I have a Orbea Brothers 455 double action pistol top break around 1890 from what I have been told. No one seems to be sure. It has the British Proof Stamp and been chambered to also shoot 45 auto with half moon clips in decent condition and SHOOTS. Also have a holster that is stamped with 44 cal and left hand holster. Can't find any more information on this weapon.
During WWI The British contracted with several Spanish gun makers to furnish firearms for the British Army. With the British proof marks that is one, However it looks as if it has been reblued, new stocks etc it would have been a nice WWI collectable with a bit of history, Curious, 45 AR with moon clips ???
.455s were proofed for a lower maximum pressure than the standard .45acp ball round, so I'd strongly recommend reloading your ACPs or Auto Rims down to .455 specs.
Is there a picture of the British proof you mentioned? I'm not seeing anything that resembles British commercial proofs or British military acceptance marks. (They are two different sets of marks.)
Years ago I passed on buying one of these that was marked "RAVC" (Royal Army Veterinary Corps) and it was clearly stamped with the Broad Arrow acceptance marks. (Wish I had picked it up at the time....)
Without any of the mentioned marks I would have to assume that this example was made for regular sale not including British commercial or military. Is it marked anywhere that indicates it was a .455 ?
If so, the conversion to .45ACP/AR probably happened at a later date as I'm unaware of any .455 being produced originally to take the ACP/AR cartridge.
It has the proof stamp and the cylinder has the Royal stamp in between chambers. I had 5 gun shops look at it but and confirm the stampings but no further information is available
Spanish/ British Revolvers: Back at the dawn of time we went to a local gun show. These shows were new. There was much excitement. As kids, we could paw through tables of dewats and the like. At one show there were piles of antique looking leather holsters. Each of those holsers contained an old Spanish military revolver. Later, we learned these were British issue in WWI. We have not seen any of those revolvers locally since. I suspect the cylinders were faced off to allow use of 45ACP rounds in half-moon clips. A bunch of pretty nice handguns were ruined doing that.
Is there a picture of the British proof you mentioned? I'm not seeing anything that resembles British commercial proofs or British military acceptance marks. (They are two different sets of marks.)
Years ago I passed on buying one of these that was marked "RAVC" (Royal Army Veterinary Corps) and it was clearly stamped with the Broad Arrow acceptance marks. (Wish I had picked it up at the time....)
Without any of the mentioned marks I would have to assume that this example was made for regular sale not including British commercial or military. Is it marked anywhere that indicates it was a .455 ?
If so, the conversion to .45ACP/AR probably happened at a later date as I'm unaware of any .455 being produced originally to take the ACP/AR cartridge.
Spanish/ British Revolvers: Back at the dawn of time we went to a local gun show. These shows were new. There was much excitement. As kids, we could paw through tables of dewats and the like. At one show there were piles of antique looking leather holsters. Each of those holsers contained an old Spanish military revolver. Later, we learned these were British issue in WWI. We have not seen any of those revolvers locally since. I suspect the cylinders were faced off to allow use of 45ACP rounds in half-moon clips. A bunch of pretty nice handguns were ruined doing that.
OK. Thanks for the more pictures. However, I don't see any signs of military marks, Just commercial proofs. I would assume that this gun was made available by local gunshops to Officers who had to provide their own sidearms. The contract guns would have War Office acceptance marks (i.e. the "Broad Arrow") and would have been sold through the Army/Navy Stores.
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