What exactly is the .45 Long Colt? What does it derive from? I've seen it mentioned in a couple of threads here and am just curious. I know, too, that S&W and some others chamber some models for this round. Any thoughts on the pros and cons of this cartridge. Is it expensive to buy ammo for?
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.45 Long Colt
- Thread starter antenna
- Start date
Hi, Antenna,
Actually there is no such round as the .45 Long Colt. The correct name is just .45 Colt. But folks wanted to distinguish between it and the .45 Automatic Colt Pistol (ACP) cartridge and took to calling the older and longer cartridge the .45 "Long" Colt.
The .45 Colt was developed in the early 1870s for the Model 1873 Colt single action revolver that was adopted by the U.S. Army. Colt later made the gun is many other calibers, but the first and (I think) most common was the .45, primarily because that was the service cartridge.
The .45 Colt is a good, accurate cartridge, but has never been "souped up" by the factories because of the many older guns chambered for it and because of the weakness of the older cartridges. With modern cartridges, a modern revolver and good reloading, it can approach the .44 Magnum.
One of the drawbacks of the .45 Colt is the small rim, which was necessary to get six cartridges in a cylinder within the limitations of the old Colt Navy frame, which was the basis of the 1873 SAA. Since the rim was not needed for extraction in a single action revolver with an ejector rod, its size was not too important, but it makes reloading a little harder.
Jim
Actually there is no such round as the .45 Long Colt. The correct name is just .45 Colt. But folks wanted to distinguish between it and the .45 Automatic Colt Pistol (ACP) cartridge and took to calling the older and longer cartridge the .45 "Long" Colt.
The .45 Colt was developed in the early 1870s for the Model 1873 Colt single action revolver that was adopted by the U.S. Army. Colt later made the gun is many other calibers, but the first and (I think) most common was the .45, primarily because that was the service cartridge.
The .45 Colt is a good, accurate cartridge, but has never been "souped up" by the factories because of the many older guns chambered for it and because of the weakness of the older cartridges. With modern cartridges, a modern revolver and good reloading, it can approach the .44 Magnum.
One of the drawbacks of the .45 Colt is the small rim, which was necessary to get six cartridges in a cylinder within the limitations of the old Colt Navy frame, which was the basis of the 1873 SAA. Since the rim was not needed for extraction in a single action revolver with an ejector rod, its size was not too important, but it makes reloading a little harder.
Jim
The .45 Colt is one of my all time favorite cartridges. But, like Jim said, factory loadings are weak due to the older guns still out there. To really appreciate this round you have to be a reloader. Here's where its great versatility comes into play. You can load light plinking rounds using 185 gr wadcutters intended for the .45 acp or you can whip up some monster bear busters using 300+ gr bullets at magnum velocities. But, you must be careful to match the load to the gun as the heavy hunting loads could damage older designs such as tne Colt SAA and its clones. The best gun for this round is the Ruger Blackhawk as it can handle just about any load you want to use.
As for myself, I experimented with heavy loads for a while and eventually gave most of them up. If I had wanted a magnum, I'd have bought one. Besides, at reasonable handgun ranges, any game shot with a standard velocity .45 Colt is gonna be just as dead as if you hit it with a .44 Magnum and you don't have near as much noise and recoil to deal with.
As for myself, I experimented with heavy loads for a while and eventually gave most of them up. If I had wanted a magnum, I'd have bought one. Besides, at reasonable handgun ranges, any game shot with a standard velocity .45 Colt is gonna be just as dead as if you hit it with a .44 Magnum and you don't have near as much noise and recoil to deal with.
Jim,
I thought the Long designation was meant to seperate it from the .45 round used by Smith and Wesson in the Schofield, not the .45acp which came about a few decades later.
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CCW for Ohio action site.
http://www.ofcc.net
Do what you C.A.N.
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I thought the Long designation was meant to seperate it from the .45 round used by Smith and Wesson in the Schofield, not the .45acp which came about a few decades later.
------------------
CCW for Ohio action site.
http://www.ofcc.net
Do what you C.A.N.
http://thematrix.acmecity.com/digital/237/cansite/can.html
Yep, that's true about the Schofield round. Its just a slightly shorter version of the .45 Colt. You're also right that the .45 Schofield ammo would work in the Colt guns but the .45 Colt was too long for the Schofield Revolver. What most people don't know is that once the Schofield revolver went into general issue, the standard issue ammo to all cavalry troops became the shorter and weaker .45 Schofield round since it was easier to maintain a single ammo supply for both weapons.
Ruger calls it .45 Long Colt in their catalog. A little annoying, but no big deal.
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Protect your Right to Keep and Bear Arms!
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Protect your Right to Keep and Bear Arms!