I think over time, we lost the comma....
The Army adopted the .45 Colt, and the Colt SAA. A little while later, they also adopted the S&W Schoefield, and its shorter .45 caliber cartridge. The .45 Schoefield would fit, and fire in the Colt gun just fine.
Most of the Army ammo was the shorter S&W round, to ensure it would function in either gun. I think it most likely that the term "long Colt" came from people asking for ammo specificly for the SAA.
"gimme some of that .45 long, for the colt" or ".45 long, Colt" over time became .45 Long Colt, in common conversation.
The original name, and the one most often used still today is .45 Colt. But, .45 Long Colt is a valid, acceptable name also, as some makers (including Colt themselves) have used it "officially" in catalogues.
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All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.
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