The author of the Sherlock Holmes books had a very poor knowledge of firearms and of some other topics about which he wrote. Didn't care to do much research, either.
Given that Dr. Watson, an Army surgeon, retired somewhere around the early 1880's, I think his "service revolver" was probably an Adams or Tranter. They were better finished and more prestigious than Webleys until the mid-'80's. Or, so I've read. I'd have to see some to compare and haven't. I have handled a Webley Army Express .455 and it was well made, and looked somewhat like a Colt DA Frontier contemporary. I hope it had a better rep for durability of the lockwork... And I've seen Webley WG's, made VERY well, indeed. The later Webley govt.- issued guns were more plainly finished, with harder, less smooth trigger pulls.
Who here has seen and handled Adams and Tranter guns? What did you think of them? Now that I think of it, I have handled an Adams MK III, many years ago. Nice gun, and slimmer in the hand than expected. But the .450 ammo was weak, something that Watson, being a doctor, would have been aware of, especially as the gun did not perform well in the Afghan wars or against the Ashanti tribe in 1878. Never saw any figures from the 1879 Zulu conflict.
I do know that some British officers bought Colt and S&W guns for American cartridges. Fosbery said that the best stopper he saw on the NW Frontier of India was the Colt Frontier .44/40. He didn't say if he had observed the .45 Colt in action. Quote was in, "The Peacemaker and Its Rivals", by Parsons, about 1950-'52.
But a big Colt or S&W No. 3 wouldn't have fit in Watson's coat pockets in his London adventures with Holmes. An Adams might, or the Webley RIC model in .450 or .455.
What do YOU think Watson's gun was, and why? I danged sure don't think I'd feel comfortable using it against The Hound of the Baskervilles. I'd want a .45 Colt or a rifle for that errand.
Holmes seemed to carry a small .450 of the sort used by London detectives then. The Eley No. 2 of some books is, of course, a cartridge, not a gun. Sir Arthur C. Doyle may not have known the difference. His contemporary, Sir Henry Rider Haggard ("King Solomon's Mines") was FAR more gun knowledgeable, and had served in South Africa during the Second Zulu War. But his characters carried Colt SAA .45's. That was very logical for them, perhaps less so for Watson.
Given that Dr. Watson, an Army surgeon, retired somewhere around the early 1880's, I think his "service revolver" was probably an Adams or Tranter. They were better finished and more prestigious than Webleys until the mid-'80's. Or, so I've read. I'd have to see some to compare and haven't. I have handled a Webley Army Express .455 and it was well made, and looked somewhat like a Colt DA Frontier contemporary. I hope it had a better rep for durability of the lockwork... And I've seen Webley WG's, made VERY well, indeed. The later Webley govt.- issued guns were more plainly finished, with harder, less smooth trigger pulls.
Who here has seen and handled Adams and Tranter guns? What did you think of them? Now that I think of it, I have handled an Adams MK III, many years ago. Nice gun, and slimmer in the hand than expected. But the .450 ammo was weak, something that Watson, being a doctor, would have been aware of, especially as the gun did not perform well in the Afghan wars or against the Ashanti tribe in 1878. Never saw any figures from the 1879 Zulu conflict.
I do know that some British officers bought Colt and S&W guns for American cartridges. Fosbery said that the best stopper he saw on the NW Frontier of India was the Colt Frontier .44/40. He didn't say if he had observed the .45 Colt in action. Quote was in, "The Peacemaker and Its Rivals", by Parsons, about 1950-'52.
But a big Colt or S&W No. 3 wouldn't have fit in Watson's coat pockets in his London adventures with Holmes. An Adams might, or the Webley RIC model in .450 or .455.
What do YOU think Watson's gun was, and why? I danged sure don't think I'd feel comfortable using it against The Hound of the Baskervilles. I'd want a .45 Colt or a rifle for that errand.
Holmes seemed to carry a small .450 of the sort used by London detectives then. The Eley No. 2 of some books is, of course, a cartridge, not a gun. Sir Arthur C. Doyle may not have known the difference. His contemporary, Sir Henry Rider Haggard ("King Solomon's Mines") was FAR more gun knowledgeable, and had served in South Africa during the Second Zulu War. But his characters carried Colt SAA .45's. That was very logical for them, perhaps less so for Watson.