree to also generally steering clear of owner-modified guns, but I recently purchased a Mk1 pistol from Tim Dyson - the one with the modified (to a) slant grip that John recently referred to in a different post. (It's the one Dr Joseph Gilbart covered in the June '81 Guns Review). Again, a very neat modification - the angled grip has been very professionally machined and brazed in by a previous owner, a shaped 'spacer' piece to fill the gap between the trigger guard and new grip added, and the barrel has also been shortened and properly crowned. Finally, the rear sight was modified to enable separate windage and elevation. It shoots very comfortably...

[Josie & John]

I must agree to also generally steering clear of owner-modified guns, but I recently purchased a Mk1 pistol from Tim Dyson - the one with the modified (to a) slant grip that John recently referred to in a different post. (It's the one Dr Joseph Gilbart covered in the June '81 Guns Review). Again, a very neat modification - the angled grip has been very professionally machined and brazed in by a previous owner, a shaped 'spacer' piece to fill the gap between the trigger guard and new grip added, and the barrel has also been shortened and properly crowned. Finally, the rear sight was modified to enable separate windage and elevation. It shoots very comfortably...

I was lucky enough to examine and photograph this pistol at a recent arms fair.Tim Dyson certainly has a flair for finding the unusual.

I'm pleased this well documented and made air pistol has found a good home.

Kind regards,

John

[trajectory]

Thinking of modifying a forging . barrel sliding in from the rear with a pin to locate it and an 'o' ring for centralisation and friction to hold it in. Pin would sit in a groove in the forging and provide positive location for the rear barrel chamfer. There must be a way to provide MkII facility without disturbing the pivot screw.

One of these days..

I was thinking along similar lines, but possibly with the barrel being fitted from the front in order to have a sight mounted on it, then a spring detent to hold it in place... Just need to find some donor pistol & parts. Something for the future.

[ashf9999]

I was lucky enough to examine and photograph this pistol at a recent arms fair.Tim Dyson certainly has a flair for finding the unusual.

I'm pleased this well documented and made air pistol has found a good home.

Kind regards,

John

I'm please as well, John.
All the best
Ashley

[PhatMan]

Hello to All,

The only mod I did with my Webley Mk1 ( in ca, 1978 ), was to add melt some lead into the grip spaces to make the pistol heavier - worked very nicely

We used the Webley's to shoot 'mini reduced range IPSC' rounds in the days before I got my FAC.

Have fun & a good Sunday

Best regards

Russ

[micky2]

I quite like the look of the Premier with the longer barrel.