Quote:
Originally Posted by ddixie884
That velocity is a good bit higher than I have seen reported for the .45 government rnd. I seem to recall, that should be 230gr at 800 to 850fps. I think the rnd in question was a S&W rnd. A .45 S&W spl as it were. I am probably way off base here, but would like very much to hear the real story. Some collector has the original trial gun and a second partial gun from the trials.
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No not off base, it was a 45 S&W Special as described in Muley Gil's reference. (Note: Although often called Frankfort it's actually the Frankford Arsenal.)
From my notes I recall that the 45 S&W Spl (45 Frankford Arsenal) used a 255 Gr. Bullet, was not a standard 45 Colt length and had a larger diameter rim (not to be confused with the 45 AR’s thicker rim). Since it was a smokeless round the wider rim was to prevent use in the remaining Colt SAA’s still in U.S. Armory inventories at the time. Interesting because the original 1873 45 Colt ammo with 40 grs. of blackpowder was more powerful. Albeit the faster pressure spike of smokeless ammo was of course the concern. The 45 Frankford was headstamped April 1906. Apparently more than a couple early T-Locks were chambered in this caliber; one and two digit serial #s under # 20 only. These guns are not caliber stamped and must be confirmed by checking the chambering. S&W’s hopes for acceptance of its new S&W .44 Special caliber or revolver were not to be.
Note: The military trials cartridge is often confused with the 45 Frankford Arsenal produced version of the 45 S&W Schofield (a commercial designation only, not military) which of course eventually replaced all Colt SAA ammo after the S&W Schofield revolvers were put into service. Some bemoaned the lower performance but in reality the original 45 Colt had been downgraded to 28 Grs of blackpowder by that time because of recoil complaints and resulting poor marksmanship. Presumably the new rounds would still take down a horse, one of the original 1872 Military Trials requirements.
I understand that the 1909 Colt New Service can also be found chambered for the 45 Frankford/45 S&W Spl. causing some owners frustration when they tried to use the old original 45 Frankford/commercial 45 Schofield ammo in them and discovered they would not extract properly because of the smaller rim diameter!