Webleys.

1. I want my old college roommate Bill to shoot a plate match, or even an IDPA match, with his Webley .380 2Z (.38 S&W) revolver. It was his first firearm, which he bought from my father back in the early 1990s. It has a beautiful polished blue finish, because it was a civilian police model. Bill got just plain stupid-fast in his reloads with that old break-top, using Colt speed-loaders and Ishapore FMJ. The .38 S&W rounds that he shot through it gave no major recoil for that good-sized revolver, and it was always a pleasure to shoot. But I was forever chastising him to leave the damned crossbolt safety off.

At about nearly the same time, I had purchased for my future wife an ancient old Iver Johnson with no finish on it, and I loaded up a bunch of swaged 148g HBWC loads over a little too much Unique powder for them both to have as manstopper loads. I loaded a lot of them backwards, and found that they would begin to keyhole at about 26 to 28 yards, but gave amazingly good accuracy at 20 yards. All of this came to mind the other day when I found a (forward-loaded) .38 S&W handload in my sock drawer the other day. I had found a box of pre-primed copper Western cases and loaded them up, making the high-sitting full wadcutter round in the red metal case look very distinctive. It took me back.

The .38 S&W is, compared to the .38 Special, kind of a pipsqueak round. But loaded with a soft lead bullet with a full-caliber meplat, it would not be inconsiderable as a self-defense round, and certainly blows the .380 acp right out of the water. I have a somewhat silly affection for the old round.

2. I have decided that my next gun purchase will be a Webley revolver, preferably but not exclusively a .455 of a mark prior to IV. I will probably have to accept one that has had its cylinder faced off to accept .45 Auto Rim cases.