Several gun writers have recreated the original loadings listed by Colt and Winchester for the .45, and using original components such as ballon-head cases, black powder and bullet molds, have clocked velocities around 1000 fps from 7 inch barreled 1873 SAA's. These velocities were noted in original documents from the Army and the manufacturers. The recoil, as you can imagine was stout, so it was throttled back to about 800 to 850 fps. Some say it was to improve shooter accuracy and others say it happened about the time the .45 Schofield was accepted as a secondary round and it could not be loaded to a higher velocity.