British gunmaker Webley & Scott has expanded its operations into India and has entered into a joint venture with Sial Manufacturer Pvt. Ltd. of Uttar Pradesh, India, to manufacture the original MkIV and MkVI top-break ejector revolvers along with a range of pistols, shotguns, and air-arms.
Fast Facts
- British gunmaker Webley & Scott entered into a joint venture with Sial Manufacturer Pvt. Ltd. of Uttar Pradesh, India, with a view to making firearms and air-arms for the India domestic market.
- First of the products to emerge from this new venture are three variants of the original Webley MkIV small-frame revolver chambered for the 32 Smith & Wesson Long cartridge.
- This new revolver follows the pattern of police revolvers in India and Asia and features the original style safety catch as found on many, such as the Singapore Police revolvers.
- The product line-up has been much expanded to include the large-frame MkVI revolver in 455 Webley, automatic pistols in 32 ACP and 45 ACP, 12 gauge shotguns, and air-arms.
British gunmaker Webley & Scott was, I think, quite adversely affected by the progressively more restrictive firearms legislation in Britain in the post-war decades, and after a long and proud history of supplying firearms to the British military, police and civilians the company was reduced to mainly manufacturing air-pistols and air-rifles.
Webley were especially known for their break-action revolvers throughout much of their history and were also respected for their double-barrel side-by-side shotguns.
The leadership at Webley & Scott were not content to continue in just making air-arms however and sought to find the best ways to return to manufacturing firearms.
Thus it was in 2010 Webley & Scott made their first tentative move to re-establish themselves in the firearms market with their 900 Series over and under shotguns. This was expanded in 2016 with the Bettinsoli manufactured 1000 Series guns.
2016 was also the year Webley & Scott tentatively entered the rifle market with their Xocet rimfire rifle and their centerfire sporting rifle, the “Empire”, which was based on a Howa 1500 barreled action fitted into an Italian walnut stock by Minelli.
The rimfire and centerfire rifles however seem not to have proved to be the success that Webley & Scott had hoped for and these no longer appear on their website.
Although the “Empire” was certainly an attractive rifle in my eyes, I need to remember that I am British born with great respect for, and sentimentality for Webley & Scott – something I suspect most Americans would not share – c’est la vie.
But all was not lost. The leadership of Webley & Scott remembered that during the days of the British Empire the “Jewel of the British Crown” was India, and understandably so, it was and is a beautiful and fascinating country.
Investigation into possibilities for firearms manufacture and sale in modern India turned up with promising prospects.
What was also of great significance was that the market was for revolvers and pistols. The design of the small-frame Webley MkIV and large-frame MkVI break-action revolvers is as timeless as that of the American Colt M1911.
The Indian national government had launched a “Make in India” initiative, something that promised to bring job creation and thus increased prosperity to the nation and her people.
So Webley & Scott decided to enter into a cooperative effort with Indian Company Sial, with Sial holding a majority 51% share and Webley & Scott of Great Britain a 49% share.
Sial Manufacturer Pvt. Ltd. of Uttar Pradesh established a manufacturing facility for this joint venture in the Sandila industrial area, which is near the city of Luknow. The website and social media were created by Webley & Scott in the UK.
The new facility was first used to fill an area of great need in the domestic India market – the need for 32 caliber self-defense revolvers. Revolvers similar to the original Webley small-frame MkIV were being made by the Ordnance Factory Board but there was much additional demand.
The Webley MkIV made in the new factory were made to the same design as the original MkIV, which had been a standard side-arm for police in Britain and many jurisdictions in Asia, notably India, Singapore and Hong Kong.
You can find our post on the Webley MkIV as manufactured in Britain, and the model made in India by the new joint venture if you click here.
The ambitions for the joint venture between Webley & Scott and Sial did not end with this achievement. An impressive range of models are now on offer, with more in the pipeline.
Revolvers
MkIV Small-frame Revolver in 32 Smith & Wesson Long
The small-frame MkIV revolver was the first into production and is made in three variants:-
- Pocket Revolver 2 inch
- Overhand Pocket Revolver 3 inch
- Full Size Revolver 4 inch
All three of these revolvers are fitted with the safety catch that was used optionally on some original Webley MkIV revolvers – those issued to the Singapore Police being an example.
MkVI Large-frame Revolver in 455 Webley
- Full Size service revolver of the same pattern as those used by British Commonwealth Forces for the First World War and Second World War, and chambered for the same cartridge. 6 inch barrel.
Webley Cobra
- Modern style revolver with swing-out cylinder
Handguns
Handgun Chambered for the 22lr
- Lite 22lr semi-automatic pistol with 3.8 inch barrel and 10 round magazine
Handguns Chambered for the 32 ACP
- Fox 32 semi-automatic pistol with 3.8 inch barrel
- Ranger 32 semi-automatic pistol with 3.75 inch barrel
- Royal 32 semi-automatic pistol with 4 inch barrel
Handguns Chambered for the 45 ACP
- Hawk M1911 based semi-automatic pistol with 3.25 inch barrel and 10 round magazine
- Panther M1911 based semi-automatic pistol with 4.25 inch barrel and 7 round magazine
- Bull M1911 based semi-automatic with 5 inch barrel and 13 round magazine
- 4523 traditional M1911 pistol with 7 round magazine and 5 inch barrel
Handgun Chambered for the 7.62×25 Tokarev
- TT30 a Tokarev style pistol with either 8 round or 10 round magazine and 4.25 inch barrel
Shotguns in 12 Gauge
- 800 Pump-action with 18.5 inch barrel and either 5 or 7 round magazine
- 800 Gas operated semi-automatic with either 28 inch or 30 inch barrel and 4 round magazine
- 800 Single-shot
Air-rifles
- Tomahawk spring-piston air-rifle in 177 inch with 13 inch barrel
- Tomahawk D-Ram piston air-rifle in 177 inch with 13 inch barrel
Air-pistols
- MkVI CO2 revolver style with 2.5 inch barrel and six shot capacity
- MkVI CO2 revolver style with 4 inch barrel and six shot capacity
- MkVI CO2 revolver style with 6 inch barrel and six shot capacity
Ammunition
Webley India are planning to put a range of calibers into production notably including the 455 Webley for the MkVI revolver.
You can find the 2025 Webley India catalog in PDF format if you click here.
You can find the Webley & Scott India website if you click here.
Being British born I am hopeful that both Webley & Scott in the UK and this new joint venture with Sial in India will prosper and flourish. I have a soft spot for the top-break ejector Webley revolvers, they have been a cultural icon for generations.
Will Webley in India be exporting their rather interesting products to markets such as the USA? Time and potential demand will tell.
Picture Credits: All pictures courtesy Webley & Scott India.
Jon Branch is the founder and senior editor of Revivaler and has written a significant number of articles for various publications including official Buying Guides for eBay, classic car articles for Hagerty, magazine articles for both the Australian Shooters Journal and the Australian Shooter, and he’s a long time contributor to Silodrome.
Jon has done radio, television, magazine and newspaper interviews on various issues, and has traveled extensively, having lived in Britain, Australia, China and Hong Kong. His travels have taken him to Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan and a number of other countries. He has studied the Japanese sword arts and has a long history of involvement in the shooting sports, which has included authoring submissions to government on various firearms related issues and assisting in the design and establishment of shooting ranges.
