People have been getting really testy about calling the 45 Colt the 45 Long Colt, and calling the 32 S&W the 32 Short. The complaint is, "THAT IS NOT WHAT THEY WERE ORIGINALLY CALLED!" I understand, but once the 45 Automatic Colt Pistol was invented it was nice to distinguish which 45 Colt you were talking about. Same when the 32 S&W Long was invented. And Ken Waters actually says (in Pet Loads) that calling it the 32 S&W Short avoids confusion. Ken knew guns and Ken knew writing.

Anyway I got my 32 S&W dies in the mail today and I put them right into a 4 Hole Lee turret. Then I put them plus the shell holder in a plastic shoebox, labeled, "32 S&W Short", to avoid confusion. You see this is how I store all my dies, and a 32 Magnum/32 S&W Long set lurks on the same shelf.

I know Ken would forgive me, will you?

Yes, forgiven. Now load and fire 100 each.

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Some collect art; I shoot it!

It sounds like there are some heretics that need to be converted to the right path....

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.....oh buggers.

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NRA Benefactor/Cert Instructor

When I saw “I have Sinned!” I thought you had fired some factory loaded rounds. Anything else is forgiven.

e a very good point.

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Carpriver.

.45 Long Colt? Seems even Colt and the Frankfurt Arsenal called it by that name...

Larry

Attached Images

	45.jpg (8.5 KB, 46 views)
	45COLTWFG1jpg.jpg (135.6 KB, 37 views)

I see no reason to call the .45 Colt a Long Colt since there is no short Colt. I find it hard to believe anyone could confuse the 45 ACP with the 45 Colt. BUT, calling it the 45 Colt long really doesn't bother me in the least. BTW, I always thought the reason why the term Long Colt came to be was not to confuse it with the 45 S&W (45 Schofield), not the 45 ACP.

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

I've read that once the U.S. Cavalry was issued S&W "Schofield" revolvers in .45 S&W (i.e. 45 Colt Short), the troops started calling the .45 Colt ammo 45 Long Colt to differentiate between the two. The single action Army revolvers could shoot both cartridges, the Schofield could only use the less powerful 45 S&W cartridge.

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Dave
SWCA #2465

I think Shakespeare has the correct response to this troubling dilemma.
"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet..."

I call them 45 Colt & 45 ACP & what others say is their business. If I'm unsure I ask.

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Joshua 1:9

Language is dynamic. It changes to reflect common usage and to provide clarity. A good example is "pistol". Used to be a revolver was not a pistol. The definition of pistol required the chamber and barrel to be integral.

If you look it up now it applies to revolvers and is a synonym for handgun.

If language didn't change we'd all be speaking Old English.

Thou can nameth things whatev'r thou wanteth if it helps thou clarifyeth things.

Seems to me that a little firearms / cartridge history may be of value here.

The Schofield revolver (a variant of the Smith & Wesson Model 3) was patented in the USA on 20 June 1871 and 22 April 1873 by Smith & Wesson. It was a Smith & Wesson Model 3 that was modified by Major George Schofield to make it easier for a cavalryman to reload while riding. While the longer Colt 45 had more power, the speed at which a cavalryman could reload a Schofield was less than 30 seconds, half of the time for a Colt 45. By 1879, the U. S. Army had purchased 8,285 of the S&W Schofield revolvers. Due to its reduced power and recoil compared to the Colt .45, it was easier to shoot accurately, yet still retained effective stopping power on the battlefield. It became the standard cartridge of the Army, though the Colt 1873 was still the main issue side arm of the Army.

The .45 Schofield cartridge was shorter than the .45 Colt. It could be used in both the Schofield and the Colt 45 Peacemaker, but the .45 Colt was too long to use in the Schofield. As a result, by the 1880s the army finally standardized on a .45 cartridge designed to fire in both revolvers, the M1887 Military Ball Cartridge. The M1887 was made at Frankford Arsenal, and was issued only to the military. It had the shorter case of the Schofield and the reduced rim of the Colt round; as it was short enough to fit the Schofield, and its rim was not needed for the rod-ejector Single Action Army, the M1887 would fire and eject from both revolvers.

The Schofield was quite a popular handgun in the old west, and may have been used by General Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The effectiveness of the Schofield cartridge in battle, and its reputation for shootability and accuracy, led to the duplication of the cartridges' characteristics some 30 to 35 years later in the John Browning design cartridge of 1904... the .45 ACP.

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Dave
SWCA #2465