john browning and colts .41 caliber prototype.. did i discover what it was?...

[Buzzcook]

The point is that the original .45 ACP cartridge was developed -- at the specific request of the Ordnance Department -- to replicate the external ballistics of the cartridge they were then using in the M1873 revolver. The cartridge they were using was not the .45 "Long" Colt but, as has been pointed out, the .45 "Short" Colt, or Schofield.

That's the first time I've heard that the .45acp was supposed to mimic the Schofield. I guess it is a better fit.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

Updated U.S. military specs for the .45 ACP cartridge, as of 1994. Not that this one says it is for both submachine guns and pistols. I believe the velocity as of 1994 was a bit higher in order to make it more effective out of sub guns. I don't believe the velocity was this high when the cartridge was adopted.

That's the first time I've heard that the .45acp was supposed to mimic the Schofield. I guess it is a better fit.

I'm not 100 percent certain on that. Wikipedia (the infallible) suggests that --

The .45 Schofield cartridge was shorter than the .45 Long Colt. It could be used in both the Schofield and the Colt 45 Peacemaker, but the .45 Long Colt was too long to use in the Schofield. As a result, by the 1880s the army finally standardized on a .45 cartridge designed to fire in both revolvers, the M1887 Military Ball Cartridge. The M1887 was made at Frankford Arsenal, and was issued only to the military. It had a shortened case and reduced rim; as it was short enough to fit the Schofield, and its rim was not needed for the rod-ejector Single Action Army, the M1887 would fire and eject from both revolvers.

-- however, they also say the velocity with a 230-grain bullet was only 750 fps, which is almost 100 fps slower than the spec for the .45 ACP. But -- the .45 Colt was either a 250-grain or 255-grain bullet, so ...

Plus, after 1887, the military's Frankford Arsenal was making ONLY the .45 Schofield, so that's what would have gone with the guns when they were reactivated for use in the Philippines. And that's what the Ordnance Department's caliber tests would have used for comparisons against the .38.

 

[Jim Watson]

The big impressive 1909 Colt New Service and its specific ammunition, a .45 "long" Colt with enlarged rim for simultaneous ejection, was no more powerful. Loads were in the 700 - 750 fps range using Bullseye or RSQ smokeless.

The other face of the new overloaded ammo in old guns coin is that it would not be smart to pound your mild steel WW I 1911 with fresh Ranger T +P, either.