My Indy Bapty Conversion!
Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 10:42 pm
My S&W HE2 Bapty Conversion
This started as an S&W HE2 .455 British contact built in 1916, matching numbers with gold (brass) original grips.
The gun was in rough shape; rust pitted, and the barrel was crudely counter-bored 1/2inch at the muzzle.
My local gunsmith cut the barrel, tapered it slightly (not affecting the barrel lettering), crowned the muzzle, added a custom made front ramp sight, hand smoothed the pitted finish, and re-blued in the old style. He even added wear it by running it in and out of a leather holster 100 times!
This is one of the closest matches to the actual screen Bapty that I’ve seen. The only visible marking difference is mine has a double arrow >|< on the crane denoting “sold out of store”, meaning a British officer purchased the revolver. I believe the screen Bapty has a smaller crossed-flags mark on the frame by the barrel denoting “military proof”. The barrel lettering is “SMITH & WESSON .455.”, shown above with .455 MkII Fiocchi ammunition.
This photo shows the cartridges that have been discussed as potentially applicable to the screen Bapty; left to right the cartridges are 45ACP (in half moon clip), 45 Long Colt, 5in1 Remington blank, .455 MkII and a .455 blank.
In researching further I now believe the Bapty was a true .455 caliber, NOT a 45Long Colt nor a 45ACP conversion. The tolerances on the old S&W .455s were so tight at the back of the cylinder that a 45LC or a 5in1 blank won’t allow the cylinder to close because the rim is too thick! The .455s have very thin rims as shown above. In addition, .455 blanks have been available for years - the one shown far right is headstamp vintage 1936!
Another indicator is, if the revolver in the “truck in alley” screen shot was loaded, blanks longer than a .455 would have been visible in the chamber:
There are two .455 live rounds in just the left two chambers (insert) above, and even those short noses are just visible…
In addition, I’m now persuaded that Lee Keppler was correct the Bapty was a standard .455 6.5 inch that had a cut barrel - with the right gunsmithing job the barrel thickness at the muzzle DOES match the screen photo of Indy in the alley.
I took my Indy S&W out to the range, and front sight was just the right height: it kept all shots in an 8inch group on center at 25 yards!
My local gunsmith is willing to take additional conversion orders; if he will allow me I’ll post his contact information later in this thread.
And I’ll be modifying my Bapty post in the Archives based on the new information above…
Regards,
Indy45
This started as an S&W HE2 .455 British contact built in 1916, matching numbers with gold (brass) original grips.
The gun was in rough shape; rust pitted, and the barrel was crudely counter-bored 1/2inch at the muzzle.
My local gunsmith cut the barrel, tapered it slightly (not affecting the barrel lettering), crowned the muzzle, added a custom made front ramp sight, hand smoothed the pitted finish, and re-blued in the old style. He even added wear it by running it in and out of a leather holster 100 times!
This is one of the closest matches to the actual screen Bapty that I’ve seen. The only visible marking difference is mine has a double arrow >|< on the crane denoting “sold out of store”, meaning a British officer purchased the revolver. I believe the screen Bapty has a smaller crossed-flags mark on the frame by the barrel denoting “military proof”. The barrel lettering is “SMITH & WESSON .455.”, shown above with .455 MkII Fiocchi ammunition.
This photo shows the cartridges that have been discussed as potentially applicable to the screen Bapty; left to right the cartridges are 45ACP (in half moon clip), 45 Long Colt, 5in1 Remington blank, .455 MkII and a .455 blank.
In researching further I now believe the Bapty was a true .455 caliber, NOT a 45Long Colt nor a 45ACP conversion. The tolerances on the old S&W .455s were so tight at the back of the cylinder that a 45LC or a 5in1 blank won’t allow the cylinder to close because the rim is too thick! The .455s have very thin rims as shown above. In addition, .455 blanks have been available for years - the one shown far right is headstamp vintage 1936!
Another indicator is, if the revolver in the “truck in alley” screen shot was loaded, blanks longer than a .455 would have been visible in the chamber:
There are two .455 live rounds in just the left two chambers (insert) above, and even those short noses are just visible…
In addition, I’m now persuaded that Lee Keppler was correct the Bapty was a standard .455 6.5 inch that had a cut barrel - with the right gunsmithing job the barrel thickness at the muzzle DOES match the screen photo of Indy in the alley.
I took my Indy S&W out to the range, and front sight was just the right height: it kept all shots in an 8inch group on center at 25 yards!
My local gunsmith is willing to take additional conversion orders; if he will allow me I’ll post his contact information later in this thread.
And I’ll be modifying my Bapty post in the Archives based on the new information above…
Regards,
Indy45
Your post really makes me want to find another HE2 and have it Indy-ized. The one I bought for this purpose a year or so ago turned out to be such a nice piece that I couldn't bring myself to cut it. 
