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John Hunter:
My records indicate that this is a British Bulldog design, six shot. It was made for export to Austria Hungary, where revolvers with short barrels were prohibited. The long barrel complied with the law but the sight was placed back from the muzzle so that part of the barrel could be cut away once the gun had been delivered.
This model falls into a catagory identified as a Constabulary type revoler. The proof marking R over crown is British. It does have the appearance of a Webley, however, I cannot locate that specific model in my Webley information.
The British Bulldog Patterns became a major class of pocket personal defense revolver. Its proto-type is generally believed to have been the Webley. This pattern was introduced in 1878-79 and made until the beginning of WWI. Calibers included .320, .380, .442, and .455 and .450. The genesis of the gun may be seen in the Royal Irish Constabulary, (RIC) Webely of 1867, or possibly in the gargantuan. 577 of the same era.
HJN
[This message has been edited by Harley Nolden (edited June 07, 1999).]
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