S&W .455 Eley

[aryfrosty]

I need some advice if anyone has dealt with a S&W, seems like a M-1917, stamped .455 Eley. The gentleman I bought it from said it had been converted to .45 LC. It's a beautiful old gun, with a Micro rear sight and it seems to have been cared for over its life.
Is it a safe shooter? Also; it's a 5 screw and is missing to top side plate screw,(close by the rear sight). Does anyone know of a source for these older S&W screws. I put my old M10 5 screw in the shop a few years ago and one of the things I wanted was to have the side plate screws replaced...The Gunsmith just hammered and whammered and made the old screws look better than new. He mentioned at the time that he had not seen any screws for a 5 screw in a long while. Anybody who can put me on the trail of a supplier will be appreciated.
Alan Yates

 

[Sunray]

Try Gunparts for the screws. You should have a smithy look at it to be sure it is a .45 Colt. Case lengths are different. Slug the bore too. It'll tell you what bullet diameter to use. Mind you, I wouldn't shoot it until you get the screw.

 

[Jim K]

Gun Parts Corp. (www.gunpartscorp.com) listed large head and small head sideplate screws for the Model 1917 in their last catalog. You might check the web site or call them. Your gun was not really the Model 1917, as that designation applies only to those guns made for the U.S. Army in .45 ACP; it was a commercial model, made for the British in their .455 Webley caliber.

Many revolvers, both Colt and S&W, originally chambered for the .455 were reamed out in this country to take the .45 Colt. In a way it is a shame, as it hurt a collectors item, but the conversion works OK and, if done right, is perfectly safe.

Don't worry overmuch about bore size, bullet diameter and throating. Both the .45 Colt and .455 Webley bullets have almost exactly the same specs. Stick to factory ammo or reasonable handloads, though.

Jim