Bonanza:

Let me try to clarify the date a little. The 1904 rules were promulgated in 1904, hence the name. I don't know, exactly, what the effective date was. The presumption seems to be early 1905, and the guy I talked to at the Proof House didn't know for sure. New British guns are proven as barreled actions "in the white" - they are far from complete when proved. They are then stocked, regulated, engraved and finished. This takes months. Thus, it is unlikely that your gun could have been delivered earlier than sometime in 1905, but it could have been later. From the numbers, I don't think it could have been a lot later, though, but you never know. A friend has a nice boxlock DR from a London maker that was finished on a barreled action bought in from Webley. The Webley number on it is from roughly 1924 and the proof marks are 1904 rule, which were obsoleted by the 1925 rules, so the gun was barreled up and proved 1924-1925. This gun was delivered in 1952, by which time the cartridge that it was chambered for was obsolete! Go figure.
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