.45 Colt
.45 Colt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Production history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Designer | U.S. Army | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Designed | 1872 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Produced | 1873–present | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Variants | .45 Colt +P | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Specifications | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Case type | Rimmed, straight | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Bullet diameter | .452 in (11.5 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Neck diameter | .480 in (12.2 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Base diameter | .480 in (12.2 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Rim diameter | .512 in (13.0 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Rim thickness | .060 in (1.5 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Case length | 1.285 in (32.6 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Overall length | 1.600 in (40.6 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Case capacity | 41.60 gr H2O (2.696 cm3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Rifling twist | 1 in 16 in (410 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Primer type | Large Pistol | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Maximum pressure (CIP) | 15,900 psi (110 MPa) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Maximum pressure (SAAMI) | 14,000 psi (97 MPa) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Ballistic performance | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The .45 Colt (11.43×33mmR), is a rimmed, straight-walled, handgun cartridge dating to 1872. It was originally a black-powder
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/.45_Colt_U.S._Army_ball_cartridge_diagram.jpg/220px-.45_Colt_U.S._Army_ball_cartridge_diagram.jpg)
The .45 Colt was a joint development between Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company (now known as
The cartridge is an inside lubricated type. The
In 1909, the newly adopted .45 M1909 cartridge was issued along with the .45 Colt New Service revolver. This round was never loaded commercially, and is almost identical to the original .45 Colt round, except having a larger diameter rim (.540 in (13.7mm)). The rim is large enough that it cannot be loaded in adjacent chambers in the rod-ejector Colt model.[4]
The .45 Colt remains popular with renewed interest in
Cartridge loads
The .45 Colt originally was a
The .45 Colt at that time did not enjoy the .44-40's advantage of a Winchester rifle chambered for it being available, thus allowing the use of the same cartridge in both a pistol and a rifle.
While this aforementioned rumor has been one of the numerous arguments used to explain the lack of a rifle chambered in .45 Colt, it may have simply been a case of Colt refusing to authorize the use of their patented .45 Colt cartridge in other manufacturers’ arms. Only after the expiration of Colt‘s original patents for the .45 Colt did it become available in a rifle.[7] This, however, does not explain the absence of a .45 Colt chambering (or indeed any of Colt's own cartridges) in the Colt-Burgess lever-action or Colt Lightning slide-action rifles. Thus lending more credence to the rumored basic problem with Colt's revolver cartridges when used in rifles. (The modern .45 Colt cartridge rim is still narrow, but features an extractor groove cut into the base of the case, a feature common to most modern cartridges but not at all common in the late 19th century.)
The U.S. Army's .45 Colt round used in its
Cartridges of the World states that .45 Colt should never be loaded to more than 800 ft/s (240 m/s) in blackpowder revolvers.[9]
High pressure ammunition
Some handloads and factory-manufactured cartridges put this round in the same class as the
Handloading
Colt .45 revolvers made until early WWII had barrels with .454" groove diameters. After this diameters of .451–.452" were produced. Using .454" diameter bullets in the smaller barrels will work but will generate higher pressures. Cases used with .454" bullets may have to be full-length resized to work in newer guns.[11] Speer handloading guidance states that the loads they show should be used only in handguns made specifically for modern smokeless powder. The loads mentioned in No. 10 reloading manual state that they do not exceed 15,000 psi. This is the equivalent of +P loading as normal pressure for the .45 Colt is 14,000 psi.[11]
In a section specifically titled "45 Colt for Ruger or Contender only" Speer makes reference to velocities up to 1300 feet per second with 200-grain bullets. They also state that pressures do not exceed 25,000 psi (CUP). This is well beyond a pressure that can destroy even modern guns chambered in .45 Colt with the exception of the large frame Ruger Blackhawk, Ruger Redhawk, Freedom Arms Models 83 and 97, and the Dan Wesson.[11]
Uses
Colt began work on their 1873 Single Action Army Model in 1871. Sample cartridges submitted for Army tests were made by UMC, using the Benet cup primers; commercial ammunition used the Berdan-type primer, followed by the more common Boxer priming. Original UMC loads used a 40-grain (2.6 g) powder charge and 255-grain (16.5 g) bullet. This was reduced to 35-grain (2.3 g) of powder, and later, by the Army, to 28-grain (1.8 g).
The .45 Colt cartridge remains in use 151 years after its introduction. It is used as a
Influence on other cartridges
The .45 Colt became the basis for the much more powerful .454 Casull cartridge, with the .454 Casull having a slightly longer case utilizing a small rifle primer in place of the large pistol primer. Any .454 Casull revolver will chamber and fire the .45 Colt and the .45 Schofield, but not the inverse due to the Casull's longer case. The .460 S&W Magnum is a longer version of the .454 Casull cartridge. Likewise, .460 Magnum revolvers can chamber and fire the three shorter cartridges, but again, not the reverse.[14]
Gallery
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.45 Colt shown alongside other cartridges. From left to right: .30-06, 7.62×39mm, .454 Casull, .45 Colt, .357 Magnum, .38 Special, .45 ACP, 9×19mm Parabellum, .380 ACP, .22 Long Rifle
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.45 Colt cartridge featuring a jacketed hollow point bullet
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All-lead hollow point and flat nose .45 Colt cartridges
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.45 Colt cartridges
See also
References
- ISBN 978-0-87349-953-8.
- ISBN 0-87349-178-5.
- ISBN 1577470338.
- ^ United States. Army. Ordnance Dept (1917). Description of the Colt's double-action revolver, caliber .45, model of 1909 : with rules for management, memoranda of trajectory, and description of ammunition, September 10, 1909. University of California Libraries. Washington [D.C.] : G.P.O. p. 22.
- ISSN 1044-6257. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
- ^ Taffin, John (July 2001). "The Custom Loading .45 Colt". Guns. Archived from the original on August 26, 2007. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
- ^ a b Venturino, Mike (1998). "Slingin' Lead". Popular Mechanics. 175 (4). Jay McGill: 76–79.
- ^ U.S. Army Ordnance Department (1917). Description of the Colt's Double-Action Revolver, Caliber .45, Model of 1909, with Rules for Management, Memoranda of Trajectory, and Description of Ammunition. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. Page 11 and plate V.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4402-4265-6.
- ^ Taffin, John (2010). "Big and heavy". American Handgunner.
- ^ a b c Reloading Manual No. 10. Lewiston, ID: Speer - Omark Industries. 1979.
- ISBN 978-1-4402-1383-0.
- ISBN 978-0-87341-502-6.
- ISBN 978-0-89689-936-0.