The .45 Colt cartridge was introduced by Colt in 1873 for the famous "Peacemaker" single action revolver. The US army adopted the cartridge in 1875 and it remained in use until 1892, when it was replaced by the .38 Long Colt. Originally a blackpowder cartridge, modern loadings use smokeless powder. Standard loads develop around 400 ft.lbf (542 J) of muzzle energy, though in certain firearms the round can be loaded to the levels of the .44 Magnum. Because of this, the .45 Long Colt was the most used cartridge of its time, preceeded by the .44-40 . It was known that the round was powerful enough to knock a man to the ground in a single shot. It is also extremely accurate.
It is even today popular for big game hunting and will take about the same range of animals as the .44 Magnum, but less effectivly and the range must be far shorter.
Some very heavy handloads and some cartriges loaded by small companies are around that put this round in the same class as the .44 Magnum. Such loads are NOT the standard ammunition put out by the major companies such as Winchester and Remington.
The older or weaker guns cannot stand the stress of these maximum loads, so the shooter must know what he is about if he uses them. Failure to take care might result in a ruined gun or personal injury.
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