James · Revolver

British Bull Dog

Name: British Bull Dog
Brand: James

Revolving · .442 Webley · introduced 1872

Also known as Webley British Bull Dog, Webley No. 2 British Bull Dog, Bulldog revolver

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About the British Bull Dog

The British Bull Dog is a compact double-action revolver introduced by P. Webley & Son of Birmingham in 1872. Designed as an affordable pocket pistol for self-defence, it featured a short 64 mm barrel and a five-round cylinder chambered for the .442 Webley centrefire cartridge (also offered in .450 Adams). Its small size, solid frame, and stopping power made it one of the most popular concealed-carry handguns of the late Victorian era, and it was extensively copied by gunmakers in Belgium, France, and the United States.

The British Bull Dog earned lasting notoriety in 1881 when Charles J. Guiteau used one chambered in .442 to fatally shoot U.S. President James A. Garfield. Cheap, concealable, and hard-hitting, it became the archetypal Victorian pocket revolver and lent its name to an entire class of compact self-defence handguns.

British Bull Dog specifications

General

Type: Revolver
Action: Revolving
Firing mechanism: Hammer-fired
Trigger: Double action
Calibres: .442 Webley
Magazine capacity: 5 rounds
Magazine: Revolving cylinder

Dimensions

Barrel length: 64 mm (2.5 in)
Overall length: 152 mm (6.0 in)
Weight (empty): 0.45 kg (0.99 lb)

Barrel

Rifling: Right hand

Materials

Barrel: Steel
Receiver / frame: Steel
Stock: Walnut
Finish: blued

Performance

Muzzle velocity (typical): 210 m/s (689 fps)
Muzzle energy (typical): 324 J (239 ft·lb)
Effective range: 14 m

History

Introduced: 1872
Discontinued: 1939
Production status: Discontinued
Country of origin: GB
Designer: P. Webley & Son

Features

Fixed sights
Short barrel
Concealable
Rebounding hammer

Sold in enormous numbers and so widely copied that 'Bulldog' became a generic term for short-barrelled solid-frame pocket revolvers. Charles Guiteau used a .442 British Bull Dog to assassinate U.S. President James A. Garfield in 1881.