@Oktober Blitz  
Yeah normally they have a 6in barrel length, but I’ve seen lots with shorter. I think it was a special order thing from Webley, either that or done by gunsmiths.

@Background Pony #41A8
 
Interesting! I’d not heard of the .455 Webley before. Thanks for the info!

@Love Letter  
Not him, but this would be the British .455 Webley service cartridge used in the First World War. It was not a terribly impressive cartridge, despite the large caliber. There were several variations but the most common in British military service was the Mk II cartridge, loaded with a 265gr lead bullet and a small charge of Cordite propellant. It only got up to about 650 ft/sec at the muzzle. The large caliber, low velocity, soft lead bullet was judged as seeming very effective as a “manstopper” in the Thompson-LaGarde tests of 1904, but the test methodology was eccentric, and grisly, to say the least.
 
The .455 cartridge only developed a maximum of 12,000 to 13,000 PSI pressure. The Casull’s working pressures are five times that in top-end ammunition. The hinged frame and latch of the Webley and similar designs do not stand up well to pressures higher than those of the cartridges for which they are designed. Too much force is focused upon too small an area of metal when each shot is fired and only with ammunition of very low power is there sufficient safety margin. In the 1920s, it was common in the US for Webley revolvers originally manufactured in .455 to get the backs of their cylinders milled down to accept .45 ACP ammunition in stamped sheet metal “moon clips” originally created for the much stronger S&W Model 1917 service revolver. The .45 ACP develops pressures more than 50% higher than the .455 Webley, and a few hundred rounds of factory ammunition in the Webley revolvers is generally sufficient to break the locking latch or the hinge, or stretch the frame to the point of rendering the firearm dangerous and unserviceable.
 
If I had to carry a service revolver of that era, and I got to choose, I think I’d go with a Smith & Wesson 1917 in .45 ACP, preferably the Model 1937 variation created for the Brazilian military, with its flat-topped frame and rear sight. If it had to be designed before 1900, I think I might go with a Colt Single Action Army in .44 Special and stout handloads, or .357 Magnum if I can choose a 20th Century cartridge. The .44 Special had more metal between the chambers than larger calibers and could withstand much higher pressures. Elmer Keith developed the hot .44 Special handloads that became the basis for the .44 Magnum using several SAAs in .44 Special.
 
I will admit to never having fired a .454, but Smith & Wesson 29s and 629s and Ruger Redhawks and Blackhawks in .44 Magnum are not at all difficult to control even with very stout .44 Magnum ammunition, or maybe what the range had for sale that day was underloaded. I was a bit disappointed. I’d heard all the stories and it wasn’t bad at all.

@Skyfall
 
Interesting choice of caliber. A .454 Casull is an extremely powerful round. In fact, it’s advised that the shooter not try to control the recoil, instead letting the gun snap back to your shoulder. Trying to keep the gun level will likely result in a broken wrist.
 
This is the smallest caliber handgun recommended for hiking in Alaska, since anything less won’t even phase a grizzly bear. That said, you’re better off with a rifle or (preferably) not running into a grizzly at all.

I am enlightened.

@Background Pony #AA06
 
@Skyfall
 
Ah. The angle is wrong for the relief angle at the bottom of the barrel, just above the hinge pin, to be clear–on an Enfield it is diagonal, on the Webley it is scalloped–to be readily visible. I am going by the number and placement of screws and pins on the left side of the frame. A Webley would have an additional pin in between the two screws above the trigger, but maybe it’s there and just not visible at this angle. The chambers in the cylinder of the Webley in .455 might be a little larger, proportionally, than the ones in the Enfield in .380/200, but I’m not sure it would be obvious at this angle and distance.
 
And lots and lots of Enfields in .380/200 got converted to snubbies after the war. This is a No. 2 Mk 1* wartime production gun without the hammer spur:
 

 
Front sight shapes and styles varied, barrel cross section shapes and styles varied, grips existed in both wood and Bakelite in various shapes for both.
 
Neither of them is something I’d choose to carry in harm’s way if I had access to just about anything better. Although, some police departments in India still issue revolvers in .380/200, with domestically manufactured ammunition. For about thirty years now Ruger has made a the occasional production run of GP100s in .380/200 for export to India. The only one I’ve ever seen come up for auction in the US was blued, not stainless, oddly enough, with fixed sights.

That Webley looks real stubby ngl

@Skyfall  
Exquisite taste in firearms, I must say. Though I much prefer the Webley Mk. V over the Mk. VI.

Ah, the uploader unfortunately neglected to include the description, which is a pity given the included story, thus I shall provide it below. As for the weapon itself, the reference was a shortened Webley MK III according to Baron, although I won’t deny a lean for the MK VI myself.
 
–===–
 
A bolt of light, aqua green energy came flying out of the shadows and hit the griffin intruder squarely in the chest and slammed her against the wall of the palace hallway. The energy shot out into a spiderweb-like strands pinning them against the wall. The griffin’s eyes quickly scanned the area as it frantically searched for the source of caster. After a few seconds her eyes settled on soft glow coming from the shadows of a doorway leading to some room.
 
The griffin’s right arm was not pinned by the energy web. Quickly it went into her jacket pocket where her revolver was resting. She’d started to withdraw it and promptly stopped as she heard the very distinctive sound of a revolver hammer being cocked.
 
Stepping out of the shadows into the hallway was a unicorn mare garbed in a distinctive outfit. It was a typical dress suit, but it was made entirely of vinyl. In the mare’s right hand was a .455 caliber, snub nose revolver.
 
The unicorn kept the revolver pointed at griffin’s chest as she came to a stop about 10ft away. The mare raised her left hand revealing silver badge with the symbol of Luna’s moon. After a second she addressed the griffin.
 
“My name is Skyfall, and I’m an Agent of the Crown. And you’re under arrest.”

@Background Pony #41A8  
I say Webley Mk. V. If it’s not a Mk. V then it’s most likely a Mk. III. I can recognize that grip style anywhere.

It looks like an old British No. 2 Mk. 1 Enfield revolver in the craptastic .380/200 caliber. Some were sold off as surplus in the 50s and 60s with badly corroded bores and/or muzzle crowns damaged by hasty cleaning in the field with a steel cleaning rod. A number of them got the barrels shortened to get rid of the most damaged section and the front sight reinstalled, converting them into snub-noses. That is what I think we are looking at here. How short was the straw she drew to be handed something like that to go out and fight for her life?

@ArgentBanner
 
Look up “snubnose revolver.” They’re designed for concealment, so they have short barrels.

That gun’s a beast, but it seems like the barrel doesn’t really fit the rest.