Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Douglas
Also known as Long Colt.
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Lots of debate on that. While I have never actually held one in my hands, there are apparently period (late 19th century) ammo boxes so labelled.
There is a lot of debate concerning what the original military load was as well. Mike Venturino has researched this better than anyone else to date and, as far as I'm concerned, he has dispelled the myths and pretty well settled it.
Many will argue that the original load was a full 40 grains of black powder under a 255 grain bullet in a 1.285" case. Mr. Venturino has determined that the military load was actually only 28 grains of black powder, all other specs being the same.
The need to label it as the "Long Colt" came about with the military's adoption of the S&W Schofield revolver, which had a shorter cylinder and could only accept a 1.10" long case. It too was loaded with 28 grains of black powder, but with a 230 grain bullet.
Military logistics eventually demanded they fully adopt the shorter case that would work in both revolvers. Interestingly, the .45 ACP, in its original military loading, exactly matches the ballistics of the "Schofield" load, which was the intent.
Civilian loads were available with the full 40 grains of black powder and the 255 grain bullet. This is a pretty darn serious load, even by today's standards. Mine will break 900 fps in the 4 3/4" inch guns, and darn near touch 1,000 fps in the 7 1/2" versions. It wasn't until the introduction of the .44 magnum that any handgun cartridge did better than that. It's significantly more powerful than even the .357 magnum, which isn't bad for a black powder round dating from 1873.