.45 Colt
| .45 Colt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Type | Revolver | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of origin |  United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Used by | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Production history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Designer | U.S. Army | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Designed | 1872 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Specifications | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Case type | Rimmed, straight | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bullet diameter | .454 (lead), .451 (jacketed) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Neck diameter | .480 in (12.2 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Base diameter | .480 in (12.2 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rim diameter | .512 in (13.0 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rim thickness | .060 in (1.5 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Case length | 1.285 in (32.6 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overall length | 1.600 in (40.6 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rifling twist | 1-38 in | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Primer type | Large pistol | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ballistic performance | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Test barrel length: 7.5 inches (190 mm) Source(s): Accurate Powder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The .45 Colt (also known as .45 Long Colt ) cartridge is a handgun cartridge dating to 1872. It began as a black powder revolver round developed for the Colt Single Action Army revolver, but is offered as a magnum level handgun hunting round in modern usage. This cartridge was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1873 and served as the official US military handgun cartridge for 19 years.
History
The .45 Colt was a joint development between Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company, of Hartford, Connecticut, and the Union Metallic Cartridge Company of Bridgeport, Conn. Colt began work on the revolver in 1871, and submitted a sample to the U.S. Army in late 1872. The revolver was accepted for purchase in 1873.[1]
The cartridge itself was an outside lubricated type, which eliminated the rebated heel type bullet, often attributed to a Russian designer. The .45 Colt replaced the .50 caliber Model 1871 Remington single shot pistol and the various cap-and-ball revolvers converted to take metallic cartridges in use at the time. While the Colt remained popular, the Smith & Wesson M1875 Army Schofield Revolver was approved as an alternate. The S&W revolver took a shorter cartridge, which would work in the Colt, so Frankford Arsenal, then almost exclusive supplier of small arms ammunition to the U.S. Army, dropped production of the Colt round. The M1875 round was replaced by the .38 Long Colt in 1892. In 1909, the .45 M1909 round was issued along with the Colt New Service revolver. This round was never loaded commercially, and is almost identical to the original Colt round, except having a larger diameter rim. The rim is large enough that it cannot be loaded in adjacent chambers in the rod-ejector Colt model.
The .45 Colt remains popular with renewed interest in Cowboy Action Shooting. However, the round has seen resurgence as a cartridge in handgun hunting and Metallic Silhouette Shooting competitions beginning in the 1950s with the introduction of stronger heavier framed handguns. It became the basis for rounds such as the .454 Casull.[2][3]
Cartridge loads
The .45 Colt originally was a blackpowder cartridge, but modern loadings use smokeless powder. The original blackpowder loads called for 28 to 40 grains (1.8 to 2.6 g) of blackpowder behind a 230-to-255-grain (14.9 to 16.5 g) lead bullet. These loads developed muzzle velocities of up to 1,000 ft/s (300 m/s).[2] Because of this power and its excellent accuracy the .45 Colt was the most-used cartridge at the time of its introduction, succeeding the .44 WCF (also known as the .44-40 Winchester). The .45 Colt never enjoyed the .44-40's advantage of a Winchester rifle chambered for it, allowing use of the same cartridge in both pistol and rifle.[4] Modern Winchesters, Marlins and replicas have remedied this omission almost 100 years after the fact and the .45 Colt is now available in modern lever-action rifles.[4]
Today's standard factory loads develop around 400 ft⋅lbf (540 J) of muzzle energy at about 860 ft/s (260 m/s), making it roughly equivalent to modern .45 ACP loads. There are Cowboy Action Shooting loads which develop muzzle velocities of around 750 ft/s (230 m/s).
Some very heavy handloads and some manufactured cartridges put this round in the same class as the faster .44 Magnum. Such loads are not issued by major companies such as Winchester and Remington. These loads cannot be used safely in any original Colt Single-Action Army or any replica thereof; such as those produced by Uberti, Beretta, the Taurus Gaucho, or the Ruger New Vaquero as these guns are built on the smaller frame with thinner cylinder walls. They should be used only in modern large-frame revolvers such as the Ruger Blackhawk, Redhawk, Ruger Vaquero (erroneously referred to as the "Old Model" to differentiate it from the "New Model"), Thompson Center Contender or any gun firing the .454 Casull cartridge. Modern rifles with strong actions (such as the Winchester Model 1894, Marlin Model 1894, and new clones of the Winchester Model 1892) chambered for the cartridge can safely handle the heavier loadings.[2]
Uses
Colt began work on their 1873 Single Action Army Model in 1871. Sample cartridges submitted for Army tests were made by UMC, using the Benet cup primers; commercial ammunition used the Berdan-type primer, followed by the more common Boxer priming. Original UMC loads used a 40-grain (2.6 g) powder charge and 250-grain (16 g) bullet. This was reduced to 35-grain (2.3 g) of powder, and later, by the Army, to 28-grain (1.8 g).
The .45 Colt cartridge remains in use 151 years after its introduction. It is used as a hunting load on animals the size of deer and black bear. Heavier handloads will take the same range of big game animals as the .44 Magnum. Several two-barrel derringers are sold that are chambered in .45 Colt, and some of these derringers can chamber a .410 bore shotgun shell without any modifications being required.[5] Similarly, .45 Colt cartridges are still fired occasionally, though not good for the shotguns, in .410-bore shotguns (with internal barrel choke removed) by U.S. farmers needing to kill a mule or horse humanely. However, the most popular use for the .45 Colt today is in Cowboy Action Shooting, where the round is fired from either original or replicas of the 1873 Colt Single-Action Army.[6]
Winchester, Marlin and other manufacturers produce lever-action rifles chambered in .45 Colt. Colt has resumed production of the Single-Action Army, and many SAA replicas and near-replicas as well as modern-design single-actions by Ruger are chambered for this cartridge.
The Taurus Judge has brought back the .45 Colt. The Judge comes in many different models, mainly used as a small concealable revolver, with devastating power. As mentioned above, the .45 Colt and .410 shotgun shell have a similar size and The Judge can chamber both. It's versatility allows it to be effective from close and long range, the .45 Colt helping with the latter.
Comparisons with other cartridges
The .45 Colt, when loaded to its potential, produces greater power with less recoil and chamber pressure than a .44 Magnum.[3] The .45 Colt became the basis for the much more powerful .454 Casull cartridge, with the .454 Casull having a slightly longer and stronger case. Any .454 Casull revolver will chamber and fire .45 Colt, but the inverse is impossible due to the Casull's longer case. The .460 S&W Magnum is an even longer version of the .454 Casull and the .45 Colt. Likewise, .460 Magnum revolvers can chamber and fire the two lesser cartridges, but again, the inverse is impossible.
Original name
The designation ".45 Long Colt" originated amongst military personnel to prevent confusion with the shorter-cased .45 Schofield. It has become a popular alternative name for the cartridge, and adopted by Colt for use in designating the chambering in its own Single Action Army revolvers.[7]
Gallery
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.45 Colt shown along side other cartridges. From left to right: .30-06, 7.62×39 mm, .454 Casull, .45 Colt, .357 Magnum, .38 Special, .45 Auto, 9mm, .380, .22 Long Rifle -
.45 Long Colt cartridge featuring a jacketed hollow point bullet -
All-lead hollow point and flat nose .45 Colt cartridges -
Cartridges .45 Colt
See also
References
- ^ Taffin, John (2005). Single Action Sixguns. Krause Publications. pp. 39–41. ISBN 978-0873499538.
- ^ a b c Taffin, John (2001). "The Custom Loading .45 Colt". Guns Magazine. Retrieved 02/14/2011.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|author link=ignored (|author-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ a b Taffin, John (08/01/2010). "A half-century with sixguns: the really big bores". 8 (41). FMG. Retrieved 02/14/2011.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help); Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ a b Venturino, Mike (1998). "Slingin' Lead". Popular Mechanics. 175 (4). Jay McGill: 76–79.
{{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ Ahern, Jerry (2010). Gun Digest Buyer's Guide to Concealed-Carry Handguns. F&W Media. pp. 207–208. ISBN 9781440213830.
- ^ Taffin, John (1997). Big Bore Sixguns. Krause Publications. pp. 33–37. ISBN 978-0873415026.
- ^ "Colt Firearms Catalog". Colt Website. Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC. 2010. Retrieved 02/14/2011.
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