| .45 Colt | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Type | Revolver | |
| Place of origin |  United States |
|
| Service history | ||
| Used by | United States |
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| Production history | ||
| Designer | US 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 | ||
| Bullet weight/type | Velocity | Energy |
| 255 gr (16.5 g) Lead SWC | 961 ft/s (293 m/s) | 523 ft·lbf (709 J) |
| 200 gr (13 g) XTP | 1,032 ft/s (315 m/s) | 473 ft·lbf (641 J) |
| 230 gr (15 g) XTP | 969 ft/s (295 m/s) | 480 ft·lbf (650 J) |
| 250 gr (16 g) XTP | 929 ft/s (283 m/s) | 479 ft·lbf (649 J) |
| Test barrel length: 7.5 inches (190 mm) Source: Accurate Powder[1] |
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The .45 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 also a common magnum level handgun hunting round in modern usage. This cartridge was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1875 and served as the official US military handgun cartridge for 17 years.
Contents |
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.
The cartridge, itself, was of outside lubricated type, but 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 also 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 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 also saw resurgance as a cartridge in handgun hunting and Metallic Silhouette Shooting competitions in the 1960s with the introduction of stronger heavier framed handguns. It also became the basis for rounds such as the .454 Casull.
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 (2.6 g) of blackpowder behind a 255-grain (16.5 g) lead bullet. These loads developed muzzle velocities of up to 1000 feet per second (305 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. 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. It was an accurate chambering for a pistol of the time, and remains so today.
Today's standard factory loads develop around 400 ft·lbf (542 J) of muzzle energy at about 860 feet per second (262 m/s), making it somewhat more powerful than the .45 ACP. There are also Cowboy Action Shooting loads which develop muzzle velocities of around 750 feet per second (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, 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.[1]
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 powder charge and 250-gr. bullet. This was reduced to 35 grs. of powder, and later, by the Army, to 28 grs.
Over 130 years after its introduction, the .45 Colt still enjoys a wide range of uses. The .45 Colt 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. A two-barrel derringer is also still sold that is chambered in .45 Colt, and these derringers will also chamber a .410 bore shotgun shell without any modifications being required. 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.
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 in this caliber.
Comparisons with other cartridges
The .45 Colt is 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 also chamber and fire .45 Colt, but the inverse is impossible due to the Casull's longer case.
The .45 Colt, when loaded to its potential, produces greater power with less recoil and chamber pressure than a .44 Magnum. All of this is achieved with a larger caliber bullet.[1]
The .460 S&W Magnum is an even longer version of the .454 Casull and the .45 Colt. Likewise, .460 Magnum revolvers can also chamber and fire the two lesser calibers, but again, the inverse is impossible.
Original name
The designation ".45 Long Colt" originated amongst military personnel to prevent confusion with the smaller .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.[3]
See also
References
- ^ a b .45 Colt data from Accurate Powder.
- ^ John Taffin (July 2001). "The Custom Loading .45 Colt". Guns Magazine. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_7_47/ai_75287317.
- ^ Colt's Manufacturing Co., Inc. Single Action Army Revolver
External links
- Colt's Double-Action Revolver Caliber .45: Official War Department Manual, 1913 Description, parts, operation, service, ballistics
- Handloads.com article on the .45 Colt
- Another article on the .45 Colt, by Chuck Hawks
- Article on the .45 Colt and the handloading therof
- John Linebaugh discusses loading the .45 Colt
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
