So Baltimore Ed sent me a care package this week...
This is a British Lion .450 revolver, along with a couple of hundred bullets and around fifty cases. He also sent three balloon-head cases for reference. Thank you, Ed- I very much appreciate it!
The gun has Birmingham proofs on the barrel, frame and each chamber. So far my research has turned up nothing about who made these and when, but it has been said that these guns nearly equal the quality of a Webley. These are thought to be British-made guns. I have to say that this is a robust, high-quality gun. The single and double action trigger pulls are very good, and unusually for a gun of this type the sights are rather good.
The bullets Ed included were 198gr. Hollow-base RNL. He said he drilled them, and he did so with great precision. I spent part of last evening loading ammo for a range trip. Earlier in the week I tried Trail Boss's suggested method of developing a load I came up with... 2.0gr. of trail boss. OK, I was skeptical, but that's really all that would fit! I tried them in a .45 revolver and they seemed to work, so alrighty then... I made up a box, using a combination of .45 Colt and .45 ACP dies.
This afternoon I finished up the day's work and headed to the range. Let me tell ya, this old gal is a shooter! Shot this target at seven yards, double-action-
And fired this one 'briskly' at ten yards-
The gun functioned perfectly, and was a pleasure to shoot. The loads were a bit less perfect- three of them squibbed. From the sound of it they did not ignite properly. In two of three instances the bullet went downrange. In the third it stopped in the barrel, but was easily pushed out with a cleaning rod. I suspect I need to cobble up a proper roll-crimp set-up for this cartridge; it did wonders for my .38 S&W loads, and I suspect it will sort these nicely.
I totally love this little gun! Thanks again to Baltimore Ed for making a dream of mine come true!
More detail can be found on my blog, Tinker Talks Guns.