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  • Airgun Shooter

    PISTOL PROFICIENCY – WARTIME STYLE

    Oct 03, 2019 9 minutes

    I recently reviewed Webley’s CO2-powered pellet-firing Mark VI Service Revolver, a beautiful replica of the .455 inch bullet-firing original. The revolver is accompanied by a reproduction of a 1930s Small Arms Training Manual that lays out a series of safety precautions, instructions for field use and marksmanship tests for this gun.

    The manual has a Crown Copyright date of 1937, as the MK VI was still being issued during the Second World War, but the information in the booklet probably dates back as far as 1915, the year the handgun entered service, as the illustrations show a soldier wearing First World War-era 1902 Pattern service dress and puttees.

    This manual really piqued my interest, and it raised more than a few questions about the role of a service pistol, how it’s used and what’s expected of it on the battlefield. Because it came with the Webley CO2 gun, I also wondered whether the contents of this manual were relevant for the modern airgun shooter, so I decided to gather some air pistols, turn over the pages and turn back the years.

    WHAT’S IT FOR?

    What is the actual role of a sidearm?

    The manual clears this up straight away by pointing out that handguns in general, and the Webley Mark VI in particular, are for personal defence. Readers of a certain age may remember the old set of Airfix 1/76 scale WWI British Infantry figures.

    The box art shows a Second Lieutenant in classic stance – leading from the front with his Webley drawn as his

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