Colt New Service .455 Eley

[Flying Sig]

Hey guys I'm trying to get some info on this pistol. It's a Colt New Service in .455 Eley in pretty cherry condition. It looks like the cylinder has been machined to accept .45 Colt and it will indeed chamber a 45 LC round. My question is, is it safe to shoot the LC round if it chambers? Does the fact that the cylinder has been machined take away from the overall value? What is the approximate value of this pistol?

Thanks!!

[aolis110]

That's a nice looking wheel gun. I've never heard of them rechambered to 45LC, but I've seen a few rechambered to 45acp.

[smle-man]

Canada rechambered their New Service revolvers in .455 to .45 Colt for service in Canada during WW2. I owned one. Each of the chambers were rebated to allow for the .45 Colt rim and the barrel was marked .45 Colt. Does your revolver have Canadian military markings? Look for a C with a broad arrow inside the C.

[Mike A]

If it isn't one of the Canadian guns chambered for .45 Colt, it was cut to fit .45 ACP rounds in halfmoon clips or .45 Auto Rim without the clips. That modification usually does reduce the value some.

It may just be the angle of the photo, but it doesn't look to me like there is room for the halfmoon clips, so this may actually be .45 Colt. Or do .45 Colt ctgs just fit the chambers of a .455 Eley New Service, in which case it wasn't modified at all.

One of my favorite handguns, although I prefer the .44-40 and .44 Spl. variations. (But I wouldn't toss a nice .455 out of bed....).

[Flying Sig]

Thanks guys. It doesn't have the Canadian markings on it but from what little info I could find, the cylinder on the .455 Eley will not fit a 45 colt cartridge. Here are pics of the markings:

[pitfighter]

Looks a bit like a british broad arrow, crossed flags, crown proof.
A quick search brought this up - http://britishmilitariaforums.yuku.c...6#.UuyxXyhsjzI

This is a good thread to read, too:

http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?178541-Colt-new-service-455-eley-45-long-colt

The one I saw was a heavily British proofed Colt rechambered from .455 to .45LC - chamber machine reamed inside, I believe a small ridge was removed to allow it to fit .45LC

Did you happen to buy yours in Lancaster?
(Probably not, just a coincidence.)

[Flying Sig]

It's not mine, it's belongs to a friend's mom. She doesn't know anything about it so I'm just trying to helping her out. It's been in her family for years

Thanks for the links

[pitfighter]

The one I saw was marked at $650 -

Sounds like you can shoot as much regular .45LC as you want out of it.

No, +p obviously, but, good to go.