Although I can get hotter loads in .45 Colt, the basic .45 ACP was designed to replicate the ballistics of the old .45 Colt cartridge (not today's "Ruger-only" loads).
Actually, the .45 ACP was designed to replicate the .45 Army/.45 Schofield ballistics, which are less than the original .45 Colt, but still pretty good for the usual jobs.
Carguychris pretty well nailed it. The only thing I can think of he left out was plain old curiosity, but he might consider that covered under "novelty".
One thing I do disagree with, slightly is the cost of the ammo being a major factor. Maybe its a sign of modern times, and I just don't see it, I don't know for sure. But I do know that in close on a half century of handgunning, I've never met anyone who bought a revolver in a given caliber because the ammo was cheaper than another caliber.
It might be a plus you figure in, but I've never met anyone who claimed it was the primary reason they chose a caliber.
Back in the day, people chose a caliber because of what it did, (and guns for the same reason), and what the ammo cost was just the price of doing business. If you needed or wanted cheaper ammo, you took up handloading!
Of course, that was before the ammo bubble broke. One year I bought a box of .45 Colt for $22. The next year same ammo, same store, $38! While it was a shock (and pretty much ended my buying factory ammo) it wasn't crippling, because I had been handloading for decades.
I got a Ruger Blackhawk .45 Convertible (7.5" barrel) in 83. I love that gun. I originally got it with the idea of not having to search in the weeds for my .45ACP brass.
But, I made one small mistake. I got, and shot, a box of .45 Colt before I ever put any .45ACP rounds through the gun. First cylinder of .45 Colt, and I was hooked! In the 30+ years since, thousands of .45 Colt rounds have gone through that gun, but only about 300 .45ACP!
I have no interest in moon clipped DA revolvers. I do have one, a Webly Mk VI. (1917), but its hardly in the class of the moon clipped "combat" revolvers offered today.
I keep hearing how the clips are faster than speedloaders. I just don't see it. Maybe one of the speedracer gamesmen can get a tiny advantage out of it, but I don't think most people with some degree of practice below top competitors really can.
You still have to go through all the same motions with a moon clip you do with a speedloader, absent only the twist of the speedloader knob, IF you have that kind of speedloader. SO that's what, half a second? maybe?
I think that if I'm in a situation where that tiny fraction of time difference between a moon clip and a speedloader , on the
reload of a revolver,is what kills me, then I was in a situation so far beyond my skillset I was going to die no matter what.
Speedstrips are noticeable slower, possibly enough to really matter, but again, if you have to reload your revolver in a real world shootout, you're in pretty bad shape already. They are still faster than fumbling with loose cartridges out of your pocket, though.
I think most of the perceived advantage of the moon clip comes from games, where a reload is part of the game. I have seen many "combat" type matches where a reload was required at a certain point in the course, no matter what you were shooting, or how many rounds you still had in it.
But I'm not interested in "Ruger-only" loads, so anything I might load up wouldn't be significantly different in ballistics from my .45 ACP reloads.
I can see the sense in that, in your situation, because of what you are looking to get out of the gun. But I would like to point out, even if you aren't load it, there is a level of .45 Colt performance that I consider significantly above .45ACP, and below what are considered "Ruger only" handloads.
The original .45 Colt load gives about 100fps over .45ACP, with a bullet more than 10% heavier. And the classic max level loads for Colt SAAs double that.
I think that is a significant difference, in a handgun. No, not a tremendous, huge difference, like between a "special" and a "magnum", but a significant difference just the same.
You could match this with ACP brass in a Ruger I suppose, but if you did, you'd essentially be creating "Ruger only" loads for the .45ACP. In name, if not by actual need.
But you would be exceeding SAAMI specs, I should think.
A revolver in an auto pistol caliber makes fine sense, if you already have ammo in that caliber, or that caliber is all you can easily get.
Some people shoot a revolver better than they do an autopistol. If I were wedded to an autopistol caliber (.45 or 9mm) for some reason, I would use and autopistol, but for my
wife, I would get a DA revolver in that autopistol caliber.
For her, at her level of skill (moderate), and interest (low), the revolver is clearly a better choice as a defense gun. (and assuming she doesn't go for the 12ga first!
)
So there are situations where a revolver in an autopistol cartridge makes sense, and the reverse is also true. Its just that those situations are not as frequent as general use for the majority of people.
