This topic has been split from "Shot a Glock 37 in 45 GAP Tonight"
The US Army was simultaneously issuing Colt's Model P and S&W's New Model #3 Schofield revolvers. The S&W chambered the shorter .45 S&W, which also had a somewhat different rim. To simplify supply, the Army decided to stop issuing Colt ammo and issue only the shorter S&W cartridge (with a redesigned rim) which it called .45 Colt Government or .45 Army. This is really the elusive ".45 short Colt" that made necessary the use of the name ".45 Long Colt", though I am not sure the name ".45 Short Colt" was ever used. The headstamp on at least some of these shorter cartridges said ".45 Colt" thus further showing that the use of "Long Colt" on longer cases was potentially significant.
Here are some references:
Actually, the term ".45 Long Colt" is technically and historically correct. This has been confirmed by historic cartridge boxes, ammunition advertisements, and actual cartridges going back to the late 19th Century.MikeO said:Since some persist in calling another cartridge the .45 _Long_ Colt (seeing recall notices for just that all over the place)...
The US Army was simultaneously issuing Colt's Model P and S&W's New Model #3 Schofield revolvers. The S&W chambered the shorter .45 S&W, which also had a somewhat different rim. To simplify supply, the Army decided to stop issuing Colt ammo and issue only the shorter S&W cartridge (with a redesigned rim) which it called .45 Colt Government or .45 Army. This is really the elusive ".45 short Colt" that made necessary the use of the name ".45 Long Colt", though I am not sure the name ".45 Short Colt" was ever used. The headstamp on at least some of these shorter cartridges said ".45 Colt" thus further showing that the use of "Long Colt" on longer cases was potentially significant.
Here are some references:
http://my.net-link.net/~napfn/45histy.htmWith two very similar-but not interchangable-cartridges in use, mix-ups inevitably occured. Units armed with the S&W revolvers were occasionally issued ammunition for the Colt, and vice versa. ""To resolve this issue, the Ordnance Corp. simply discontinued the production of the .45 Colt cartridges, and reduced the rim dimensions of the .45 Schofield to a point that would allow it to chamber in the Colt SAA's.. . . . The resulting combination became known as the .45 Colt government or the "".45 Army cartridge.""
It is interesting to note that the """"misnomer""",.45"Long"colt came into being to differentiate the original colt loading from the shorter cased ammunition then in use by the army. This ammunition remained in use until the S&W revolvers were withdrawn from service in the mid to late 1890's. The cartridge may also be commonly referred to as .45 Smith&Wesson, the .45 S&W, As well as the .45 Schofield."
http://www.sixgunner.com/backissues/guests/45%20Colt%20-%20Unlimited%20Potential.htmThere are short cartridges still surviving from that time marked "45 Colt", so it is easy to see why old timers referred to the present .45 Colt as the "Long Colt".
http://www.sixgunner.com/backissues/taylor/notgone.htmThe short .45 Colt round was produced by the Army until 1892. Most all of the major ammunition producers made the short .45 rounds. Remington produced them until after WW I, though Elmer Keith states in his writings that they were never popular. The third edition of "Cartridges of the World" says the short .45's were produced by various manufacturers up into the mid-1940's.
I have a partial box of short .45's that was given to me years ago. These are made by Winchester and are marked ".45 Colt" on the headstamp. The box says they are for "Colt Single Action and Double Action Revolvers." The lid of the box [which long ago deteriorated] states they are ".45 Colt Government" rounds. Since these are marked ".45 Colt" and since they ARE short, they are .45 Short Colts!