Adams Mark III ('Model of 1872') .450 revolver acquired ...

[RattlesnakeJack]

I am pleased to announce the acquisition, from a well-known dealer here in Canada, of a rather nice addition to my collection of Victorian-era British Empire cartridge firearms ... an Adams Mark III  .450 revolver, also referred to in commercial production versions (such as an officer would purchase for personal use, for example) as the 'Model of 1872'.

(These images are from the dealer's website, as it will likely be a few weeks before the transaction is completed and the revolver makes its way to me .... click on thumbnails to enlarge ....)

   

   

   

The .450 Adams was the first official centerfire cartridge service revolver adopted by the British War Department - The "Mark I" Adams was actually a breechloading conversion of the primary percussion service revolver, as indicated by its official designation in the W.D. "List of Changes" entry 1738 of 26 Nov 1868 - "Deane & Adams' Revolver Pistol Converted to a Breech-Loader by Mr. J. Adams" - which referenced the fact that the conversions were performed by the Adams Patent Small Arms Company pursuant to certain patents of John Adams.  The five-shot percussion revolvers had a one-piece frame and integral barrel:


The 1868 modifications included a loading gate and bored-through replacement cylinder, with a fixed case-extraction rod mounted:


In February of 1872, the "Pistol, Adams' Central Fire, B.L. (Mark II)" was adopted - these revolvers were made as cartridge arms, with a two-piece frame and six-shot cylinder, but retaining the fixed ejector rod:


Shortly thereafter, John Adams convinced the War Department to also incorporate a pivoting ejector rod patented by him, and in August 1872 the "Pistol, Adams', Central Fire, B.L. (Mark III)" was formally adopted.   The very brief List of Changes entry for this pattern simply states:  "It differs from the previous pattern, Mark II (L.o.C. 2227) in having a more efficient extractor."  As mentioned above, my new acquisition is this version.

When the North West Mounted Police were being set up (1873/74) Adams revolvers were ordered from the War Department, the request having specified that they should be of the "latest pattern".  When the shipment of revolvers finally made it to Manitoba in mid-1874, where the Force had been assembled for its 'Great March West', it was discovered that sold-out-of-service Mark I revolvers had been sent (apparently by a commercial jobber) which had been so poorly packed that many were damaged, forcing armorers to piece together a reduced supply of serviceable weapons.  (The delayed arrival of the revolvers, and the necessary repairs, delayed the departure of the Force for several weeks, and it finally got under way on July 8 1874.) 

The War Department agreed to replace these revolvers with Mark III revolvers, although they did not arrive until 1875 ... and then, only 296 were received out of the shipment of 300, four having been stolen in transit!  (My revolver has no NWMP provenance, unfortunately ... in fact, based upon its serial number (in the 17,000 range) it was undoubtedly manufactured quite a bit later than the Mark III's supplied to the Mounted Police, all known examples of which have serial numbers in the 5600 through 8300 range ...)

[River City John]

Truly a marvelous collection. 
And so another sub-chapter is added to The Book.

When should I be letting you know how I would like my copy inscribed and signed by the author?

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

Jack;  Will you have the Adams ready to partner with the Carbine for GAF battle rifle class??

Talk to Kerry Jenkinson.  He MAY have some American made .455 MKII case you could shorten.  My son still has a box of FIOCCHI .450 Corto ammo.

[RattlesnakeJack]

Sir Charles -

I definitely have that combination in mind!   
(Even though it would likely slow me down substantially on handgun reloads, when compared with the speed of a top-break.    )

Actually, what I ideally need to get is a suitable Model 1878 Colt Double Action in .45 Colt ... that, of course, would be the proper combination for an 1885-era Canadian competitor in the "Militia" class (which is where our 1876 carbines would place us.)

As for cartridge casings for the Adams, what I think I'll be using is the supply of .455 cases I got some time ago made up from shortened .45 Colt cases with the rims suitably thinned.  Their rim diameter is really too small for positive extraction in .476 and .455 revolvers ... the .476 Enfield rim diameter was officially 0.530 to 0.534", and on the MkI .455 Webley case it was 0.528" to 0.538".  But the .45 Colt rim diameter (SAAMI specs - 0.512") is in fact very close to the original 0.508" to 0.510" rim diameter of the .450 Adams casing ...

[Four-Eyed Buck]

That one looks fairly minty, there, Jack. Nice acquisition...........Buck

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

Jack;  The cases K. Jenkinson supplied me with were made by Hornady.  I use cut down .45 Colt brass, rims thinned, trimmed at .45 acp length for my MKVI.  They are only a "tad" ( .02) longer than MKI Webley cases.  Will you be getting into trouble with brass thickening near the bases as you cut the length down to .69?  BTW;  I have made cases from .44-40 "split-necks, and they work as well as when made from .45 Colt cases.  (Wouldn't it be nice if .45 Cowboy Spl cases might be produced with the Webley rim?)

The illustration you posted above shows the "Boxer" case construction.  The Primer body is used as a hollow rivet to hold the rim onto the thimble forming the body of the case.  Someone recently posted some photos of early .45-70 cases.  One of them showed a remarkably similar construction, except that a rolled foil body was inserted into a brass cup rivetted to the base the same way.

[RattlesnakeJack]

There was also a MkIII solid drawn brass .450 case not shown in the above illustrtation (which is from The Webley Story) - and that is the version most likely to be encountered nowadays, of course.  Matter of fact, yesterday at the Gun Show in Maple Creek (Saskatchewan), I picked up a number of 'vintage' cartridges for some of my old-timey firearms, including a few different .450 rounds ... all of which are drawn brass MkIII's  -



The Kynoch round on the left is claimed to be a factory dummy round - while I'm not so sure about that assertion, the bullet definitely appears to be held in place by a factory crimp and there is no sign of any tool having been used to remove the primer ... so I guess it is either an intentional dummy or the primer  simply got missed in the loading process!

I suppose the wall thickness of a .45 Colt case might prove problematic when shortened that much ... I'll just have to see how it goes.  (Mind you, the cross-sectional representations of .450 cases - such as in the above illustration - do seem to show a uniform wall thickness for the full length of the case - so I may be OK there ...)

[Fox Creek Kid]

One caution: a friend had a RIC a few years back and only shot real BP in it but after only a few hundred rounds the breech face became so peened as to totally impede cylinder rotation after firing a round. He had to have a recoil plate machined into it. I don't believe the Adams has the recoil plate that the later Webleys have. The metal is very soft. 

[RattlesnakeJack]

Hmmmmm .... there were a LOT of cheaply-made RIC-knockoffs marketed back in those days, most of them produced in Continental Europe.   

I'd be very surprised if your friend's revolver was an actual Webley product (or any other good-quality version of British manufacture ....)

[Fox Creek Kid]

Believe me, it was a genuine Webley and not a clone. Even Colt, on their SAA, and S&W (at behest of the Russians supposedly) were forced to machine in recoil plates on the breech face due to peening. Remember, metallurgy in the 19th century was one rung above alchemy. All modern Colt, S&W & Ruger revolvers have the plates. 

[RattlesnakeJack]

FCK:

Thanks for the 'heads up' ... I'm not likely to shoot the Adams a whole lot.  (My later top-break Webleys and such ... which do have recoil shields, of course ... will continue to burn most of the powder.)

[RattlesnakeJack]

I am pleased to announce that the Adams arrived this morning - and fortunately I was home "house-sitting" while a new furnace was being installed.  It is already well fondled, field stripped, thoroughly cleaned and reassembled .... though I didn't manage to take any additional photos ....   

I am also well pleased with the condition of the revolver - every bit as good as it appears in the dealer's photos I first posted.  In particular:

- finish is a nice, even plum patina, though the wood grip is well worn, as was evident in the original photos.

- the revolver is indeed mechanically sound (as John Denner had indicated), with positive action and lockup .... well, as positive as I think these revolvers can be with a single cylinder stop operating in a square-ended groove ... the design lacks distinct cylinder stop notches.

- bore is bright and clean, with good rifling and no detectable pitting or even discoloration, though there appears to be a bit of minimal pitting in two or three of the chambers.  However, it is very minor and the cylinder walls are quite stout, so I have no worries on that score.

- perhaps because this revolver is relatively late production, I was happy to discover that Webley .455 MkII cartridges chamber fully - others have indicated having .450 revolvers which will not accept that slightly longer case, and thus having to load dedicated .450 brass.

- so far, the only problem I have discovered is that there is a slight ding on the edge of one of the rim recesses on the rear face of the cylinder, which prevents a case from seating fully in that chamber without being forced.  However, clearly that will be a quick and easy fix.

All in all, I must say that I am a very happy camper!     

[Dr. Bob]

Howdy RJR,

Congratulations!!  A new toy is always a joy!   A rhyme this time!   Sorry to hear about the new furnace.  Not a good time of year for one to go out!  Especially in the "Great White North".

[RattlesnakeJack]

Dr. Bob -

Thanks for the congratulations ....

Actually, I am very happy to report that the furnace replacement is a planned event - temperatures yesterday and today are up around the freezing mark so it hasn't been too bad, though I suppose that our timing could have been a bit better!  We decided it was time to install a high efficiency furnace and air conditioning in place of the 55+ year old gravity furnace which has actually performed yeoman service for us since we bought this house 30 years ago.  The "old" furnace was actually the second heating plant installed in our house, a lovely Arts & Crafts storey-and-a-half "bungalow" which was built in 1913. 

(I placed the word bungalow in quotation marks because most people nowadays think it refers only to a single storey dwelling, but in fact the word comes from India and originally referenced a style with wide overhanging eaves on all sides, and also having windows on all sides for ventilation and usually open porches or lanais, but as often as not having more than one floor.  The current usage of "bungalow" in fact comes from "ranch-style bungalow", which denoted a low, one-storey version .... 
Thus endeth the lesson for today ....  )

[RattlesnakeJack]

Managed my own picture of the Adams:



As mentioned above, having been told that some .450-chambered revolvers will not chamber the slightly longer .455 MkII case I was very pleased to learn that this one readily accepts them .... so I won't need to have a third batch of brass!  I do have some MkII .455 rounds loaded with Triple 7 BP substitute, but haven't made it out to the range to try the revolver yet ....  (In fact, I am thinking even those may be too "hot" for the Adams and that I really ought to load some up with "basic black" ....)

Here's a scan of four different .450 cartridge headstamps ... click to enlarge ....


(I like to acquire at least one or two "original" display cartridges for each of my vintage firearms.  Admittedly, these are all of the latest (MkIII) solid drawn brass configuration, rather than having the earlier "compisite' cases ...   The round on the left is a loaded round, with a bullet apparently factory-crimped in place.  It was purportedly a factory "dummy" cartridge, but I take that with a grain of salt ... might well simply be a round which somehow got through without a primer in place ...)

[Fox Creek Kid]

R.J., shooting Swiss FFFg in my buddy's Webley RIC was what quickly peened the breechface and they say 777 is 10% - 15% hotter than BP. If it were mine I would load it with GOEX FFg. In other words, something mild. After all, I'd hazard a guess that it won't be your grizzly sidearm.  "Baby" it.

[Bull Schmitt]

Rattlesnake,

WOW!!  That is a real beauty. I'll bet it could tell some interesting tales.

Col Bull

[Fox Creek Kid]

R. Jack, this one will make your heart stop!! 

http://www.antiquearmsinc.com/civil-war-adams-revolver-50-cal.htm

[RattlesnakeJack]

WOW!   

[Dr. Bob]

RJR,

We NEED to get the Marshal to add a drooling emoticon!  Too many good looking things with no drooling smiley!  Pretty neat!