Tempest / Hurricane fore-end and trigger chronology question

[richtel]

Can any kind soul please tell me when Webley changed the lettering on the fore-end from Tempest/Hurricane to Webley Tempest/Hurricane, and similarly when the trigger blades changed from slim to the wider ribbed style, and whether there's any correlation between the two changes?

Thanks,

Rich.

[webman]

The Hurricane was introduced in Feb 1977, and the lettering changed in March 1981. the Tempest was introduced in April 1979 and the lettering changed in July 1981. I can't find any info in "Webley Air Pistols" about trigger changes apart from the fact that some of the first Hurricane triggers had incorrectly drilled axis holes. These were rectified, but subsequent triggers were made in Germany (!) for Webley.

[barrel]

The Hurricane was introduced in Feb 1977, and the lettering changed in March 1981. the Tempest was introduced in April 1979 and the lettering changed in July 1981. I can't find any info in "Webley Air Pistols" about trigger changes apart from the fact that some of the first Hurricane triggers had incorrectly drilled axis holes. These were rectified, but subsequent triggers were made in Germany (!) for Webley.

Very interesting thanks for posting your findings.


Kindest regards


Barrel

[richtel]

The Hurricane was introduced in Feb 1977, and the lettering changed in March 1981. the Tempest was introduced in April 1979 and the lettering changed in July 1981. I can't find any info in "Webley Air Pistols" about trigger changes apart from the fact that some of the first Hurricane triggers had incorrectly drilled axis holes. These were rectified, but subsequent triggers were made in Germany (!) for Webley.

Thanks very much for that- very interesting!

I'd not heard about the trigger issues. Since the Hurricane and Tempest were equivalent in most ways and presume the tooling was the same I wonder why the Tempest didn't suffer equally.. perhaps they made Tempests and Hurricanes (and Typhoons) sequentially and it was a 'batch' issue.

[webman]

I think that the trigger drilling issues came to light very soon during the Hurricane and Typhoon manufacturing processes, so by the time the Tempest came along 2 years later they had been solved.

[Mr. Gen]

The wider triggers were introduced mid nineties I think.......

[richtel]

Thanks chaps!

[webman]

Maybe we need a collection check exercise (or someone with better information than me). If anyone has a Tempest or Hurricane with the thicker trigger and they know how old it is, can they give the details on this thread. To get the ball rolling, I've got such a Tempest from 2005.

[ashf9999]

Maybe we need a collection check exercise (or someone with better information than me). If anyone has a Tempest or Hurricane with the thicker ribbed trigger and they know how old it is, can they give the details on this thread. To get the ball rolling, I've got such a Tempest from 2005.

Hi Ian

Not narrowing it down very much I'm afraid...I know in 95 they were still the thin type and by 2005 they'd got wider. Though I'd obtained a few examples in the interim, these years were when I bought new ones, and assuming they hadn't been sitting in stock for ages I assume reflect the manufacturing at that time.

That said, Rich mentions wider ribbed style - the wider triggers I have are all smooth.

cheers, ash

[webman]

Thanks for your input ash. At least we've narrowed it down to a 10 year period! Any other offers?

[harvey_s]

The wider triggers were introduced mid nineties I think.......

A bit later than that - 2002 and hence why theres no mention of them in the honourable Mr Bruces book (being published in 2001)

[richtel]

Hi Ian



That said, Rich mentions wider ribbed style - the wider triggers I have are all smooth.

cheers, ash

Ash, my bad- just double checked for my own sanity and you're absolutely right- my Hurricane with the wider trigger does indeed have a smooth face trigger. Sorry to introduce a red herring!

All of my Webley pistols are second hand with no history, so sadly I can't help with dating the variances. It wouldn't be so bad if they had serial numbers, but that's another thread!

[webman]

Another question answered by the good people of the collectors' corner: thanks to everyone who helped. I looked at my old catalogues, and even the one for 2003/2004 showed the older thin trigger, so don't aways believe what the official literature shows!

Ian