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[QUOTE=cab83_750;4036580]I believe it is true that the reason why the U.S. military upgraded from .38 to .45 was when they were unable to stop Philippine Muslims from attacking using their machetes (sp?)....even after firing/unloading a clip.

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Pure genius here. All .38 caliber ammunition is not created equally. In 1889 Colt came out with their first swing out DA revolver. It was chambered in 38 Long Colt and later 4l LC. This 38 caliber was less powerfull than the later S&W 38 Spl. This was the revolver and claiber that was provided to the US troops in the late 1890's and early 1900's. In 1900 Colt came out with their first Auto pistol which was chambered in 38 ACP, this was later superceded by the 38 Super in 1928. The US Navy was supplied with a few of the Model 1900 Autos. However the US Army was not issued an Automatic as a standard side arm until the Colt 1911 made its debut in 1912. Until then it was the 1889 DA, New Service in 45 LC (Big Frame DA) which during WW1 was chamebred in 45 ACP and known as the model 1917, the venerable Colt SAA in 45LC which had been in service since 1874. There were test trials held by the US Army that included Luger in 45 ACP, Colts mdls 1900 in 38 ACP, 1905, 1907, 1910, Savage Auto in 45 ACP. Today an orginal Test Trials Luger in 45 Accp would be worth well over $1M.

Also that 38 LC cartridge was basically discontinued by 1908 when the Colt Mdl 1889 DA was redesigned to provide a stronger action to handle the 38 SPL. It was in the early 1930's when S&W and Colt started producing large frame DA's that could handle HOT 38 caliber loads. In 1935 S&W introduced the famed 357 Mag. It was a special oreder gun that you could have anyway you liked for a price. It came with a certificate of Registration. Today those early 357 Mag guns are very expensive going from $2500 for a reblue to $17,000 for an unusal barrel length in nib condition. Average price is around $8000.

The first of the 44 Mags was introduced in 1955, which was an improvment on the S&W 44 SPL. In the movie Dirty Harry, Clint Eastwood was shooting DOWNLOADED 44 Mags. So you came tame the 44 Mag by downloading the caliber. The same is true of the 458 Win Mag rifle cartridge you can make that into a plinker by downloading the ammo.

Other than that I hate guns and think that they all should be banned as too many mental defective types like to think they are going to be shooting terroroist muslims looting and pillaging their hoods.