In the mid-1890s, Colt redesigned the cartridge. They reduced the entire diameter of the bullet to 0.386″ OD and lengthened the brass case in order to put both the bullet and its lubrication inside the case. The overall length of both loaded cartridges was about the same. The barrel of the revolver was reduced slightly to match the more popular .38-40 at 0.400–0.401″ groove diameter. This meant that the outside diameter (OD) of the new bullet was smaller than the barrel’s bore, let alone its groove diameter. A hollow-base bullet can be dropped down the bore by gravity alone. The newer soft lead bullet was made with a large hollow base, like Civil War Minié balls. The intent was for the base of the bullet to expand with the pressure of the burning gunpowder to grip the rifling.

The original .41 Long Colt brass cases came in three primary lengths, although they vary quite a bit within a headstamp.  The first ones were the shortest at about 0.932 to 0.937″ long. In balloon-head cases, they held about 20 gr of compressed black powder (BP) with a 200 gr flat-bottom, heel-base, blunt-nose bullet. The next cases were about 1.130 to 1.138″ long with a 200 gr hollow-base, blunt-nose bullet and about 21 gr of BP (also in balloon-head cases). Although the brass case lengths were far different, both cartridges were about the same overall length when loaded. The last brass case length was 1.050 to 1.100″ long and was created exclusively for hand loaders so that both heel-base and hollow-base bullets could be used interchangeably (note that cartridges made from the longest brass cases and heel-base bullets are too long to fit most .41 Long Colt revolvers).

The accuracy of the .41 Long Colt is adequate for what it was intended; close range self-defense, its drawback had more to do with the heavy double-action trigger pull of the Thunderer.  Elmer Keith wrote in his book Sixguns that the “.41 Long Colt was a better fight-stopper than its paper ballistics would indicate” and it was “better for self-defense than any .38 Special load made”.  Keith would go onto design the .41 Magnum, possibly influenced by the advantages of the .41 Long Colt. However, .41 Long Colt cannot be fired out of a revolver chambered for either .41 Special or .41 Magnum.

The .41 Long Colt worked well considering the mismatch of bullet and bore sizes, but by the beginning of World War I it was in serious decline and it fell from use by the beginning of World War II.  The .41 Long Colt was a moderately popular chambering in several Colt models. It was available in the Model 1877 Thunderer double action revolver, the series of New Army and New Navy revolvers of 1889, 1892 94,95,96, 1901 & 1903, the Single Action Army, 1878 double action, the Bisley Model, the Army Special-Official Police.  Today, the .41 Long Colt is a mere relic of the past and is considered obsolete. It is currently only produced sporadically for high prices by a handful of small manufacturers such as Black Dog Ammunition and Ultramax, as the Model 1877 Colt Thunderer is considered by collectors too valuable to shoot.

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The 38-40 was first offered in the Winchester 1873 rifle.  Later, Colt, Remington and Marlin also chambered rifles for it.  It is most often found chambered in the Colt SAA revolver.  This old cartridge should only be loaded with Black Powder or Black Powder Substitutes.  It does have loadings listed for smokeless powders.

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10 MM Auto

$71.00 – $76.00Price range: $71.00 through $76.00

Bullet	Choose an option165gr Hollow Point180gr Hornady XTP180gr Remington JHP
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SKU: 54022 Categories: Ammunition, Handgun Tag: Handgun Ammunition

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44-40 Winchester

$82.00 – $84.00Price range: $82.00 through $84.00

Bullet	Choose an option200gr HCLD RN200gr HCLD RN for Black PDR Sub
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SKU: 52372 Categories: Ammo, Ammunition, Handgun, Rifle Tags: Handgun Ammunition, Rifle Ammunition

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The .44 Colt was made for use in the Richards-Mason conversion of Colt’s 1860 Army percussion revolver.  The conversion process involved boring through the chambers of the obsolete cap and ball revolvers and adding a breech-plate with a gated loading port to enable them to chamber centerfire metallic cartridges.

This process left a chamber of uniform diameter, with no step at the front. Thus the bullet and the brass case were made the same diameter, .451-.454 in, with a short “heel” section at the base of the bullet of smaller diameter inserted in the mouth of the case, similar to the construction of .22 rimfire ammunition.

Modern .44 Colt ammunition is dimensionally similar to .44 Special with regard to bullet diameter and case width, the main exceptions being the shorter case length and smaller rim diameter.

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The Model 500 can fire a bullet weighing 350 gr (22.7 g; 0.8 oz) at 1,975 feet per second (602 m/s) generating a muzzle energy of over 3,030 foot-pounds force (4.1 kJ) and a momentum of 13.7 Newton seconds. Commercial loadings are available in bullet weights ranging from 275 gr to 700 gr.  The Model 500 is capable of firing the shorter .500 S&W Special cartridge. The Model 500 can also fire bullets of up to 700 gr, resulting in massive amounts of recoil and supreme stopping power, this load is unrivaled in power in the handgun world. This bullet is manufactured by Underwood Ammunition Company.

Instead of a traditional barrel, the S&W 500 uses a rifled tube inside a barrel shroud that is secured by tension from the front. This tensioning leads to stability, making barrels less expensive to produce and resulting in a more accurate revolver.

Lockup is accomplished by a center-pin in the rear of the cylinder and a ball detent in the frame

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