I finally decided to dissect an original unheadstamped 45 Colt black powder cartridge to confirm it's origin.
There has always been the tale that original 45 Colt black powder cartridges by Winchester contained 40gr of black powder and a 255gr lead bullet.....or at least what I had known all my life. Never confirmed of course, just implanted in my brain many many years ago.
Both Winchester and UMC loaded this cartridge from it's inception....and of course as well as Frankford Arsenal.
In general, (looking to find examples for earlier dates)
- 1873 - Frankford's very short lived "Original" October 1873 load was 30gr and 250gr
- 1880 - UMC's earliest load I can find is from 1880, 40gr and 250gr
- 1884 - Winchester's is from an unheadstamped (Pre-1885) cartridge, 30gr and 250gr
The only way I can confirm is by the unheadstamped case (pre-1885), and the primer. The primer is from Gardner's 1878 patent, of whom worked for Winchester. This does not mean Winchester did not load original 45 Colts with the 255gr lead bullet and 40gr of black powder, but it does confirm that they offered the 45 Colt cartridge, prior to headstamping, in the mid-1880's, with 30gr and a 250gr. Of course, Winchester offered the 255gr with 35gr of black powder by 1895. I have yet to check earlier Winchester catalogs.
If anyone can add to, feel free to reply.
Gardner's patented primer design used by Winchester
Winchester's 250gr lead bullet...with a bit more "rounded" o'give than later examples.
A much more pleasant, cowboyish, rounded o'give than later designs and a very thin rim.
Typical unheadstamed case, 30gr of black powder.
44-40 Website - https://sites.google.com/view/44winchester/chasing-the-44-40
