221b Baker St.

I was wondering, after some comments on firearms that some people from across the pond have made, what type of firearms did Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson carry?

I haven’t read any of Sir Doyle’s novels, and barely remember Basil Rathbone in the Hound of the Baskervilles movie, but I have heard that Holmes carried a Webley Metropolitan Police and maybe an English Bulldog, and Watson carried his Army Adams or maybe also a Tranter in the books.

That also begs the question of what type firearm, if any, did Dr. John Bell carry in his forensic consultations with the police?

British bulldog is the one that I recall.

I actually have one, and also a cased Trainter. The trainter is a well made piece.

Alejandro Salemandro said:

British bulldog is the one that I recall.

I actually have one, and also a cased Trainter. The trainter is a well made piece.

Click to expand...

That's neat. Does any specialty company manufacture ammo for them? I saw Fiocchi has .450 Corto but thought it might be too hot for the older black powder guns. I heard you can cut down .45 Colt brass and make black powder reloads...if you can get the lead. I'd love to have a Metropolitan Police in .450 Adams, and also maybe a British Bulldog.

We need pics of your classic British handguns.

I'm a huge fan of Doyle's detective and his doings as (mostly) related by Dr. Watson. I give the entire series a complete read-through every 18 months to two years and have since the mid-1970s. Just completed the latest read a few weeks ago.

Different folks have different notions of Holmes' side arm but the revolver in the below link represents exactly my views of an example of Holmes' revolver, a Webley No. 2 .320. Scroll down in the link for photographic views.
http://www.thefirearmsforum.com/threads/p-webley-and-son-no-2.99586/


Considering the time Watson served, his "old service revolver" would have almost certainly been an Adams in .450 caliber such as the one below.
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i219/GrantRCanada/Webley and other revolvers/Adams/MyAdams03a.jpg

The Webley and Adams is what I recall as well.

Another point that should be noticed about Watson carrying a gun is that no permits or anything were required in that era -- the time when British crime was truly at its lowest.

Hollywood+firearms=disaster

Hollywood + facts = disaster

go to 455 webley revolvers, ammunition, handloading and gunsmithing/facebook for recent posts and pics on the Bulldog. lots of valuable info on guns and ephemera about loads, availability and cautions. several of my Webleys are there!

Oh my goodness...I want one now.

Seems like Europe was way ahead of the U.S. on double action revolvers in the early period.

Well, way late to this one but chalk me up as a fan of the Webley British Bulldog style revolver. No less an authority than Jeff Cooper called it the best coat/pocket revolver type ever. And I see nothing to dissuade me from agreement with him. I will have to look over my volume of the complete canon of Holmes to see if I can add to the model lists mentioned there.

I do wish Uberti or some other good manufacturer would reproduce these revolvers. As far as revolvers go, these are dead simple. Solid frame with a swing out ejector rod and not the cylinder. This keeps the frame and lock work simple and strong. The split frame of swing out cylinder double action revolvers requires a good bit more engineering and multiple locking points. And a lot more fit and finishing. And cost.

My imaginary Bulldog replica would be made in two frame sizes. A small frame to accommodate .22 rimfire, .32acp, .380acp. And larger frame to handle .45acp. Bore the chambers so the cartridge case head is fully supported with none of the rim/rimless area protruding from the cylinder. This would add just a bit of extra weight to the cylinder but the strength would be greater. I know full throttle magnums and 15 shot magazines are all the rage but I am somehow comforted by the thought of a nice five pack of 225-250 grain lead semi wadcutters at around 800-900fps in a package about the size of a large man's hand.