.45 Colt

The .45 Colt (metric designation: 11.48×35mmR) cartridge is a handgun cartridge dating to 1872. It began as a black-powder revolver round developed for the Colt Single Action Army revolver, but is also offered as a magnum-level, handgun hunting round in modern usage. This cartridge was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1873 and served as an official US military handgun cartridge for 14 years. It is sometimes referred to as .45 Long Colt or .45LC, to differentiate it from the shorter .45 S&W Schofield, as both were used by the Army at the same period of time prior to the adoption of the M1887 Govt.

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.