.416 Weatherby Magnum
Taking advantage of this momentum, Weatherby introduced their own .416 cartridge in 1989; it was based on the .378 Weatherby Magnum cartridge, which was necked up to accept a .416 in (10.6 mm) bullet.


.416 Weatherby Magnum, Design
In traditional Weatherby fashion, a Weatherby cartridge would outclass similar-caliber cartridges with regard to the performance of the cartridge. To accomplish this task Weatherby relied on one of the largest commercial sporting cartridge cases available. The .416 Weatherby Magnum uses the same case as the .378 Weatherby Magnum and the .460 Weatherby Magnum. The case design was inspired by the .416 Rigby cartridge and features a belt and Weatherby’s signature double-radius venturi shoulder.


.416 Weatherby Magnum, Design
Unlike the .416 Ruger and the .416 Remington, the .416 Weatherby Magnum requires an extra-large bolt face and large magnum action to contain the cartridge due to its oversized dimensions. Putting this in perspective, the .416 Weatherby Magnum has a case capacity of 140 gr. of water (9.09 cm3), an increase of 31% over that of the .416 Remington Magnum case.


.416 Weatherby Magnum, Design
The .416 Weatherby Magnum has been standardized by both the CIP and SAAMI. SAAMI recommends a 6-grooved barrel with a bore Ø of .408 in (10.4 mm) and a groove Ø of .416 in (10.6 mm) with a twist rate of one revolution in 14 in (360 mm). Weatherby's pressure rating is 65,000 psi (4,500 bar); however; Weatherby's own factory ammunition is loaded to lower pressure levels than this maximum. As with other Weatherby cartridges, there are discrepancies between SAAMI and CIP dimensions. This is arises from the CIP's treatment of the double-venturi case, shoulder and neck area of the cartridge. the CIP attempts to treat the shoulder as a conventional shoulder with transitional radius between each of the segments.


.425 Westley Richards
The .425 Westley Richards is one of the classic African big-game rounds. It is a cartridge invented by Leslie Taylor of Westley Richards, a gunmaking firm of Birmingham England in 1909 as a proprietary cartridge for their bolt action rifles. The round has the unusual characteristic of having a rebated rim, one that is smaller in diameter than the case body. This allowed it to be used in converted Mauser 98 magazine rifles with a standard (.30-06 size) magazine length and bolt face. The rebated rim also allowed government game officers to use stripper clips for rapid reloads when culling rogue animals.


.429 DE
The .429 DE is a cartridge introduced in 2018 by Magnum Research for the Desert Eagle line of handguns.


.429 DE, Design
The .429 DE is a .50 AE case that is necked down to accept .429-diameter (10.9mm) bullets used in the .44 Magnum. The cartridge features a 25% increase in velocity and 45% increase of energy over a standard 240-grain .44 Magnum load. The .429 DE offers increased speed and accuracy over the .50 AE due to its lighter and slimmer projectile. Also, due to its use of the same cartridge design, one can easily convert a .50 AE Desert Eagle to .429 DE with only a barrel change. Magazines and bolts will both interchange between .50 AE and .429 DE. Though very similar to the obsolete .440 Cor-Bon, it is not interchangeable with that cartridge. The same bolt and magazines can be used as the .50 AE-chambered Desert Eagle.


.43 Egyptian
The .43 Egyptian was a copper and brass centerfire cartridge used by the Egyptian Army and France for the No. 1 Remington Military Rifle, a rolling block rifle. Used between 1870 and the end of the First World War, it is closely linked to the .43 Spanish.


.43 Egyptian, History of use
The Egyptian government originally planned to use the Egyptian .43 cartridge in 1868 "as a matter of national prestige" with 60,000 No. 1 Remington rifles order from Remington. Egypt however was initially unable to meet the payments and the rifles and cartridges were sent to France for use during the Franco-Prussian War. The order was eventually completed in 1876.


.43 Egyptian, History of use
Distribution was wide in the Middle East and use continued in the civilian population. It was fired at the British Army in the Mahdist War, and production continued towards 1916.


.43 Spanish
The .43 Spanish was a centerfire firearms cartridge developed by  Remington  designers around 1867. It was used in early rolling block rifles that Remington manufactured for the government of Spain. The cartridge is also referred to as the .433 Spanish, "11mm Spanish", and identical cartridges for the US Peabody rifle were marked "U.M.C. 43-77".


.43 Spanish, History
The .43 Spanish cartridge was produced after Spain purchased the newly invented rolling-block action. The breech-loading firearm, which was marketed by Sam Remington, impressed the Spaniards after their own evaluation. In 1869, the Spanish government put in an order for 10,000 rifles. Aside from the firearms, however, they also wanted their own cartridge and Remington manufactured the .43 Spanish. It was produced in two variants: the bottlenecked .43 Spanish (11.15 x 57R Remington Spanish) and the straight-walled case .43 Spanish Reformado (11.4 x 57R Reformado).


.43 Spanish, History
The cartridge was almost similar to the .44-77 cartridge except for the difference in their diameters. The Spanish military version of the cartridge was later upgraded in 1889 to a "heavier, brass-jacketed reformado bullet". While Remington stopped manufacturing the cartridge in 1918, its use in the United States became widespread after World War II because it was sold as a surplus.


.43 Spanish, "Poison bullet"
The .43 Spanish used a .454-inch diameter bullet that weighed 396 grains. Its 1,280 fps was powered by 74 grains of powder. Instead of solid lead bullet, the .43 Spanish used a brass-jacket bullet, which was considered unusual because cupronickel, gilding metal, and copper clad steel were preferred for bullet jackets during the period. It was also the reason why American soldiers suspected that the Spaniards used poison in their bullet during the Spanish-American War. It corroded in the tropics, producing a powdery pale green verdigris once they are exposed to high humidity or salty sea air over time. The brass component, however, improved bullet penetration.


.44 Bull Dog
The .44 Bull Dog  was an American centerfire revolver cartridge produced from the 1880s until the 1930s.


.44 Bull Dog, Description
No known firearm was chambered exclusively for the .44 Bull Dog cartridge:  It was a shorter and less powerful option for use in revolvers chambered for the .44 Webley cartridge (American name of the British .442 Webley revolver round). The .44 Bull Dog cartridge was manufactured in the US and Canada, probably for those bothered by the sharp recoil of the more powerful .44 Webley round in such small guns, or who were particularly cost conscious. (Typically, in the late 19th century U.S., a box of .44 Bull Dog cartridges cost $0.68 for 50 rounds, compared to $0.90 for 50 of the longer .44 Webley round. The .44 Bull Dog and .44 Webley cartridges continued to be commercially offered in the U.S. until 1938 or 1939.) Also, the Bull Dog was very easy to carry.


.44 Bull Dog, Description
Webley's British Bulldog revolver was a popular and widely copied self-defense or "pocket" gun (so named for being designed early 1870s to be carried in a pocket. Today such guns might be a known as a snubnose or carry gun).


.44 Bull Dog, Description
A black powder round, the .44 Bull Dog, as manufactured by firms such as Winchester, used a 168–170 grain bullet and 15 grains powder, compared to a 200–230 grain bullet and 17–20 grains powder for the parent .44 Webley round. It proved a great deal better than contemporary rimfire rounds, being in a class with the .41 Short Colt. However,  by modern standards, the .44 Bull Dog was an extremely marginal round, not really suitable for anything but close range, which is how it normally would have been defensively used.


.44 Colt
The .44 Colt is an American centerfire revolver cartridge that was produced commercially from 1871 to 1940.


.44 Colt, History
The cartridge was developed by Colt's Patent Firearms for use in cartridge revolvers based on the 1860 Army percussion revolver. The cartridge was briefly adopted by the United States Army, around 1871. The Army used it until 1873, at which time it was replaced by the better known and more powerful .45 Colt cartridge used in the recently adopted Colt Single Action Army revolver.


.44 Colt, History
The .44 Colt was made for use in the Richards-Mason conversion of Colt's 1860 Army percussion revolver. The conversion process involved boring through the chambers of the obsolete cap and ball revolvers and adding a breech-plate with a gated loading port to enable them to chamber centerfire metallic cartridges.


.44 Colt, History
This process left a chamber of uniform diameter, with no step at the front. Thus the bullet and the brass case were made the same diameter,  .451-.454 in, with a short "heel" section at the base of the bullet of smaller diameter inserted in the mouth of the case, similar to the construction of .22 rimfire ammunition.


.44 Colt, History
Modern .44 Colt ammunition is dimensionally similar to .44 Special with regard to bullet diameter and case width, the main exceptions being the shorter case length and smaller rim diameter.


.44 Colt, Ballistics
The original .44 Colt loading used a heeled,  outside lubricated bullet. The major diameter of the bullet was approximately the groove diameter (.451 in) of the converted ".44" cap and ball revolver. The smaller "heel" at the base of the bullet was sized to fit inside the brass case at approximately .430 in.


.44 Colt, Ballistics
Upon firing, the ductile soft lead bullet (alloys of pure to nearly pure lead were used) allowed the base of the bullet to "bump up" to first the chamber diameter in the cylinder, then jump the gap, through the forcing cone into the rifling. This is effective with black powder, but less so with smokeless powder. Alloying the lead with tin or antimony to harden it makes this nearly impossible. Use of hard alloys typically leads to poor accuracy.


.44 Colt, Ballistics
Benet cup and Martin-type primers were later replaced by more reliable Boxer type primers.


.44 Colt, Ballistics
The ballistic performance of the original .44 Colt is comparable to the .44 Remington, and less powerful than modern .44 Russian loads. Cases for the modern .44 Colt-chambered handguns are typically made using trimmed .44 Magnum, .44 Special, or .44 Russian brass and a historically inaccurate .429 lead bullet. (As opposed to the older "heeled bullets" with a larger, .451 in diameter outside lubricated bullet. ).


.44 Colt, Ballistics
Commercial black powder and smokeless ammunition remained available until around 1940, by which time the .44 Colt had been entirely supplanted by more modern handgun cartridges such as the .38 Special and .44 Special.


.44 Colt, Ballistics
The modern sport of cowboy action shooting has stimulated renewed interest in obsolete revolver cartridges like .44 Colt and, for the first time in nearly 100 years, commercially produced .44 Colt ammunition is available. Brass is available from Starline and can be made by trimming the length of .44 Special cases.


.44 Henry
The .44 Henry, also known as the .44 Rimfire, the .44 Long Rimfire, or the 11x23mmR (11x23mm Rimmed) in Europe, is a rimfire rifle and handgun cartridge featuring a .875 in (22.2 mm)-long brass or copper case. The round has a total overall length of 1.345 in (34.2 mm), with a 200 or 216 gr (12.96 or 14.00 g; 0.46 or 0.49 oz) .446 in (11.3 mm)-diameter cast solid-lead heeled bullet. The original propellant load is 26 to 28 gr (1.68 to 1.81 g; 0.06 to 0.06 oz) of black powder. The round has a muzzle velocity of approximately 1,125 ft/s (343 m/s), giving a muzzle energy of 568 foot-pounds (770 joules).


.44 Henry, Background
The cartridge is named after the intended firearm of use, the Henry rifle, which is in turn named after Benjamin Tyler Henry the 19th-century American gunsmith who invented both the cartridge and the rifle of that name. Henry designed both in his spare time while he was the foreman of the New Haven Arms Company, and was granted a US patent for his creations on October 16, 1860. While it was not the first repeating rifle, it was one of the first successful designs (alongside the Spencer rifle), and it provided the basis for the iconic Winchester rifle.


.44 Henry, Background
Part of the Henry rifle's great success was due to the relatively novel self-contained metallic cartridge, which allowed a repeating mechanism to work. Other breechloaders of the time often relied on a simple, separate percussion cap for ignition, just like a typical muzzleloader of the era, and often used paper or linen cartridge cases, which provided no obturation, or sealing of the breech against the expanding gases (such as the Sharps rifle). Some utilized self-contained primers, but still lacked metallic cases (the Dreyse "needle gun"). While these one-shot breechloading weapons were great improvements over the muzzleloader, it required the adoption of the self-contained metallic case before repeaters could become viable weapons. The .44 Henry was an early self-contained metallic cartridge, and was one of the main reasons for the ultimate success of the Henry rifle.


.44 Henry, Ballistics
The cartridge's original 200-grain bullet had a flat nose. A bullet with a more pointed nose was later used in order to decrease aerodynamic drag and increase range. Even so, it still achieved a ballistic coefficient of only 0.153, which reflects very poor long range capabilities; the .44 Henry is a large and slow bullet, giving poor external ballistics and a great deal of ballistic drop during its trajectory, making hitting a target past 200 yards almost impossible for the average shooter.


.44 Henry, Ballistics
Modern comparisons to the .44 Henry rifle's ballistics would include such large-bore handgun cartridges as the 200 gr .45 ACP, and 200 gr .44 Special. Due to the vast advances in propellant and metallurgy technology, these latter can nearly achieve the Henry Rifle's velocity from a handgun, and do not even require the long barrel of a rifle to give equivalent velocity. By modern standards, the resulting effective range for the .44 Henry fired from a rifle on military targets or small to medium game would be well under 100 yards.


.44 Henry, Ballistics
However, when it was introduced in 1860, standards such as "effective range" to ensure a humane kill and a hit in a vital area were far more lax, and most hunters were accustomed to hunting game at short ranges in any case. Such performance was not unusual or remarkable, and the idea of weapons capable of engaging a target at hundreds of yards was generally reserved for dedicated, long-barreled target rifles and trained shooters. A .44


.44 Henry, Ballistics
Henry is not particularly less accurate than a muzzleloading Springfield carbine; a longer-barreled Springfield rifle musket could theoretically hit at ranges of up to 300 yd (270 m), but such performance was rarely within the ability of the average soldier, and was generally achieved only by designated "sharpshooters". For a typical infantry or cavalry soldier, or hunter, a rifle accurate at 100 yd (91 m) was sufficient. The ability to fire 16 rounds before reloading made the Henry's lack of long range capability even less of an issue.


.44 Henry, Use
The .44 Henry cartridge was used most notably in the Henry Model 1860 repeating rifle. This rifle was first used in the American Civil War, mainly by Union cavalry troops, although only in very limited numbers. It was also used by the very few Confederate troops who managed to capture one of these rifles along with a supply of ammunition, which was impossible to find in the Confederate south.


.44 Henry, Use
After the Civil War, the Henry cartridge was used in the Winchester Model 1866 rifles during the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878) by the Turkish troops and in the Franco-Prussian War 1870/71 by the French.


.44 Henry, Use
In civilian models, Winchester Model 1866 rifles and carbines, Smith & Wesson No. 3 Revolvers, Colt Model 1860 Army long cylinder conversion and the Colt Model 1871-72 "Open Top" revolvers were available in .44 Henry. From 1875 until 1880, Colt produced Model 1873 Single Action Armys in .44 Henry to accommodate owners of Henry Model 1860 and Winchester Model 1866 rifles and carbines.


.44 Henry, Later developments
The cartridge cases were originally made from copper, and later brass. The cartridge was still commercially made into the 1920s and 1930s.


.44 Henry, Later developments
The .44 Henry cartridge was perfected by George R. Stetson’s U.S. Patent 120403, assigned to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company on October 31, 1871. It has as its object the use of swaged and lubricated projectiles of greater perfection in shape.


.44 Magnum
The .44 Remington Magnum, also known as .44 Magnum or 10.9x33mmR, is a rimmed, large-bore cartridge originally designed for revolvers and quickly adopted for carbines and rifles. Despite the ".44" designation, guns chambered for the .44 Magnum round, and its parent, the .44 Special, use 0.429 in (10.9 mm) diameter bullets. The .44 Magnum is based on the .44 Special case but lengthened and loaded to higher pressures for greater velocity and energy.


.44 Magnum
Famously called "the most powerful handgun [cartridge] in the world" by Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry, the .44 Magnum has since been eclipsed in power by the .454 Casull,  .460 S&W Magnum, .480 Ruger, and .500 S&W Magnum; nevertheless, due in part to more manageable recoil it has remained one of the most popular commercial large-bore magnum cartridges.


.44 Magnum, Origin
The .44 Magnum cartridge was the end result of years of tuned handloading of the .44 Special. The .44 Special, and other large-bore handgun cartridges, were being loaded with heavy bullets, pushed at higher than normal velocities for better hunting performance. One of these hand-loaders was Elmer Keith, a writer and outdoorsman of the 20th century.


.44 Magnum, Origin
Keith settled on the .44 Special cartridge as the basis for his experimentation, rather than the larger .45 Colt. At the time, the selection of .44 caliber projectiles for hand-loaders was more varied, and the .44 Special's brass was thicker and stronger than the dated .45 Colt case. Also, the .44 Special case was smaller in diameter than the .45 Colt case. In revolvers of the same cylinder size, this meant that the .44 caliber revolvers had thicker, and thus stronger, cylinder walls than the .45. This allowed higher pressures to be used with less risk of a burst cylinder.


.44 Magnum, Origin
Keith encouraged Smith & Wesson and Remington to produce a commercial version of this new high-pressure loading, and revolvers chambered for it. Smith & Wesson's first .44 Magnum revolver, the precursor to the Model 29, was built on December 15, 1955, and the gun was announced to the public on January 19, 1956 for a price of US$140 ($1330 in 2020 dollars) Julian Hatcher (technical editor of American Rifleman) and Keith received two of the first production models. Hatcher's review of the new Smith & Wesson revolver and the .44 Magnum cartridge appeared in the March 1956 issue of the magazine. Smith & Wesson produced 3,100 of these revolvers in 1956.


.44 Magnum, Origin
By the summer of 1956, Sturm, Ruger became aware of this project and began work on a single action Blackhawk revolver for the new .44 Magnum cartridge. There is a popular rumor that states a Ruger employee found a cartridge case marked ".44 Remington Magnum" and took it to Bill Ruger, while another says a Remington employee provided Ruger with early samples of the ammunition. Ruger began shipping their new revolver in late November 1956.


.44 Magnum, Origin
The .44 Magnum case is slightly longer than the .44 Special case, not to make more room for propellant, but to prevent the far higher pressure cartridge from being chambered in older, weaker .44 Special firearms, thus preventing injuries and possible deaths.


.44 Magnum, Origin
The .44 Magnum was an immediate success, and the direct descendants of the S&W Model 29 and the .44 Magnum Ruger Blackhawks are still in production, and have been joined by numerous other makes and models of .44 Magnum revolvers and even a handful of semi-automatic models, the first being produced in the 1960s. The film Dirty Harry, prominently featuring the S&W M29 shooting .44 Special ammo, contributed to that model's popularity.


.44 Magnum, Origin
Ruger introduced its first long gun, a semi-automatic carbine called the Ruger Model 44 chambered for .44 Magnum, in 1959. Marlin followed soon after with the lever action Model 1894 in .44 Magnum. Having a carbine and a handgun chambered in the same caliber is an old tradition; the .44-40 Winchester was introduced by Winchester in a lever action in 1873, and Colt followed in 1878 with a revolver in the same caliber. The .38-40 Winchester and .32-20 Winchester were also available in both carbines and revolvers, allowing the shooter to use one type of ammunition for both firearms.


.44 Magnum, Origin
Although improved modern alloys and manufacturing techniques have allowed even stronger cylinders to be made, leading to larger and more powerful cartridges such as the .454 Casull and .480 Ruger in revolvers the same size as a .44 Magnum, the .44 Magnum is still considered an exceptional weapon. In 2006, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the .44 Magnum, Ruger introduced a special 50th anniversary Blackhawk revolver, in the "Flattop" style.


.44 Magnum, Technical specifications
The .44 Magnum delivers a large, heavy bullet with high velocity for a handgun. In its full-powered form, it produces so much recoil and muzzle blast that it is generally considered to be unsuitable for use as a police weapon. Rapid fire is difficult and strenuous on the user's hands, especially for shooters of smaller build or with small hands.


.44 Magnum, Technical specifications
Although marketed as a .44 caliber, the .44 Magnum and its parent .44 Special are actually .429-.430 caliber. The .44 designation is a carryover from the early measurements of heeled bullets, used in the late 19th century. In those times, bullets were measured on the outside of the cartridge, not the inside of the cartridge. After the .44 Russian was developed, the forefather of the .44 Special and thus the .44 Magnum, the measurement of bullet caliber was taken from inside of the cartridge, resulting in .429 caliber. Instead of confusing buyers who were used to .44 caliber revolvers, the original .44 designation was kept for market recognition.


.44 Magnum, Technical specifications
Some gun styles are more comfortable to use when shooting this caliber. Many shooters find the rounded grip shape of the single action better for handling heavy recoil than the grip shape of double-action revolvers, which have a shoulder on top of the grip. Many shooters consider the ideal type of grip for heavy recoiling guns to be the longer "Bisley" style single action grip, and it can be found on single actions from Ruger (models marked "Bisley") and Freedom Arms, as well as many custom makers.


.44 Magnum, Technical specifications, Dual-purpose use
The concept of a dual-purpose handgun/rifle cartridge has been popular since the Old West, with cartridges like the .44-40 Winchester, whose "high-speed" rifle loadings were precursors to magnum loads. Other dual-use rounds were the .32-20 Winchester and the .38-40 Winchester.


.44 Magnum, Technical specifications, Dual-purpose use
Some past dual-purpose cartridges, like the .44-40 Winchester, gave their manufacturers trouble when people loaded the "high-speed" versions designed for rifles into handguns. Since the .44 Magnum was designed from the start as a revolver cartridge, there are no such issues, and SAAMI-compliant ammunition fires from any handguns or rifles chambered for the .44 Magnum.


.44 Magnum, Technical specifications, Dual-purpose use
As a rifle or carbine cartridge the .44 Magnum is sufficiently powerful for medium-sized game, yet fits easily into a compact, lightweight package. In 1961, Ruger introduced their .44 carbine, the first .44 Magnum carbine. The lever-action Marlin Model 1894, and many other firearms are currently available in this caliber. With significantly longer barrels than revolvers and no cylinder gap (except in revolving rifles), carbines will generate a significantly higher velocity than a revolver loaded with the same ammunition.


.44 Magnum, Technical specifications, Dual-purpose use
Tests with various ammunition in the Ruger Deerfield yielded a 100 yd (91 m) velocity of over 1,300 ft/s (400 m/s) with a 240-grain (16 g) bullet, comparable to the muzzle velocity out of a revolver. Loads using slow burning powders maximize performance in both short and long barrels, with one published load generating 1,500 ft/s (460 m/s) from a revolver, and 1,625 ft/s (495 m/s) from a carbine with a 240-grain (16 g) bullet.


.44 Magnum, Technical specifications, Suitable game
The .44 Magnum is well suited for game up to elk size. With precise shot placement and deep-penetrating cartridges, it has even been used to take the largest of game, including Cape Buffalo. Publisher Robert E. Petersen took a record-setting polar bear with a Smith & Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum. It has even been used against elephants with success.


.44 Magnum, Technical specifications, Suitable game
In addition to beating the ballistics of the old .44-40 rifle loads, long considered a top deer cartridge, the heavy, flat-point bullets typically used in the .44 Magnum have an additional advantage. Tests performed where bullets are shot through light cover, intended to represent twigs and brush, have shown that the high-velocity, lightweight, thin-jacketed, pointed bullets used by most hunting cartridges today are easily deflected by contact with the brush. The ideal bullets for penetrating brush with minimal deflection are heavy, flat-point bullets at moderate velocities.


.44 Magnum, Technical specifications, Range
The accuracy of the .44 Magnum is very good, with models from Colt, Smith & Wesson, and Ruger producing bullet groups of 3 to 4 inches (7.6 to 10.2 centimetres) at 50 yards (46 m), with most ammunition. The limiting factor of the .44 Magnum cartridge is not terminal ballistics. When fired from a 6 in (150 mm) revolver, a typically loaded .44 Magnum 240 gr (16 g) bullet will have more impact energy at 150 yd (140 m) than a 246 gr (15.9 g) .44 Special has at the muzzle, when fired from the same weapon. When loaded with a heavy, non-expanding bullet, the .44 Magnum will easily shoot through large game such as elk and even bison.


.44 Magnum, Technical specifications, Range
The limiting factor is the bullet's trajectory: the best hunting bullets are heavy, so they are relatively slow. This means the projectile's trajectory will drop significantly at ranges beyond 100 yards (91 m);  there will be virtually zero significant drop at 50 yd (46 m), so the gun's aimed "line of sight" can meet the "bullet's trajectory" at the same point.


.44 Magnum, Technical specifications, Range
When drop-out at 100 yd (91 m) is about 2 inches (5.1 centimetres), the drop-out at 150 yards (140 m) is more than 8 inches (20 centimetres); with a 100 yd (91 m) zero drop-out, the drop-out at 150 yd (140 m) will still measure more than 6 inches (15 centimetres). Experts limit hunting ranges to 100 yards (91 m) when shooting .44 Magnum cartridges, less if practical accuracy requires it.


.44 Magnum, In popular culture
The .44 Magnum remained mildly popular among shooters for many years after its introduction, but did not come to the attention of the general public until 1971, when it was prominently featured in the American feature film  Dirty Harry starring Clint Eastwood. In one of the classic lines in cinema, title character "Dirty" Harry Callahan describes his Smith & Wesson Model 29 as "the most powerful handgun in the world". Although the more powerful .454 Casull wildcat cartridge was announced in 1959, the .44


.44 Magnum, In popular culture
Magnum was the most powerful production cartridge until the 1980s when the first production .454 Casull revolver was produced. The .44 Magnum was also bought and used by the character Travis Bickle in the 1976 film Taxi Driver during his assault on a brothel. The Taxi Driver soundtrack by Bernard Herrmann also features a song titled The .44 Magnum is a Monster.


.44 Magnum, In popular culture
Demand for the Model 29 increased so much that they were selling for up to three times suggested retail price. When the Model 29 could not be obtained, customers sought other handguns chambered in this caliber, such as the Ruger Redhawk.


.44 Remington Centerfire
The .44 Remington Centerfire (often referred to as .44 Remington C.F. or .44 Remington) was a centerfire revolver cartridge with a heeled, externally lubricated bullet produced by the Remington Arms Company from 1875 until 1895. Only one weapon, the Remington Model 1875, was chambered for this cartridge.


.44 Remington Centerfire, History
Remington introduced its first large-calibre centre-fire revolver in 1875, although many Model 1858 percussion revolvers had been converted to .44 Rimfire or .46 Rimfire cartridges, the latter with five-shot cylinders. The new Remington Model 1875 was initially produced in a cartridge of the company's own design, the .44 Remington Centerfire. The first customer for the new revolver was the Egyptian government, which ordered 10,000 of them. However, due to Egypt's failure to pay for an earlier order of Remington Rolling Block rifles, the order was never delivered. Remington apparently sold the revolvers on the open market to recoup its expenses.


.44 Remington Centerfire, History
Later examples of the Remington Model 1875 were chambered in .44-40 Winchester and .45 Colt calibres, and production of the .44 Remington Centerfire ended in 1895.


.44 Remington Centerfire, Technical background
Information about the .44 Remington Centerfire cartridge is rather scarce, with even firearms cartridge encyclopedias failing to mention it. Some sources claim that the cartridge was very close in dimensions and ballistics to the contemporary .44 Colt, to the point of the two being interchangeable, but others dispute this (see below for more information on the dimensions of the two cartridges). The .44 Remington Centerfire may also be confused with the .44-40 Winchester, due to the former habit of some US firearms companies of producing identical copies of their rivals' proprietary cartridges under their own designations.


.44 Remington Centerfire, Technical background
The .44 Remington Centerfire and .44 Special or .44 Remington Magnum are not the same cartridge.


.44 Remington Centerfire, Technical background
Case dimensions for the .44 Remington are: 0.480" rim diameter, 0.448" base diameter, 1.065" length. The cartridge contained a 0.447" diameter heeled bullet over 32 grains of black powder.


.44 Remington Centerfire, Technical background
The .44 Colt cartridge has a 0.456" base diameter, slightly wider than the .44 Remington, and this prevents it from being fully inserted into a .44 Remington chamber.


.44 Russian
The .44 Russian, also known as the .44 S&W Russian, is a black-powder center-fire metallic revolver cartridge developed by Smith & Wesson in 1870. The .44 Russian design marked the first use of an internally lubricated bullet in modern firearm ammunition.


.44 Russian, Development history
In the early 1870s, General Alexander Gorloff, the military attaché assigned to the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., approached Smith & Wesson about the possibility of negotiating a military sales contract for the purchase of a large number of Smith & Wesson Model 3 revolvers for the Imperial Russian Army.


.44 Russian, Development history
However, Gorloff had some reservations about the standard .44 S&W American chambering of the pistol which, similar to today's .22 long rifle, had an externally lubricated heeled bullet. Gorloff correctly recognized that such ammunition tends to pick up debris and contaminants which erode the bore when fired, so a qualification of the purchase contract was that Smith & Wesson develop an internally lubricated version of their .44 round.


.44 Russian, Development history
Smith & Wesson did so by reducing the diameter of the .44 bullet to .429 and adding lubrication grooves to its base. This evolutionary improvement became an archetype, influencing future cartridge designs.


.44 Russian, Development history
With improved firearm metallurgy available, Smith & Wesson increased the bullet weight of the new cartridge to 246 grains while retaining a heavy 23-grain black-powder propellant charge, which almost equaled that of the .44 American and produced a muzzle velocity of roughly 750 ft/s. As a result of these changes, the .44 Russian generated a much higher chamber pressure of 12,000 copper units of pressure (CUP) compared to the older .44 American round, which generated only 6,000–8,000 CUP.


.44 Russian, Development history
To prevent the new high-pressure ammunition from being fired in .44 American revolvers with disastrous results, the overall cartridge case length was increased by .06 in to 0.970 in. In addition, the cylinder design of the No. 3 revolver had to be changed from the straight bored .44 American configuration to a stepped arrangement which was .457 in at the rear of the cylinder to accept the case, and narrower from the case shoulder forward to give a tight fit for the smaller bore .44 Russian bullet.


.44 Russian, Development history
In 1872, while in the US, Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich visited the Smith & Wesson factory to review the progress of the Russian order. The American gun maker made him the gift of an engraved presentation Model 3 valued at more than $400 (equivalent to $8,600 in 2020). The Duke was also feted with a US government–paid buffalo hunting trip with Buffalo Bill Cody and US generals Philip Sheridan and George Armstrong Custer, where he was impressed with Cody's adeptness with firearms.


.44 Russian, Development history
Over 131,000 S&W Model 3 revolvers were eventually sold to the Russian Army. In addition to the S&W-made revolvers, Belgian-, Spanish- and German-made copies were adopted by several European countries and were used until the 1920s. The .44 Russian chambering became a hit in the domestic market as well, gaining a reputation as the first American revolver cartridge offering inherent accuracy. In time it set many records, eventually becoming known as an established target round, enabling skilled shooters to achieve 3-inch (76 mm) groups at 50 yards (46 m); notable for the time and still impressive today.


.44 Russian, Successor designs
The .44 Russian was the parent cartridge for the .44 Special introduced in 1907, which in turn was the parent to the .44 Magnum in 1956.


.44 Russian, Current loadings
A number of ammunition companies still manufacture .44 Russian ammunition:


.44 Russian, Current loadings
Additionally, Starline Brass makes new, unprimed cartridge cases in .44 Russian for handloaders.


.44 S&W American
The .44 S&W American (commonly called the .44 American) is an American centerfire revolver cartridge.


.44 S&W American, Description
Used in the Smith & Wesson Model 3, it was introduced around 1869. Between 1871 and 1873, the .44 Model 3 was used as the standard United States Army sidearm. It was also offered in the Merwin Hulbert & Co. Army revolvers.


.44 S&W American, Description
It used an outside lubricated heeled bullet and appeared in either Boxer and Berdan priming, and both black and smokeless powder loadings. The heeled bullets make the cartridge incompatible with .44 Russian, .44 Special, and .44 Magnum, which was made larger in diameter and longer to cover the exposed part of the bullet.


.44 S&W American, Description
Its power resembles the .41 Long Colt, .32-20 Winchester, or .44-40 Winchester, and it could be used to hunt small game at short range.


.44 S&W American, Description
The .44 American ceased to be commercially available around 1940. It can be handloaded by shortening and reforming .41 Magnum cases. Original black-powder revolvers should only use black-powder loads; modern powders will generate excessive pressures.


.44 S&W American, Description
During the gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881, Wyatt Earp carried an 8-inch .44-caliber 1869 American model Smith & Wesson. Earp had received the weapon as a gift from Tombstone, Arizona mayor and Tombstone Epitaph newspaper editor John Clum.


.44 Special
The .44 Smith & Wesson Special, also commonly known as .44 S&W Special, .44 Special, .44 Spl, .44 Spc, (pronounced "forty-four special"), or 10.9x29mmR is a smokeless powder center fire metallic revolver cartridge developed by Smith & Wesson in 1907 as the standard chambering for their New Century revolver, introduced in 1908.


.44 Special, Development history
On the late 19th century American frontier, large .44- and .45-caliber cartridges were considered the epitome of handgun ammunition for self-protection, home defense, and hunting. Black-powder rounds such as the .44 American, .44 Russian, .44 Colt, .44-40 Winchester, .45 Schofield, and .45 Colt enjoyed a well-earned reputation for effective terminal ballistics, accuracy, and reliability.


.44 Special, Development history
At the start of the 20th century, Smith & Wesson decided to celebrate by introducing a brand new revolver design which they called the New Century.


.44 Special, Development history
Smith & Wesson wished to pair their new revolver design with a worthy new ammunition chambering. At the time, smokeless powder was state of the art in ammunition technology. Older black-powder ammunition was in the process of being converted to smokeless. Smith & Wesson's popular .44 Russian cartridge had established a reputation for superb accuracy and was a renowned target load, and they decided to use an improved smokeless powder version as the basis for the new round.


.44 Special, Development history
Due to the lower energy density of the early semi-smokeless powders, prior efforts to convert the .44 Russian to smokeless had produced less than stellar ballistic performance. Smith & Wesson addressed this issue by lengthening the .44 Russian cartridge case by 0.190-inch (4.8 mm) and increasing the powder capacity by 6 grains (0.39 g). The resulting design, which S&W called the .44 Special, had a case length of 1.16-inch (29 mm).


.44 Special, Ballistics
Unfortunately the ballistics of the new cartridge merely duplicated the 246-grain (15.9 g) bullet @ 755 ft/s (230 m/s) statistics of the .44 Russian, when the powder capacity of its case would have supported performance rivaling that of the .45 Colt and close to the .44-40. Nevertheless, the .44 Special retained its progenitor's reputation for accuracy. The SAAMI maximum pressure standard for the .44 S&W special is 15,500 psi (107 MPa).


.44 Special, The .44 Associates
Almost from its introduction, firearms enthusiasts and cartridge handloaders saw that the potential of the .44 Special chambering was far from being realized and by the end of the 1920s were loading it to much higher velocities than factory standards. Led by articles in firearms periodicals penned by gun writers such as Elmer Keith and Skeeter Skelton, a loose cadre of enthusiastic fans who called themselves the ".44 Associates" formed. Trading information such as .44 Special handloading data and tips regarding the conversion of revolvers to .44 caliber, they promulgated the belief espoused by many firearms authorities and experts that the .44 Special chambering is one of the best overall in the handguns.


.44 Special, Elmer Keith and his Magnums
Elmer Keith, one of the most famous and popular firearms related authors at the time, developed a number of classical heavy handloads for the .44 Special; many are still highly regarded today. He also championed the concept of higher powered big-bore revolvers with Smith & Wesson and Remington Arms, eventually leading to the development of the .357, .41, and .44 Magnums. Keith's suggested designation for the proposed .44 caliber round was the ".44 Special Magnum," but when Remington Arms developed the cartridge they chose to name it the .44 Remington Magnum. Nonetheless, the new cartridge was developed directly from the .44 Special design by simply lengthening the older case by .125 inch. Remington's stated rationale for the making of this change was to preclude higher pressured Magnum loads from being chambered in .44 Special revolvers.


.44 Special, Current usage and loadings
The hype and excitement surrounding the introduction of the .44 Magnum in the mid-1950s eclipsed the .44 Special, causing the latter to fall out of popularity with firearms manufacturers. As a result, gunmakers offered fewer revolver models chambered in .44 Special for several years. Recently the .44 Special has experienced something of a resurgence, as many firearms enthusiasts have realized that the heavily recoiling Magnum round is really "too much pistol" for many applications, and the heavier and more bulky revolvers in which it is chambered are not as convenient to carry.


.44 Special, Current usage and loadings
Another key factor fueling the .44 Special's comeback is its ability to fit in the longer chambers of the aforementioned .44 Magnum revolvers, much like the .38 Special fits in the longer chambers of the .357 Magnum. This makes the .44 Special cartridge an attractive alternative for reduced velocity target shooting and plinking. The recent popularity of cowboy action shooting has also helped pique interest in the .44 Special, motivating manufacturers to offer modern and reproduction firearms chambered for this classic cartridge.


.44 Special, Current usage and loadings
Currently a variety of factory ammunition loadings are available in .44 Special, including bullet weights of 135, 165, 180, 200, 240, 246, and 250 grains (8.7, 10.7, 11.7, 13.0, 15.6, 15.9, and 16.2 g) at various velocity levels. Special high performance terminal ballistic loads are also offered, such  as the Hornady JHP, Winchester Silvertip JHP, Speer Gold Dot JHP, Federal LHP, Cor-Bon JHP, and various other jacketed hollow point and soft point designs.


.44-40 Winchester
The .44-40 Winchester, also known as .44 Winchester, .44 WCF (Winchester Center Fire), and .44 Largo (in Spanish-speaking countries) was introduced in 1873 by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. It was the first metallic centerfire cartridge manufactured by Winchester, and was promoted as the standard chambering for the new Winchester Model 1873 rifle. As both a rifle and a handgun caliber, the cartridge soon became widely popular, so much so that the Winchester Model 1873 rifle became known as "The gun that won the West."


.44-40 Winchester, History
When Winchester released the new cartridge, many other firearm companies chambered their guns in the new round. Remington and Marlin released their own rifles and pistols which chambered the round, Colt offered an alternative chambering in its popular Single Action Army revolver in a model known as the Colt Frontier Six-Shooter, and Smith & Wesson began releasing their Smith & Wesson New Model 3 chambered in .44-40. Settlers, lawmen, and cowboys appreciated the convenience of being able to carry a single caliber of ammunition which they could fire in both pistol and rifle. In both law enforcement and hunting usage, the .44-40 became the most popular cartridge in the United States, and to this day has the reputation of killing more deer than any other save the .30-30 Winchester.


.44-40 Winchester, History
The cartridge was originally sold as .44 Winchester. When the Union Metallic Cartridge Co. (UMC) began selling their own version of the cartridge, it adopted the name .44-40 (shorthand for .44 caliber and the standard load at the time of 40-grain (2.6 g) of black powder), as it did not want to offer free advertising for one of its competitors. Over time, the name stuck, and eventually Winchester adopted the .44-40 designation for the round after World War II. Winchester uses the designation "44-40 Winchester" on packaging.


.44-40 Winchester, Technical background
The initial standard load for the cartridge was 40 grains (2.6 g) of black powder propelling a 200-grain (13 g) round-nose, flat-point bullet at roughly 1,245 ft/s (379 m/s). Winchester catalogues listed velocities of 1,300 ft/s (400 m/s) by 1875. In 1886, UMC also began offering a slightly heavier, 217-grain (14.1 g), bullet at 1,190 ft/s (360 m/s), also with 40 gr of black powder. Winchester soon began to carry the 217-gr loading, as well, but in 1905, UMC discontinued the heavier load.


.44-40 Winchester, Technical background
In 1895, Winchester introduced a 200-grain (13 g)  cartridge bulk loaded with 17-grain (1.1 g) of DuPont No. 2 smokeless powder and a  bullet for 1,300 ft/s (400 m/s), and in 1896, UMC followed suit with a 217-gr bullet at 1,235 ft/s (376 m/s). Soon, both companies were offering the cartridge with lead "metal patched" (i.e. copper-jacketed with lead points), and full metal jacket versions.


.44-40 Winchester, Technical background
Taking advantage of the stronger-action designs of the Winchester model 1892 and the Marlin 1894 lever-action rifles, in 1903, Winchester began offering a higher-performance version of the loading called the Winchester High Velocity (WHV), with a velocity of 1,540 ft/s (470 m/s) using a 200-gr copper-jacketed bullet from a 24-inch (610 mm) barrel length, UMC and Peters Cartridge Company soon introduced equivalents. Over the years, a number of different bullet weights and styles have been offered, including 122, 140, 160, 165, 166, 180, and 217 gr in lead, soft- and hollow-point, full metal case, blanks, and shot shells. The most common current loading is a 200-gr bullet at 1190 ft/s.


.44-40 Winchester, Technical background
By 1942, more modern cartridges had all but eclipsed the .44-40, but it regained some popularity in the 1950s and 1960s when Colt began once again to manufacture the Single Action Army and Frontier. More recently, the .44-40 has had a resurgence due to the popularity of metallic silhouette and cowboy action shooting, which inspired the introduction of a low-velocity 225-grain (14.6 g) gallery load, the heaviest factory bullet ever available for the cartridge.


.440 Cor-Bon
The .440 Cor-Bon is a large-caliber handgun cartridge. The Cor-Bon company produced the caliber bullet in 1998. Although it looks similar to a .357 SIG, this cartridge was designed after being necked down from an existing cartridge, the .50 AE to accept a .44-caliber (.429 in) (10.89 mm) bullet. This is fairly typical in the wildcat cartridge industry.


.440 Cor-Bon, History
The .50 AE was introduced in the Desert Eagle from Magnum Research in 1991, and shortly thereafter shooters began requesting an alternative to the relatively small selection of factory ammunition, and, for sensitive shooters, the recoil of the .50 round, but still with substantially more stopping power than the .44 Magnum.


.440 Cor-Bon, History
In designing the .440, Cor-Bon created a lighter recoiling round than the .50 AE with greater penetrating power than the .50 AE and .44 Magnum. The round has a flatter trajectory, and leaves the barrel considerably faster than either the .50 AE or the .44 Mag. However, the cartridge has never been popular, and has remained fairly expensive. Consequentially, Magnum Research no longer produces a Desert Eagle in .440 Cor-Bon, but has introduced a similar cartridge, the .429 DE. The .440 Cor-Bon cartridge will not chamber in a 429 DE barrel, but a 429 DE will chamber in a .440 Cor-Bon barrel.


.440 Cor-Bon, Uses
The round is generally considered to be a hunting round rather than a defense round for a number of reasons. Its excessive penetration and recoil make it unsuitable for self-defense. Also, as it is physically a very large cartridge, commonly chambered in a very large pistol such as the Desert Eagle, it is not particularly practical to carry it concealed.


.440 Cor-Bon, Uses
It is effective at disabling and killing large animals, able to penetrate large bones, such as the shoulder, in deer. Some gunsmiths are chambering lever-action rifles to take full advantage of this cartridge on large game. Tromix also produced AR-15 rifles and uppers chambered in .440 Cor-Bon from 1999 — 2004. Only about 20 were manufactured before being discontinued.


.442 Webley
The .442 Webley (also known as the ".442 Revolver Centre Fire" in Great Britain, the .442 Rook long (kangaroo) in Australia,  the "10.5x17mmR" or ".442 Kurz" in Europe, and ".44 Webley" or ".442 R.I.C." in the United States) is a British centrefire revolver cartridge.


.442 Webley, History
Introduced in 1868, the .442 (11.2mm) Webley round was used in the Webley RIC revolver. This was the standard service weapon of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, hence the revolver's name), which were also chambered in (among others) .450 Adams and 476/.455. Lt . Col. George Custer is believed to have carried a pair of RIC revolvers (presented to him in 1869 by Lord Berkley Paget)  at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.


.442 Webley, History
A black powder round, the .442 originally used a 15–19 grain (gr) (0.972–1.23 g) charge behind a 200–220 gr (13–14.3 g) bullet. This loading was later joined by a smokeless variety.


.442 Webley, History
At one time, the .442 Webley was a popular chambering in self-defence or "pocket" guns (so named for being designed to be carried in a pocket, what today might be a known as a snubnose or carry gun), such as the widely copied Webley British Bulldog pocket revolver.


.442 Webley, History
The cartridge was moderately effective, being roughly similar in power to the contemporary .38 S&W, .41 Colt, or .44 S&W American, and somewhat less potent than the later 7.65mm Parabellum, .38 Special  or .45 ACP. As a consequence, it was not very suitable at anything but close range.


.442 Webley, History
Smokeless .442 Webley loads continued to be commercially offered in the U.S. until 1940 and in the United Kingdom and Europe until the 1950s.


.444 Marlin
The .444 Marlin (10.9×57mmR) is a rifle cartridge designed in 1964 by Marlin Firearms and Remington Arms. It was designed to fill in a gap left by the older .45-70 when that cartridge was not available in any new lever action rifles; at the time it was the largest lever-action cartridge available. The .444 resembles a lengthened .44 Magnum and provides a significant increase in velocity. It is usually used in the Marlin 444 lever-action rifle.


.444 Marlin, History
In the mid-1960s the .45-70 had all but disappeared from the American marketplace. There was no big-bore cartridge available in a lever-action rifle in current production, so Marlin decided to create a new cartridge to fill this empty niche. They created what is essentially an elongated version of the .44 Magnum by making it nearly an inch longer to give it power similar to the .45-70. The case Marlin created is very similar to a rimmed .303 British trimmed and necked-up to work with .429 bullets.


.444 Marlin, History
Some hunters initially claimed some trouble because the .444 was frequently hand-loaded using existing .429 bullets that were designed for use at handgun velocities. Remington has stated in letter and email, when asked, that their 240 grain .444 bullet was not the same as a .44 magnum handgun bullet.


.444 Marlin, History
Despite the litany of false rumors about the 240 grain bullets, the rifle gained additional popularity as additional bullets were designed for its higher velocity.


.444 Marlin, History
In 1972 Marlin re-introduced the .45-70 to their lever-action line, expanding their big-bore offerings. Sales of the .444 are now overshadowed by .45-70 cartridge, which has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity due to interest in cowboy action shooting. This quick action and powerful stopping power has been shown to be an efficient and useful hunting rifle for experienced shooters.


.444 Marlin, Performance
The .444 Marlin can push a 240-grain (16 g) bullet at velocities over 2,400 ft/s (730 m/s) generating 3,070 ft⋅lbf (4,160 J) of energy. SAAMI has rated this cartridge at 44,000 CUP. It functions efficiently when used with cast lead bullets. Hand-cast bullets allows the shooter to optimize the alloy for strength and expansion at the higher velocities generated by the Marlin over the traditional .44 caliber bullets.


.444 Marlin, Performance
There are several commercial moulds available for the hand-caster: the SAEC #433 mould which casts a 300-grain (19 g) gas-checked bullet, and the Lyman 429640 at 280 grains (18 g) are two of the more potent bullets for this caliber. Proper cartridge length is maintained by seating the bullet to the correct depth and using a crimp die to put a firm crimp on the seated bullet to prevent slippage in the magazine tube.


.444 Marlin, Performance
Best cast bullet accuracy in the .444 Marlin is attained when utilizing bullets sized to .432" diameter, both in the older "Micro-Grooved" and the newer "Ballard" style barrels. This bullet diameter is dictated more by the large diameter of chamber throats than by groove diameter of the barrel. A projectile closely fitting the throat dimensions greatly enhances the cast bullet performance of this cartridge. Those writers and publications citing the inability of the .444 Marlin's Micro-Groove barrel to accurately shoot cast bullets driven over 1,600 ft/s (490 m/s). are simply in error, in that those results were largely obtained using .429" and .430" diameter cast bullets. Full factory velocity handloads when assembled using hard-cast, gas-checked bullets of .432" diameter will rival accuracy of any jacketed ammunition for this cartridge.


.444 Marlin, Performance
Three years after the introduction of the .444 Marlin, Hornady introduced a new heavier 265-grain (17.2 g) .430 inches (10.9 mm) bullet created specifically for use in this new .44 caliber cartridge. Since then Hornady has also made a 265 grain (17.2 g) interlock "Light Magnum" that boosts velocity to nearly 2,350 ft/s (720 m/s) and 3,140 ft⋅lbf (4,260 J) of energy at the muzzle. Hornady's latest offering for this caliber is its new LEVERevolution ammunition that has a soft polymer spire point that can be safely loaded in tubular magazines.


.444 Marlin, Performance
Because of an increased ballistic coefficient, Hornady claims increased velocity at distances over 200 yards (180 m), and velocity and energy at the muzzle of 1,971 ft/s (601 m/s), 2,285 ft⋅lbf (3,098 J) and at 200 yards (180 m), 1,652 ft/s (504 m/s) and 1,606 ft⋅lbf (2,177 J) versus 1,542 ft/s (470 m/s) and 1,400 ft⋅lbf (1,900 J) for its interlock ammo.


.444 Marlin, Performance
Other specialized companies such as Buffalo Bore, Cor-Bon, Underwood Ammo, and Grizzly Cartridge offer loadings for the .444 Marlin in bullet weights up to 335 grains (21.7 g).


.444 Marlin, Comparisons
The newer .450 Marlin is also frequently compared with it. While it does not have the power of the .450 Marlin, the .444 Marlin is very similar ballistically to the .45-70, the almost extinct .348 Winchester, and is virtually identical to the .405 Winchester, in its 300-grain (19 g) loading. A 265-grain (17.2 g) bullet in .429 in (10.9 mm) has the same sectional density as a 300-grain (19 g) bullet in .458 in (11.6 mm) and can provide good penetration on large game.


.444 Marlin, Comparisons
According to M. L. McPherson (editor, Cartridges of the World), "the 444 is fully capable against any species in North America" and describes its useful range as being out to about 200 yards (180 m). The typical .444 Marlin fired from a rifle has more impact energy at 200 yards (180 m) than a .44 Magnum has at the muzzle when fired from a 4-inch (100 mm) barrel.


.45 (film)
.45 is a 2006 American independent thriller film written and directed by Gary Lennon and starring Milla Jovovich, Angus Macfadyen, Aisha Tyler, Stephen Dorff, and Sarah Strange. .45 was released theatrically in Greece, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and Mexico.


.45 (film), Plot
Big Al (Angus Macfadyen), and his girlfriend Kat (Milla Jovovich), are small-time crooks dealing in guns and stolen goods in Queens, New York City while also cleverly avoiding the NYPD and ATF. Vic (Sarah Strange), is Kat's friend and ex-lover who still has a crush on her and hates Big Al.


.45 (film), Plot
Big Al is almost arrested in a police sting, but is released when they realize he is unarmed...as Kat was holding the guns. Returning home, they catch a thief trying to take their TV out the window, and Big Al gives him a beating. They call the police and berate them for not catching the 'real crooks', all the while surrounded by the stolen goods that are their livelihood. Meeting up with his old partner, Reilly (Stephen Dorff), they steal a car as Al tries to convince him to come back to help Al run the gun business.


.45 (film), Plot
However, Kat has plans on her own; she wants to sell guns on her own in order to move to a better neighborhood. She meets up with Jose (Vincent Laresca), a drug dealer and Big Al's rival, and sells him a gun. However, Clancy (Tony Munch), a local snitch working for Al, notices them. Kat returns home and pretends to have been out with Vic, upsetting Al.


.45 (film), Plot
When Jose brazenly comes on to Kat, Al, Clancy, and their friends punish him by appearing to cut off his fingers. Al comes home later, and based on comments from Clancy, accuses Kat of having sex with Jose and assaults her. The next day, Vic and Reilly come over to console her but Al arrives home and a fight leads to Al firing his gun, injuring Kat. Al is arrested and detained.


.45 (film), Plot
At the police precinct, Kat is questioned by Liz (Aisha Tyler), a member of a battered women`s group that offers protection via sanctuary or court order. Liz explains that Al doesn't really love her, and she used to be in an abusive marriage of her own. Kat refuses to press charges but decides to leave him.


.45 (film), Plot
Big Al sneaks in through the window as she is packing, threatens her with death if she ever leaves. When Liz and Vic arrive to take her, he convinces Kat to tell them she wants to stay.


.45 (film), Plot
Kat devises a plan to seduce Vic, Reilly, Jose and Liz, and telling each of them she`ll do anything to be rid of Big Al. After convincing Al to stay home one evening, a hooded figure takes Big Al's jacket with his name on it, his registered .45 handgun, and shoots Clancy. The next day, Big Al goes into a church and threatens the priest. As he leaves the church he is arrested for Clancy's murder. Kat, Vic, and Reilly watch from across the street.


.45 (film), Plot
Later Al begs Kat to find the real killer, knowing he has been set up, but can't figure out who did it. Kat reveals that she is behind the plot, and is now in charge. Later, Reilly and Vic discuss who the killer is, and then realize they both fear the hard change in Kat, and decide to start a relationship together.


.45 (film), Plot
Kat meets up with the real killer: it was Liz. Kissing, Liz says now they can be together but Kat explains she only used her and leaves Liz heartbroken. Kat picks up the gun business and the film ends with her living by the beach.


.45 (film), Production
Principal filming was done in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 2006.


.45 (film), Reception
Variety describes the film as a "doublecross pic set in the underworld of Hell's Kitchen."


.45 ACP
The .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) or 45 Auto (11.43×23mm) is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After successful military trials, it was adopted as the standard chambering for Colt's M1911 pistol. The round was developed due to a lack of stopping power experienced in the Moro Rebellion using the .38 Long Colt. This experience and the Thompson–LaGarde Tests of 1904 led the Army and the Cavalry to decide a minimum of .45 caliber was required in a new handgun.


.45 ACP
The standard issue military .45 ACP round has a 230-grain bullet that travels at approximately 830 feet per second when fired from the government issue M1911A1 pistol. It operates at a relatively low maximum chamber pressure rating of 21,000 psi (145 MPa), compared to 35,000 psi (241 MPa) for both 9mm Parabellum and 40 S&W, which due to a low bolt thrust helps extend service life of weapons. Due to standard pressure .45 ACP rounds being inherently subsonic when fired from handguns and submachine guns, it is a useful caliber for suppressed weapons to eliminate the sonic boom.


.45 ACP
Today, most NATO militaries use sidearms chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge, but the effectiveness of the .45 ACP cartridge has ensured its continued popularity with large-caliber sport shooters, especially in the United States. In 1985, the .45 ACP M1911A1 pistol was replaced by the Beretta M9 9mm pistol as the main sidearm of the U.S. military, which in turn was replaced with the SIG Sauer P320 9mm pistol in 2017, designated M17 for the full-size and M18 for the compact.


.45 ACP, Design and history
During the late 19th century and early 20th century, the U.S. Cavalry began trials to replace their sidearm arsenal of issued .45 Colt Single Action Army (SAA) in favor of the more modern and versatile double-action revolver in .45 Colt.


.45 ACP, Design and history
After the example of the Cavalry, the Army in turn had fielded versions of double-action revolvers in .38 Long Colt. It was eventually evaluated that the .38-caliber round was significantly less effective in overall stopping-power than the .45 Colt against determined opponents in cases such as the Moro juramentado warriors, who were encountered in the Moro Rebellion.


.45 ACP, Design and history
The then-current issue rifle, the .30-40 Krag, had also failed to stop Moro warriors effectively; the British had similar lack-of-stopping-power issues switching to the .303 British, which resulted in the development of the dum-dum bullet in an attempt to compensate for the round's deficiencies. This experience, and the Thompson–LaGarde Tests of 1904, led the Army and the Cavalry to decide a minimum of .45 caliber was required in a new handgun.


.45 ACP, Design and history
Thompson and Major Louis Anatole La Garde of the Medical Corps arranged tests on cadavers and animal remains in the Chicago stockyards, resulting in the finding that .45 was the most effective pistol cartridge. They noted, however, training was critical to make sure a soldier could score a hit in a vulnerable part of the body.


.45 ACP, Design and history
Colt had been working with Browning on a .41 caliber cartridge in 1904, and in 1905, when the Cavalry asked for a .45 caliber equivalent, Colt modified the pistol design to fire an enlarged version of the prototype .41 round. The result from Colt was the Model 1905 and the new .45 ACP cartridge.


.45 ACP, Design and history
The original round that passed the testing fired a 200 grain (13 g) bullet at 900 ft/s (275 m/s), but after a number of rounds of revisions between Winchester Repeating Arms, Frankford Arsenal, and Union Metallic Cartridge, it ended up using a 230 grain (14.9 g) bullet fired at a nominal velocity of 850 ft/s (260 m/s). The resulting 45-caliber cartridge, named the .45 ACP, was similar in performance to the .45 Schofield cartridge and only slightly less powerful while significantly shorter than the .45 Colt cartridge that the United States Cavalry was using at the time.


.45 ACP, Design and history
By 1906, bids from six makers were submitted, among them Browning's design, submitted by Colt. Only DWM, Savage, and Colt made the first cut. DWM, which submitted two Parabellums chambered in .45 ACP, withdrew from testing after the first round of tests, for unspecified reasons.


.45 ACP, Design and history
In the second round of evaluations in 1910, the Colt design passed the extensive testing with no failures, while the Savage design suffered 37 stoppages or parts failures. The Colt pistol was adopted as the Model 1911.


.45 ACP, Design and history
The cartridge/pistol combination was quite successful but not satisfactory for U.S. military purposes. Over time, a series of improved designs were offered, culminating in the adoption in 1911 of the "Cal. 45 Automatic Pistol Ball Cartridge, Model of 1911", a 1.273 in (32.3 mm) long round with a bullet weight of 230 grains (15 g). The first production, at Frankford Arsenal, was marked "F A 8 11", for the August 1911 date.


.45 ACP, Design and history
Other US military cartridges include: tracer M26 (red tip), blank M1921 (rolled crimp, red paper wad), M12 and M15 shot shells, and M9 dummy (holes in case).


.45 ACP, Design and history
The cartridge was designed by John Browning for Colt, but the most influential person in selecting the cartridge was Army Ordnance member Gen. John T. Thompson. After the poor performance of the Army's .38 Long Colt pistols evidenced during the Philippine–American War (1899–1902), Thompson insisted on a more capable pistol cartridge.


.45 ACP, Cartridge dimensions
The .45 ACP has 1.62 mL (25 grains H2O) cartridge case capacity.


.45 ACP, Cartridge dimensions
.45 ACP maximum C.I.P. cartridge dimensions. All sizes in millimeters (mm).


.45 ACP, Cartridge dimensions
SAAMI specifications for 45 acp. All dimensions are in inches (millimeter)


.45 ACP, Cartridge dimensions
The common rifling twist rate for this cartridge is 1 in 16 in (406 mm), 6 grooves, Ø lands = .442" (11.23 mm), Ø grooves = 45" (11.43 mm), land width = .147" (3.73 mm) and the primer type is large pistol. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case at the L3 datum reference.


.45 ACP, Cartridge dimensions
According to Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives rulings, the .45 ACP cartridge case can handle up to 131 MPa (19,000 psi) Pmax piezo pressure. In CIP-regulated countries every pistol cartridge combination has to be proofed at 130% of this maximum CIP pressure to certify for sale to consumers. This means that .45 ACP chambered arms in C.I.P. regulated countries are currently (2016) proof tested at 170 MPa (25,000 psi) PE piezo pressure.


.45 ACP, Cartridge dimensions
The SAAMI pressure limit for the .45 ACP is set at 21,000 psi (144.79 MPa) piezo pressure, whilethe SAAMI pressure limit for the .45 ACP +P is set at 23,000 psi (158.58 MPa), piezo pressure.


.45 ACP, Performance
The .45 ACP is an effective combat pistol cartridge. It combines accuracy as well as stopping power for use against human targets, has relatively low muzzle blast and flash, and it produces a stout, but manageable recoil in handguns (made worse in compact models).


.45 ACP, Performance
The standard issue, military .45 ACP cartridge contains a 230-grain bullet that travels at approximately 830 feet per second when fired from the government issue M1911A1 pistol, and approximately 950 feet per second fired from the Thompson M1A1 submachine gun. The cartridge comes in various specialty rounds of varying weights and performance levels as well.


.45 ACP, Performance
The cartridge operates at a relatively low maximum chamber pressure rating of 21,000 psi (145 MPa) (compared to 35,000 psi/241 MPa for 9mm Parabellum and .40 S&W, 37,500 psi/259 MPa for 10mm Auto, 40,000 psi/276 MPa for .357 SIG), which due to a low bolt thrust helps extend service life of weapons in which it is used. Some makers of pistols chambered in .45 ACP do not certify them to use Plus P ammunition.


.45 ACP, Performance
In its non-expanding full metal jacket (FMJ) version, the 45 ACP cartridge has a reputation for effectiveness against human targets because of its heavy mass, having the capacity to penetrate tissue deeply, and damage the central nervous system. Its large 11.5mm diameter creates a more substantial permanent wound channel versus smaller calibers, which can lower blood pressure rapidly if critical organs of the circulatory system are hit.


.45 ACP, Performance
In its expanding hollow point form, it is also particularly effective against human targets. In tests against ballistic gelatin, a 185 grain hollow point traveling at 1,050 feet per second expanded to about .76 inches. This is a significantly large permanent wound cavity for a handgun projectile. For those who follow the energy dump and/or hydrostatic shock theories of wounding ballistics, this is ideal. While slightly decreasing penetration and likewise the chance of hitting a vital organ, a large diameter wound will cause more blood loss. There is also a reduced likelihood of overpenetration, meaning that it is more likely that the projectile will transfer all of its kinetic energy to the intended target, thus more reliably incapacitating them.


.45 ACP, Performance
Drawbacks for military use include the cartridge's large size, weight, increased material costs in comparison to the smaller, flatter shooting NATO standard 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge, a cartridge which uses less powder, brass, and lead per round. Standard 9mm NATO ammunition has a more limited armor penetration capability − a deficiency shared with .45 ACP, whose large, slow bullet does not penetrate armor to any great extent. The low muzzle velocity also makes the bullet drop over long ranges, making hits more difficult; however, it is important to note that the vast majority of self-defense situations involving handguns typically occur at close ranges.


.45 ACP, Performance
After two years of testing, one of the final FBI comments was that services that adopt (or stay with) .40 S&W or 45 ACP did so at the risk of increased recoil and a possible reduction in accuracy as 9 x 19mm with premium quality ammunition had nearly exactly the same performance. A factor rated by the recent FBI testing was accuracy and time to recover. The .45 ACP handguns ranked last, largely due to increased recoil.


.45 ACP, Performance
Because of its large diameter and straight-walled design, the .45 ACP geometry is the highest power-per-pressure repeating production round in existence. This is because of the higher powers achievable with .45 ACP +P, .45 Super, and 460 Rowland loads. Because of the inherent low pressure of the standard round, however, compensators and brakes have little effect until +P, Super, and Rowland loads are utilized.


.45 ACP, Performance, Use in suppressors
As standard pressure .45 ACP rounds fired from handguns and submachine guns are inherently subsonic, it is one of the most powerful pistol calibers available for use in suppressed weapons since subsonic rounds are quieter than supersonic rounds. The latter inevitably produce a highly compressed shock wave, audible as a loud "crack", a small sonic boom, while they travel through the air. Suppressors reduce the audible "report" by slowing and channeling the high speed gas generated by the burning/expanding gunpowder before it exits the muzzle resulting in a muffled "cough".


.45 ACP, Performance, Use in suppressors
Suppressors cannot act on a supersonic shock wave continuously generated by a bullet exceeding the 1,087 ft/s (331 m/s) speed of sound at 32 °F (0 °C) ambient cold temperatures, as this shock wave is continuously produced throughout the entire flight path over which the bullet is supersonic, which extends long after it exits the barrel.


.45 ACP, Performance, Use in suppressors
The downside to the use of .45 ACP in suppressed weapons is that increasing the diameter of the passage through a suppressor decreases the suppressor's efficiency; thus, while .45 ACP is among the most powerful suppressed pistol rounds, it is also one of the loudest. Most .45 suppressors must be fired "wet" (with an ablative medium, usually oil or water) to bring sound levels down to "hearing-safe" (under 140 dB, generally).


.45 ACP, Magazine capacities
Magazine capacity varies depending on the type of firearm. Standard (not extended) single-stack magazines, pistols based on the 1911 design commonly hold 8 rounds or less. Many modern pistols have adopted the cartridge into double-stacked magazine designs to increase ammo capacity, though this increases the pistol's handle width. Drum magazines used mostly for machine guns have a capacity of 50 rounds.


.45 ACP, Adoption
Several US tactical police units still use the .45 pistol round. While high capacity firearms are available in .45 ACP, the greater length and diameter of the .45 ACP means that the grip of the pistol must be longer and wider than the grip of a comparable pistol of a smaller caliber; this increase in grip size can make the pistol difficult to use for shooters with smaller hands.


.45 ACP, Adoption
Today, most NATO militaries use sidearms chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge, but the effectiveness of the .45 ACP cartridge has ensured its continued popularity with large caliber sport shooters, especially in the United States. In addition, select military and police units around the world still use firearms firing the .45 ACP. In 1985, the .45 ACP M1911A1 pistol was replaced by the Beretta M9 9mm pistol as the main sidearm of the U.S. military, although select Special Operations units continue to use the M1911A1 or other .45 ACP pistols.


.45 ACP, Load variants
Rounds are available from 68 grains to 300 grains (4.4 g to 16.5 g) with a common load being the standard military loading of a 230-grain (15 g) FMJ bullet (for comparison, the most common 9mm load is 115 grains (7.5 g), quite literally half the weight). Specialty rounds are available in weights under 100 grains (6.5 g) and over 260 grains (16.8 g); popular rounds among reloaders and target shooters include 185-grain and 230-grain (12 g and 15 g) bullets. Hollow-point rounds intended for maximum effectiveness against live targets are designed to expand upon impact with soft tissue, increasing the size of the permanent cavity left by the bullet as it passes through the target.


.45 ACP, Load variants
Tracer ammunition for the .45 ACP was manufactured by Frankford Arsenal and by Remington Arms. This ammunition was available to the United States Border Patrol as early as 1940 and was used through World War II for emergency signalling by downed United States Navy and Marine Corps air crew. Tracer ammunition was identified by painting the bullet tip red.


.45 ACP, Load variants, Plus P
Most ammunition manufacturers also market what are termed "+P" (pronounced "plus P", designating overpressure ammunition) loadings in pistol ammunition, including the .45 ACP. This means the cartridge is loaded to a higher maximum pressure level than the original SAAMI cartridge standard, generating higher velocity and more muzzle energy. In the case of the .45 ACP, the new standard cartridge pressure is 21,000 psi (140 MPa) and the SAAMI .45 ACP +P standard is 23,000 psi (160 MPa). This is a common practice for updating older cartridges to match the better quality of materials and workmanship in modern firearms.


.45 ACP, Load variants, Plus P
The terminology is generally given as ".45 ACP +P" and sometimes, but not always, appears on the headstamp. These cartridges have the same external dimensions as the standard-pressure cartridges and will chamber and fire in all firearms designed for the standard-pressure loadings. The inner dimensions of the +P cartridge are different from the standard-pressure cartridge dimensions and thus allows for higher pressures to be safely achieved in the +P cartridge. If +P loadings are used in firearms not specifically designed for them, they may cause damage to the weapon and injuries to the operator.


.45 ACP, Load variants, Others
Popular derivative versions of the .45 ACP are .45 and .460 Rowland. The Super is dimensionally identical to the .45 ACP; however, the cartridge carries a developer established pressure of 28,500 psi (197 MPa) and requires minor modification of firearms for use. The Rowland operates at a developer established 40,000 psi (280 MPa) SAAMI and may only be used within a select group of firearms significantly modified for this purpose; the Rowland case is 0.057 inches (1.4 mm) longer specifically to prevent it from being chambered in standard .45 ACP firearms. Brass cases for each of these cartridges carry the applicable name within the headstamp. The Super provides approximately 20% greater velocity than the .45 ACP +P; the Rowland approximately 40% greater velocity than the .45 ACP +P.


.45 Auto Rim
The .45 Auto Rim, also known as 11.5x23R, is a rimmed cartridge specifically designed to be fired in revolvers originally chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge.


.45 Auto Rim
The Peters Cartridge Company developed the cartridge in 1920 for use in the M1917 revolver, large numbers of which had become available as surplus following the end of World War I.


.45 Auto Rim
Two issues related to the use of .45 ACP ammunition in the M1917 revolver led to the development of the .45 Auto Rim. The M1917 had previously been used with half-moon clips that held three rounds of .45 ACP, a rimless cartridge. But if half-moon or moon clips are not used when firing a rimless cartridge in a revolver, the spent cases must be ejected by hand—either by shaking the revolver and its swing-out cylinder or by poking the cases with a rod or field-expedient tool, like a pencil—as the revolver's extractor cannot grab them. The second issue concerned headspace. In revolver cylinders not engineered to allow .45 ACP to headspace properly, as in early production Colt M1917s, the cartridges could slip forward, stopping them from firing. Adding a rim to the .45 ACP cartridge solved both these issues.


.45 Auto Rim
Loads offered were similar to the standard military loads for the .45ACP, but with fully lead bullets rather than the full metal jacket bullets used for .45ACP. This was done to reduce barrel wear in the shallow rifled revolvers in which it was to be used.


.45 Auto Rim
The round is currently still in production by Corbon in their DPX and Performance Match lines of ammunition and is also manufactured by Georgia Arms and Buffalo Bore Ammunition.


.45 Black Powder Magnum
The .45 Black Powder Magnum (.45 BPM) is a black-powder firearm round. It is a wildcat cartridge of the .45 Colt family.


.45 Black Powder Magnum, Overview
The .45 BPM was originally developed for use in replica Colt Walker black powder revolvers. Specifically, Colt Walker replicas that have been converted to allow the use of firearm cartridges by incorporation of a "converter cylinder". A. Uberti Firearms is one such company that manufactures replica revolvers.


.45 Black Powder Magnum, Overview
The Colt Walker was the largest and most powerful black-powder revolver produced prior to 1970. Because its cylinder could hold 60 grains of black powder in each of its six chambers it is regarded as the world's first magnum revolver. The Colt Walker was unsurpassed in power by any commercially-manufactured repeating handgun from its introduction in 1847 until the arrival of the .357 Magnum in 1935. Samuel Colt, with suggestions from Captain Samuel H. Walker, designed it as a "cap and ball" revolver to shoot both lead round balls and picket bullets. This was prior to the development of self-contained cartridges as used in most modern firearms today. As such, an unconverted Colt Walker is a front loading percussion revolver.


.45 Black Powder Magnum, Overview
After the introduction of the .45 Colt handgun cartridge, in 1872, the conversion of .44 caliber percussion revolvers began. Percussion cylinders were replaced with rear loading cartridge cylinders. This allowed the use of the .45 Colt cartridge. The load range for this cartridge was typically 28 to 40 grains of black powder. Thus, a Colt Walker revolver converted to shoot the .45 Colt cartridge is limited to a maximum of 40 grains even though the revolver was originally designed to load up to 60 grains.


.45 Black Powder Magnum, Overview
The .45 BPM cartridge was developed to allow for black-powder loads of more than 40 grains. This gives the converted Colt Walker the convenience of using self-contained cartridges and the advantage of loads beyond the 40 grain limitation of the .45 Colt cartridge and provides the added benefit of moving the bullet closer to the forcing cone as compared to the .45 Colt. This can potentially improve accuracy by reducing "bullet jump".


.45 Black Powder Magnum, Overview
The .45 BPM can hold up to 60 grains of  black powder. A 60 grain cartridge configuration may be desirable to use as a novelty rifle cartridge such as for a revolver carbine.


.45 Black Powder Magnum, Design
The .45 BPM uses the .460 S&W Magnum brass casing as its container. The .460 S&W Magnum was derived from the .454 Casull while the .454 Casull was derived from the .45 Colt. Because of this lineage the .460 S&W Magnum has similar dimensional attributes to the .45 Colt with the exception of a much longer casing. As such, revolvers chambered to .460 S&W Magnum will usually chamber the shorter .45 Colt. The reverse, however, is not true as most .45 Colt revolver cylinders are not long enough to chamber the .460 S&W Magnum cartridge.


.45 Black Powder Magnum, Design
Two examples of the exception to this rule are the Colt Walker and the Taurus Judge. However, it is standard practice to rebate the inside of a revolver's chambers only to a depth equal to the targeted cartridge's length. This prevents either accidental or intentional loading of longer but unsafe cartridges in firearms not designed for or tested for more powerful cartridges.


.45 Black Powder Magnum, Design
Since the .45 BPM is much longer than a .45 Colt cartridge a Colt Walker converted for .45 Colt cartridges will typically not chamber a .45 BPM. Again, this is because of the rebated internal design of the chambers as described previously. Therefore, the chambers of a Colt Walker conversion cylinder must be reamed to deepen them to the length of the .45 BPM casing. Any attempt to chamber a .460 S&W Magnum cartridge in a firearm not designed, tested, and certified for it is unsafe and should never be attempted. The .45 BPM is not a .460 S&W Magnum.


.45 Black Powder Magnum, Design
The .45 BPM differs from the .460 S&W Magnum in several key areas. First, the .45 BPM is limited to a maximum C.O.L. (Cartridge Overall Length) of 2.140" whereas the .460 S&W Magnum has a C.O.L. of 2.290". Second, the .45 BPM is a black-powder cartridge and can only contain either FFg or FFFg rated black powder. .460 S&W Magnum cartridges contain smokeless powder which generates pressures unsafe in firearms not designed for it including replica Colt Walkers. Third, the .45 BPM uses a large pistol primer whereas the .460 S&W Magnum uses a large rifle primer.


.45 Black Powder Magnum, Handloading
Typical wildcatting modification methods are not necessary for the .45 BPM cartridge. A standard .460 S&W Magnum brass casing unmodified is used. The brass casing must adhere to specifications of the .460 S&W Magnum.


.45 Black Powder Magnum, Handloading
The .45 BPM can be handloaded using a .460 S&W Magnum brass casing, a standard large pistol primer, from 40 grains black powder with filler as necessary to avoid air gaps on up to 60 grains black powder. A typical bullet would consist of soft lead from 150 to 250 grains in weight with a black powder appropriate lubricant in the groove(s).


.45 Black Powder Magnum, Handloading
Gallery loads using a  0.454" diameter 141 grain lead round ball may also be suitable for some applications. Crimping the case around the round ball may be necessary to prevent ball movement during recoil.


.45 Black Powder Magnum, Handloading
As with most firearm cartridges, the .45 BPM can be loaded in a variety of configurations. A minimal 40 grain load of black powder is recommended as this is the upper limit of the .45 Colt cartridge. However, this does not necessarily preclude the use of smaller black-powder loads. As with any black-powder load there should never be an air gap between the powder and the bullet. An air gap can cause a dangerous pressure spike condition causing bursting of the chamber, cylinder, or barrel. Various filler materials such as corn meal, fiber wads, or felt wads can be used to take up space not used by the black powder nor bullet. The C.O.L. can not exceed 2.140".


.45 Black Powder Magnum, Load Examples
Some load configurations may be neither suitable nor safe in certain firearms converted to .45 BPM. Increased powder loads in combination with increased bullet weight may create dangerous pressure conditions. The following are example loads only. The examples do NOT indicate they are safe as only a firearms inspection by a certified and licensed gunsmith can determine which load configurations are safe and appropriate.


.45 Calibre War
.45 Calibre War is a 1929 American silent western film directed by Leo D. Maloney and starring Don Coleman, Ben Corbett and Jeanette Loff.


.45 Calibre War, Plot
Reed Lathrop returns to his old home, accompanied by his friend, "Toad" Hunter, to investigate a plot that forces ranchers to sell their properties for very low prices. Finding the ranchers demoralized, he organizes a vigilance committee and enlists the aid of the local circuit judge. Darnell, the owner of the saloon, and Blodgett, a local dealer in ranch property, are unmasked as the culprits. Soon a showdown takes place with the ranchers and the outlaws, ending with the criminals hauled off to prison.


.45 Colt
The .45 Colt, also referred to as .45 Long Colt, .45 LC, or 11.43×33mmR, is a rimmed straight-walled handgun cartridge dating to 1872. It was originally a black-powder revolver round developed for the Colt Single Action Army revolver. This cartridge was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1873 and served as an official US military handgun cartridge for 14 years. While it is sometimes referred to as .45 Long Colt or .45 LC, to differentiate it from the very popular .45 ACP, and historically, the shorter .45 S&W Schofield, this was originally an unofficial designation by Army quartermasters. Current catalog listings of compatible handguns list the caliber as .45 LC and .45 Colt. Both the Schofield and the .45 Colt were used by the Army at the same period of time prior to the adoption of the M1882 Government version of the .45 Schofield cartridge.


.45 Colt, History
The .45 Colt was a joint development between Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company, of Hartford, Connecticut, and the Union Metallic Cartridge Company of Bridgeport, Conn. Colt began work on the revolver in 1871, and submitted a sample to the U.S. Army in late 1872. The revolver was accepted for purchase in 1873.


.45 Colt, History
The cartridge is an inside lubricated type. The rebated heel type bullet design of its predecessor, the .44 Colt (.452–.454" diameter bullet), was eliminated, since it was an outside lubricated type, which would pick up dirt and grit during handling. The .45 Colt replaced the .50 caliber Model 1871 Remington single shot pistol and the various cap-and-ball revolvers converted to take metallic cartridges in use at the time. While the Colt remained popular, the Smith & Wesson M1875 Army Schofield Revolver was approved as an alternate, which created a logistical problem for the Army.


.45 Colt, History
The S&W revolver used the .45 S&W Schofield, a shorter cartridge, which would also work in the Colt, however the Army's S&W Schofield revolvers could not chamber the longer .45 Colt, so in 1874 Frankford Arsenal, then almost exclusive supplier of small arms ammunition to the U.S. Army, dropped production of the .45 Colt cartridge in favor of the .45 S&W round. This resolved the Army's ammunition logistics problems, but there were still plenty of the longer Colt-length cartridges in circulation once production ceased.


.45 Colt, History
The Benet primed .45 Revolver cartridges were subsequently replaced by the 'Model of 1882 Ball Cartridge for Cal. .45 Revolver' which used an external Boxer primer and could be reloaded at the unit level. The .45 caliber M1882 cartridge would be officially replaced by the .38 Long Colt in 1892 but would remain in production until about 1896. In 1901-1902 it would once again be loaded by Frankford Arsenal for use in the Philippines.


.45 Colt, History
In 1909, the .45 M1909 round 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. The rim is large enough that it cannot be loaded in adjacent chambers in the rod-ejector Colt model.


.45 Colt, History
The .45 Colt remains popular with renewed interest in Cowboy Action Shooting. Additionally, the round has seen resurgence as a cartridge in handgun hunting and Metallic Silhouette Shooting competitions beginning in the 1950s with the introduction of stronger, heavier framed handguns. The cartridge's popularity has also increased with the increased marketing of handguns that can also fire the .410 bore shotgun shell, such as the Taurus Judge and the S&W Governor. The modern .45 Colt bullet has changed as well, and it is now .451 inches in diameter for jacketed bullets, and .452 for lead bullets. The .45 Colt became the basis for other rounds, such as the .454 Casull.


.45 Colt, Cartridge loads
The .45 Colt originally was a black-powder cartridge, but modern loadings use smokeless powder. The original black-powder loads called for 28 to 40 grains (1.8 to 2.6 g) of black powder behind a 230-to-255-grain (14.9 to 16.5 g) lead bullet. These loads developed muzzle velocities of up to 1,050 ft/s (320 m/s). Because of this power and its excellent accuracy, the .45 Colt was the most-used cartridge at the time of its introduction, succeeding the .44-40 Winchester.


.45 Colt, Cartridge loads
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 use of the same cartridge in both a pistol and a rifle. According to rumor at the time, this was owing to early .45 Colt cartridges having too narrow a rim and not ejecting reliably from a rifle chamber. Today, modern Winchesters, Marlins, and other replicas have remedied this omission almost 100 years after the fact, and the .45 Colt is now available in modern lever-action rifles.


.45 Colt, Cartridge loads
While this aforementioned rumor has been one of 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.


.45 Colt, Cartridge loads
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, lending more credence to there being a basic problem with Colt's revolver cartridges. (It is notable that modern .45 Colt cartridge rims are still quite narrow, but feature 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 1800s.)


.45 Colt, Cartridge loads
The U.S. Army's .45 Colt round used in its M1909 revolver, which had a barrel of 5.5 inches (140 mm), fired a 250-grain (16 g) bullet at a muzzle velocity of 738 ft/s (225 m/s), giving a muzzle energy of 297 ft⋅lbf (403 J). Today's standard factory loads develop around 400 ft⋅lbf (540 J) of muzzle energy at about 860 ft/s (260 m/s), making it roughly equivalent to modern .45 ACP loads. There are Cowboy Action Shooting loads which develop muzzle velocities of around 750 ft/s (230 m/s).


.45 Colt, Cartridge loads
Cartridges of the World states that .45 Colt should never be loaded to more than 800 ft/s (240 m/s).


.45 Colt, Cartridge loads, High pressure ammunition
Some handloads and factory manufactured cartridges put this round in the same class as the .44 Magnum, using specially made revolvers. These loads cannot be used in any original Colt Single Action Army or replica thereof, such as those produced by Uberti, Beretta, the Taurus Gaucho, or the Ruger New Vaquero, as these guns are built on the smaller frame with thinner cylinder walls. These loads should be used only in modern large-frame revolvers such as the Ruger Blackhawk, Ruger Redhawk, and the original Ruger Vaquero (sometimes erroneously referred to as the "Old Model" which would differentiate it from the "New Model", a completely different kind of design change).


.45 Colt, Cartridge loads, High pressure ammunition
Thompson Center Contender "Magnum" .45 Colt loadings can also be safely fired from any gun chambered in either the .454 Casull or .460 S&W Magnum cartridges, though proper feeding may be an issue in repeating rifles chambered for either the .454 or .460 as the OAL is significantly shorter. Modern rifles with strong actions (such as the Winchester Model 1894, Marlin Model 1894, and new clones of the Winchester Model 1892) chambered for the cartridge can safely handle the heavier loadings.


.45 Colt, Cartridge loads, 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. 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.


.45 Colt, Cartridge loads, Handloading
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.


.45 Colt, 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).


.45 Colt, Uses
The .45 Colt cartridge remains in use 148 years after its introduction. It is used as a hunting load on animals the size of deer and black bear. Heavier handloads will take the same range of big game animals as the .44 Magnum. Several two-barrel derringers are sold that are chambered in .45 Colt, and some of these derringers can chamber a .410 bore shotgun shell without any modifications being required. Revolvers chambered in .410 shotgun, such as the Taurus Judge and the Smith & Wesson Governor, are usually chambered for the .45 Colt as well. A popular use for the .45 Colt today is in Cowboy Action Shooting, where the round is often fired from either original or replicas of the 1873 Colt Single-Action Army.


.45 Colt, Uses
Winchester, Marlin Firearms, Henry Repeating Arms, Chiappa Firearms, Rossi, Uberti, Cimarron Firearms and other manufacturers produce lever-action rifles chambered in .45 Colt. Colt has resumed production of the Single-Action Army, and many SAA replicas and near-replicas as well as modern-design single-actions by Ruger are chambered for this cartridge.


.45 Colt, 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 .45 Colt and .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 and the .45 Colt. Likewise, .460 Magnum revolvers can chamber and fire the three lesser cartridges, but again, not the reverse.


.45 Colt, Gallery
.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


.45 GAP
The .45 GAP (Glock Auto Pistol) or .45 Glock (11.43×19mm) is a pistol cartridge  designed by Ernest Durham, an engineer with CCI/Speer, at the request of firearms manufacturer Glock to provide a cartridge that would equal the power of the .45 ACP, have a stronger case head to reduce the possibility of case neck blowouts, and be shorter to fit in a more compact handgun. The .45 GAP is the first commercially introduced cartridge that has been identified with Glock.


.45 GAP, Development
The .45 GAP has the same diameter as the .45 ACP pistol cartridge but is slightly shorter, and uses a small-pistol primer instead of the large-pistol primer most commonly used in .45 ACP ammunition. Originally, the maximum bullet weight of the .45 GAP was 200 grains (13 g). In order to provide terminal ballistics that matched the standard 230-grain (15 g) .45 ACP loads, the .45 GAP was designed to operate at a higher standard pressure—roughly equivalent to the higher pressures found in .45 ACP "+P" rounds.


.45 GAP, Development
Since the .45 GAP has a much smaller cartridge volume than the .45 ACP, the desired pressure and resulting velocity needed to be achieved through powder selection alone. Later development concluded that the .45 GAP could also fire 230-grain (15 g) projectiles, as does the .45 ACP; though this pushes the .45 GAP cartridge to its limits.


.45 GAP, Development, Glock .45 GAP pistols
The full-size Glock 37 pistol was introduced by Glock to use the .45 GAP cartridge and was followed by the compact Glock 38 and the subcompact Glock 39. Glock's .45 GAP-sized pistols use the same frame as their 9×19mm/.40 S&W/.357 SIG line of pistols. The slide is slightly wider to accommodate the larger diameter .45 cal round and is flush with the frame. Magazines for the .45 GAP are of the same dimensions as those of the 9×19mm/.40 S&W/.357 SIG line of pistols.


.45 GAP, Development, Other .45 GAP firearms
Initially, due to its acceptance by law enforcement and the popularity of subcompact handguns for concealed carry, a small number of manufacturers decided to produce pistols that were chambered in .45 GAP, but they no longer produce any pistols in that caliber. Only Glock continues to manufacture pistols in the 45 GAP cartridge. Springfield Armory, Inc. did make the XD series in .45 GAP, and indeed it was the first commercially available pistol for it, but discontinued that chambering soon thereafter.