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salvadore · December 26, 2010, 12:52 PM

That's not exactly true foto joe, one of the first successfulColt cartridges was the .44 Colt. The Army used it from 1871 until 1873 (replaced by the .45 Colt in the new SAA). I believe the diameter of the bullet was a true .44, or a little more, while the heel portion was closer to the diameter of later .44. While the .44Colt was an outide lubricated heel type bullet, the later .44 russian was an inside lubricated bullet of .43 or so calibre. The rims and length were different but the case diameters were similar so the .44 name stuck. I believe the 38 colts were the same thing, an outside lubed heel bullet of .38 cal. The 38 spec is a direct descendant of the .38 colt case with an inside lubed bullet of .36 cal and a case of different length but same diameter.

December 26, 2010, 12:52 PM	#6
salvadore Junior member Join Date: January 1, 2007 Location: Idaho Posts: 2,282	That's not exactly true foto joe, one of the first successfulColt cartridges was the .44 Colt. The Army used it from 1871 until 1873 (replaced by the .45 Colt in the new SAA). I believe the diameter of the bullet was a true .44, or a little more, while the heel portion was closer to the diameter of later .44. While the .44Colt was an outide lubricated heel type bullet, the later .44 russian was an inside lubricated bullet of .43 or so calibre. The rims and length were different but the case diameters were similar so the .44 name stuck. I believe the 38 colts were the same thing, an outside lubed heel bullet of .38 cal. The 38 spec is a direct descendant of the .38 colt case with an inside lubed bullet of .36 cal and a case of different length but same diameter.