.45 lc???

[ar10]

Can someone please explain what the difference is between .45 Colt and .45 Long Colt.
I think "long colt" came from the good 'ol days from the military to keep the shorter .45 Scofield from being mixed up with the .45 colt.
The reason I ask is I have a number of .45 colt and .45 LC headstamps but there's no difference on the length of the case.

 

[rcmodel]

There was in fact a .45 Short Colt sold commercially for a while 100+ years ago.

I have heard the Military Scofield explanation also. But the Scofield round had a larger rim and could only fit in a Colt SAA if you loaded every other chamber.
And they also had another shorter GI round with the small .45 Colt rim that would work in both Colt SAA & S&W revolvers.

Seems more likely to me having both .45 Short Colt and .45 Long Colt on the shelf side by side at the dry goods store makes more sense though.

Heres a good link about it:
http://www.leverguns.com/articles/taylor/45_short_colt.htm

rc

 

[rogn]

But all the brass you have is acceptable to load- its within manufacturers tolerances the same brass.

 

[redneck2]

Way long ago there was a shorter version that was 45 Colt or 45 Colt Government, hence the term "long" Colt used today. It was made from 1870 to the 1930's to fit Schofield revolvers and also work in regular 45 Colt's chambers. It was an attempt to make ammo interchangeable in remote areas with limited supplies.

Today AFAIK, they're exactly the same and either term applies.

 

[wobble]

You certainly have to make a distinction today when buying ammo because if you ask a gunstore clerk for a box of .45s, you'll almost certainly get .45 ACP.

 

[LightningMan]

rcmodel is correct as I have a few of these old rounds. I have some Schofield rounds also. In comparison using a caliper these are the differences I get. The Schofield rounds head stamp; "UMC .45 S&W" and its rim measures .520. The .45 (short) Colt head stamp; "WRA Co. .45 COLT" and its rim measures .505. The case lenght is nearly the same, within .005, at about 1.110. While the so called (Long-Colt) version head stamp; "WRA Co. .45 COLT" has an identical stamping & rim diameter to its shorter cousin, the case length is 1.285. LM

 

[ar10]

I have a couple of hundred cases I picked up after the cowboy action shoots they're mixed in with some of the rifle cases, ie 38-40's, and even some 454 Casull's are in the same bag. When I pick them up I don't look at headstamps until I get them home. When I get a chance I'll sort and measure them.

I read RC's link but it's still isn't that clear yet.

 

[rcmodel]

.45 Schofield = 1.100" case length, .520" rim dia..

.45 Short Colt = 1.100" case length, .512" rim dia..

.45 Colt = 1.285" case length, .512" rim dia..

.454" Casull = 1.383" case length, .512" rim dia.

It's very unlikely you will ever see a .45 Short Colt case unless someone trimmed them down from .45 LC to salvage split cases or something.

rc

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Actually, there really is no reason to use the word "Long" with Colt in today's market. There is either .45 Colt or .45 S&W (Schofield) ammo available today. For the most part it's just a habit to say "Long Colt" but there's really no reason to.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

This is interesting. I didn't know about the short Colt round. So the S&W, Short Colt, (long) Colt should all chamber in the Casull. The S&W and Short Colt should chamber in the .45 Colt. And the S&W and Short Colt should interchange.

Were there any production guns chambered for the .45 Short Colt?

 

[Oyeboten]

There was also the .450 Adams, and English-London Colt Revolvers chambering it, and, supposedly, a need at the time, to distinguish it from other, longer .45 Colt Cartridges.

 

[loadedround]

I don't wish to get into a spitting contest with you guys, but the proper name for this cartridge is 45 Colt.

 

[Water-Man]

Short answer - none.

 

[Slamfire]

As long as people understand what you are describing, then it is not worth arguing over.

45 Colt versus 45 LC. Takes two less letters to type 45LC.

Might as well argue whether we should be calling the 38-40 the 38 WCF. Or the 44 Spl as the 44 S&W Spl.