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The USA is Obsessed with .45 (Patreon)

Published:
2026-01-07 14:00:14
Imported:
2026-01

Content

45ACP is an iconic American cartridge, but its origin story begins before the US Civil War. Americans have been obsessed with .45 for well over 150 years. Let's take a look at the history of American 45 cartridges and how it that manifested itself in the modern 45 ACP.

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Comments

Hobie

Old, fat, and slow. The cartridge, too.

michael greif

Thank you! When did the continental Europeans settle on the 9mm? What factors caused it to be chosen over other cartridges?

Matisse Enzer

Some muzzle energy numbers for comparison: 230 gr @ 800 fps= 327 ft lb (Scofield); .45 ACP (FMJ) 230 gr @ 950 fps = 411 ft lb, 230 gr @ 830 fps = 352 ft lb., 230 gr @ 850 fps = 369 ft lb. --- so yeah, pretty much the same, more or less.

Adam Burdolski

A Glock 21 was my first full size pistol I owned. I still enjoy it today because of the .45acp cartridge is fun to shoot. And favorite to carry when I’m hunting. Although I EDC between 9mm or .380 on the regular. .45 ACP is my preferred caliber choice. Just the size of the guns & lacks in capacity are why 9mm guns win me over in the EDC department.

Rob Crosser

Very cool I thought I knew the story but I always wondered how 45 Schofield fit in a colt cylinder 45 ball cartridge thanks love this stuff.

Guido S

what do you mean with "american obsession"? many here would screm 9 at this point I dont! only reason I have 9 and 357/38 in my too small wallet. if I could I WOULD change both to 45colt/acp. has be used as long because it freaking works!

John Lubbers

great video! very informative

Bruce Brodnax

German Navy wanted a bigger hole than the 7.62 Parabellum could provide [probably stemming from the worldwide popularity of .36 cal Colt "Navy" revolvers of 50 years before] and the 9mm [aka .36cal] Parabellum cartridge was born. The rest, as they say, is history...

michael greif

So you are saying the colt navy calibers begat the 9mm as the colt army begat the .45?

Bruce Brodnax

Kind of ironic that JMB's original load for the .45acp cartridge (200gr @ 900fps) has enjoyed persistent popularity as the "softball" load for the m1911 vs. the Army's insistence upon the 230gr @ 825fps "hardball." I guess they were intently focused on penetration for getting a consistent drop rate of enemy mounts back in those days when horse cavalry was still the primary user...

Land Cruiser

Hey Karl, what brand is your awesome looking 1911A1?

moe

Delightful video about something I wondered about, thanks Karl. I always thought there was something stubborn about how Russia kept the 7.62 bullet diameter, (going back to historical "lines" measurements,) in both handguns and rifles, in some cases even to this day, extending to the brief experiment with 5.45 in (a single?) handgun. I always chalked up the eastern version to manufacturing momentum and the western version to some sort of romanticism, but I guess both have an admixture of the other.

Bruce Brodnax

"...as the Colt Walker begat the .45?" Yep, pretty much. The C&B .36 & .44 calibers [.38 and .45 in modern parlance] were already well established long before cartridge arms entered the picture, and eliminating some of the "suspicion of the new fangled self loader" may have been a big part of why the German navy asked for a 9mm instead of the .30cal Luger round initially tendered.