Indian 32-caliber IOR-Mk1 revolver Indian 32-caliber IOR-Mk1 revolver Made by the INDIAN ORDNANCE FACTORY of Kampur, the Mk-1 revolver is a reminiscence of the British colonial period. It is manufactured with modified Webley designs, it is double-action and retains the Webley-typical automatic spent cases ejection at the break-open of the cylinder. It was first launcher on the export market in the years 1995/1996, but it has been in production since more than 25 years back, and gained acceptance as an Indian Police service weapon and for civilian ownership (private ownership of guns in India is more common than many may believe). It was conceived as a concealable gun, and this, and the 32-caliber, made it popular in its homeland back in the years when the .32-ACP ammunition was at the top with civilians for self-defence and with police personnel for concealed carry. Now that the market is clogged with a number of compact and sub-compact high-capacity and high-caliber semi-automatic models, the IOR-Mk1 revolver can be considered as a collection item for the curious gun owner. One note about the manufacturer of this weapon, the Indian State-owned ORDNANCE FACTORY BOARD is that they have enlarged their production lines in the past years and now manufacture about everything that such a country needs for law enforcement and national defence. Their products range from "Oldies But Goldies" items like this IOR-Mk1 revolver, the ASHANI semi-automatic pistol (copy of the Browning 1910), the 9x19mm Browning High-Power, the L1A1-FAL rifle and the Sterling machine-carbine, to more modern concepts like the INSAS weapon system, which has recently been boosted with the addition of the EXCALIBUR assault rifle (a special-applications version of the INSAS) and the MINSAS Personal Defence Weapon firing the reduced 5'56x30mm. A line of manufacture for AKM assault rifles has also recently been opened, in response to the huge shipment of AK-style assault rifles bought by India from former-ComBloc countries and addressed mainly to border-patrol troops and police units, becoming their main and most widespread long arm. In addition, the Indian Ordnance Factories today manufacture under license the South-African DENEL NTW multi-caliber anti-matériel rifle, under the name of VIDHWANSAK, and the Israeli MICRO-TAVOR special-operations carbine under the name of ZITTARA MULTI-PURPOSES CARBINE. For more informations about civilian-oriented OFB/IOR products, go to: http://gunaccessory.com/IOF/ TECHNICAL SPECS: CALIBER: 7'65x17mm (a.k.a. .7'65 "Browning" / .32-ACP) WEIGHT (UNLOADED): 700 Grams TOTAL LENGHT: 177.8 Millimetres BARREL LENGHT: 76.2 Millimetres BARREL RIFLING: 6 grooves, RH, 1 turn/381 mm SIGHTS: Blade front sight / U-shaped back sight FEED: 6 rounds, revolving cylinder with automatic spent cases ejection when the cylinder is open for reloading WORKING SYSTEM: Double Action MANUFACTURER: Ordnance Factory Board Ayudh Bhawan Government of India Ministry of Defence 10A, S. K. Bose Road, Kolkata – 700 001, India. TELEPHONE: 0091-33-2248 9027 / 2248 2103 / 2248 5077-80 FAX: 0091-33-2248 1748/2210 8235 URL: http://ofbindia.gov.in/index.php E-MAIL: ofbtrade@vsnl.net Photos and information from: Pierangelo Tendas & Roger Desbois

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