Another Ignorant Scribe

[Reverend P. Babcock Chase]

Thank you, Coffinmaker. You are absolutely right, but I fear that few will heed the wisdom of your explanation.

Reverend Chase

[Abilene]

How about .38 Long Colt    

[Professor Marvel]

How about .38 Long Colt    

Ah My Dear Abilene you are a card!

yhs
prof mumbles

[Grapeshot]

Could it be, that it is like the difference between
Pig
And
Long Pig?

Yhs
Prof politically incorrect and sometimes grotesque Marvel

Pig: Four legged omnivore known to eat everything in its way, including dead mammals, including their own offspring.  Long Pig:  Term used by cannibals to describe humans used for their food. a.k.a. Long Pork.  (Humans, the other White Meat)

[Jeremiah Jones]

Coffinmaker, this is the west.  When the legend becomes reality, you print the legend.
.45 Long Colt, it is!

[Arizona Trooper]

Well, if you want to get picky on 'Pistol' vs. 'Revolver'..... Back when the distinction got started, a Pistol was an 1842 Aston/Johnson muzzleloading handgun, or an M-1836 flinter, or another of that sort. A Revolver was a Colt M-1851.   

[Trailrider]

In point of fact there WERE cartridges advertised as ".45 Long Colt", in the late 19th or early 20th Centuries.  While I can't locate the photos of the boxes, I have seen them.  IIRC, this came about when the double-action swingout cylinders came about.  The original rims on the .45 Colt's were too narrow to catch the star ejector, and the ammo companies enlarged them, and began advertising them as ".45 Long Colt".  There "never was" a cartridge called ".45 Schofield" either. The correct term was ".45 Revolver Ball".  It was intended to fit either the Colt's Single Action Army revolver or the Schofield. The terms ".45 Long Colt" and ".45 Schofield" are modern-day appelations intended to avoid confusion. The term "pistol" is now generally used to describe a semi-automatic handgun. In the Old Days, the term for a gun with a revolving cylinder was "revolving pistol".  Likewise, when it comes to terminology to describe different variations of a basic gun, we use modern terms like, "Second generation Colt".  But, I doubt that Colt's uses that term. Likewise, I doubt Winchester has officially differentiated between a "Pre-64 Model 70 and "Post-64" rifles.  Just modern conveniences.

Now, you may flame when you are ready, folks! 

[Bunk]

Trail Rider is correct about those of button head .45 Colt cases. They are almost rimless. I found a box full of those old cases, and the only way I could load them is to either set up my old Pacafic "C" press that I use  years ago ot my Ideal Tong tool because they will not work in a modern "more rimmed" shell holder. I lookd at a lot of them and they are not marked "Long Colt". I found a box of brand new unfired cases and they were marked ".45 Colt" on the original Winchester factory box.
That "long Colt" thing just drives crazy(er) and any so called gun writer should know better.
At leeast IMHO
Bunk

[Abilene]

At least the caliber markings on the guns all say 45 Colt, at least that I have noticed.

[Coffinmaker]

Unfortunately ...... There is often a WIDE disconnect between the advertising staff and the engineering staff.  There is also an awful lot of PARROT(ing) that goes on.  Sort of a "If so and so says it .. it must be true" sort of thing.  Some nationally known Scribe says something totally out of the blue and BANG is repeated around the world as gospel.  Even if their comment contains not one second of research.

An Ex is a has-been and a Spert is merely a drip under pressure.

After all, Elmer Kieth blew up several guns before giving birth to the 44 Manglem.

[DeaconKC]

Coffinmaker, I really enjoyed your explanation, thanks. Several of our arms and ammunition makers should share some blame as well for horrible naming conventions. Like the .44s, not since the .44 Russian have we had true .44s, they are .43s. And my beloved .38WCF, should be the .40WCF [and wouldn't that .40-40 name have sounded nice]. And lest we forget the brain bleeds caused by clip vs. magazine. Or how the first Walkers were referred to as horse pistols?

I think I need to switch to Decaf...