Does it bother anyone else, or is it just me?

[Skeptic 9c]

I solicit the Monitors to require the use of .45 Long Colt in this S&W Forum on the grounds that we should not confuse the poorly designed round with the highly efficient .45 S&W Schofeld.
Geoff
Who empties the kettle of fish and hold a fry!

 

[hannstv]

The funny part is that if you say "45 long colt" everyone knows what you want.

 

[mkk41]

How about the .455 Colt?

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

To make matters worse, some people in the Cowboy shootig game are shotrening the (long) Colt brass to 44 special length and also to A.C.P. length. I think this is to save powder, but an ACP thin rim would make nice 5 shot pocket pistol or use it in your 455 triple lock. In my collection I have one of the shorter 45 rounds. It is a FA 45US 98, works in all army wheele guns!

 

[bearman49709]

You're not alone but when major suppliers of the gun industry began to use LC it became acceptable. I conceded the battle at the same time "pistol" became interchangeable with "revolver".

So you conceded the battle back in the 1800,s? The revolver was called a pistol long before any semi auto was even dreamed of. Somehow in the last 30 years pistol has been used only for semi's when the term was used for revolver's for at leased 40 years prior to the first semi was built.

 

[UncleEd]

Time to settle this once and for all:

The Most-of-the-Time .451-452 vs the Most-of-the-Time .452-454

 

[jimmyj]

1. .45 Long Colt
2. .45 S&W
3. .455 Colt
4. .455 Webley
5. .450 Adams
6. .45 ACP
7. .45 Auto Rim
8. and a number of "Modern" .45s

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

See the pics.
Both are factory rounds.

Does it bother me to hear "Long Colt"?
Not in the least. The confusion is ended. The next question is avoided, as in-

"What caliber is the old Smith?"
"45"
"Acp or Long Colt?"

Thus sayeth the monkey.

 

[redlevel]

Thus sayeth the monkey.

. . . . and he be knowin'.

 

[PALADIN85020]

Thinking about it..wasn't there a 'special' cartridge for the Colt 1909?...had more rim or some-such...maybe that's the much fabled seldom seen .45 short Colt

Nope. That special cartridge was the .45 Colt Modified - identical to the normal .45 Colt cartridge except for a slightly wider rim so that extraction with the star extractor used on the swing-out cylinder would be more positive. The normal .45 Colt cartridge has a tiny rim, which worked OK with the "poke out" extractor of the 1873 single action design. Regular .45 Colts will chamber and fire just fine in the Colt Model of 1909, but extraction can be iffy.

The wider-rim modified .45 Colt cartridges designed for the Model of 1909 would chamber in the 1873 single actions, but only three cartridges could be loaded (every other one), as the wider rims precluded loading adjacent chambers.

John

 

[smith revolver cop]

Go ahead & ask the guy at Walmart for .45 Colt ammo. Yer gonna get .45ACP every time.

I'll go with this explanation. Since .45ACP is "Automatic COLT Pistol" it makes sense to differentiate it from the .45Colt, which is a longer case, hence "Long Colt."

 

[papajohn428]

So which one is right............"Snubbie" or "Stubbie"?

Rather than utter it improperly, I just mention the barrel length, though I fudge a little and call 1-7/8ths inch barrels "two-inchers".

 

[DeadAye]

They're called a Snubnose - So, Snubby would be correct

 

[BoDog]

Has anyone stopped to think the average sporting goods counter isn't knowledgeable enough to know the difference. I grew up in a shooting family and have worked behind the counter when I was amaized at the lack of firearms knowledge of my fellow workers 40 years ago. Now they know even less. We are an eperinced group of shooters dealing with a bunch of skateboarders.

 

[Pilgrim]

Why is a 'semi' automatic handgun called an 'automatic' ? And it's ammo marked the same, like in .45 Automatic Colt Pistol ammo(45acp)?

Well, it's because the gun 'automatically' feeds another round ready to be fired is the excuse, they say.

A double action revolver 'automatically' puts around in place to fire as well. but it's not called an 'automatic'.

Why do people call 'automatics', pistols and revolvers, revolvers.

Revolvers are 'pistols' too!

I let the little things bother me too much, I guess.

 

[PALADIN85020]

Revolvers are 'pistols' too!

Nope. Revolvers are "revolvers." Semiautos and single shots are "pistols." The select-fire or full-auto versions of semiautos are machine pistols.

There is a semiautomatic revolver - the Webley-Fosberry "zig zag" handgun. The recoil advances the cylinder and cocks the hammer automatically - if you hold it right.

If you want a generic term covering all types, it's best to use "handguns."

John

 

[Alpo]

Sorry. When Col. Colt patented his new invention, he called it a "revolving pistol". Kind tells me that a revolver is a pistol.

Also, small guns designed to be held and fired with one hand (as opposed to using two hands to hold it to your shoulder) have been called "pistols" since the 1500s. Loooooong before automatic pistols came into existence.

Automatic pistols are called "automatic" because they work automatically. I've never really understood why some folks get bent - "That's not 'automatic', that's 'SEMI-automatic' ", but don't say, "That's not 'full automatic', that's just automatic". If you take an M16, with the switch on full, that's an "automatic rifle". If you put the switch to semi, is it no longer an "automatic rifle"? If it's not, what is it? An "automatic rifle being fired in semi-automatic mode"?

 

[PALADIN85020]

Sorry. When Col. Colt patented his new invention, he called it a "revolving pistol".

(Chuckle) ALL handguns were called pistols back then, because the category of revolvers did not exist. It took a while for the proper terminology to evolve. We don't call anything a "revolving pistol" today, now do we?

John

P.S. Col. Colt, in 1855 called them "Rotating Chambered-Breech Fire-Arms."

You can download a .pdf file of his treatise on the application of machinery to their manufacture here:

http://www.cornellpubs.com/downloads/on_the_application_of_machinery_to mfg-1855-colt-7mb.pdf

 

[Maximumbob54]

What does that say about a Mateba Unica?

 

[venomballistics]

45 long colt or 45 colt isn't the problem of 45 auto versus 45 ACP.
we all know the proper name is 45 ACP, but when we ask for 45 acp and the person behind the counter isnt really a gun guy, they don't have any because its all marked 45 auto. Attempting to explain it often results in a headache due to the non knowledgeable being the "professional" who has to be right.
its just easier to take a hard look behind the counter to see what they are calling it and conform accordingly.