The .45 Winchester Magnum is a
.45 caliber
This is a list of firearm cartridges which have bullets in the to caliber range.
*''Length'' refers to the cartridge case
Case or CASE may refer to:
Containers
* Case (goods)
A case of some merchandise
Merchandising is any practic ...
rimless
A rim is an external flange that is machined, cast, molded, stamped, or pressed around the bottom of a firearms cartridge. Thus, rimmed cartridges are sometimes called "flanged" cartridges. Almost all cartridges feature an extractor or headspacing ...
cartridge intended for use in
semi-automatic pistol
A semi-automatic pistol is a type of repeating single-chamber handgun ( pistol) that automatically cycles its action to insert the subsequent cartridge into the chamber (self-loading), but requires manual actuation of the trigger to actuall ...
s. The cartridge is externally a lengthened
.45 ACP
The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol) or .45 Auto (11.43×23mm) is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After successful military trials, it ...
with a thicker web to withstand higher operating pressures. The 45 Win Mag is nearly identical in dimensions and loading to the .45 NAACO developed by the
North American Arms Corporation for their
Brigadier
Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...
pistol, developed to supply to the
Canadian Army
The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...
after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The army ultimately did not adopt the pistol and its non-
NATO standard ammunition.
The cartridge has been primarily used by small game hunters and
metallic silhouette shooters.
Specifications
Although the .45 Winchester Magnum may be based on the
.45 ACP
The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol) or .45 Auto (11.43×23mm) is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After successful military trials, it ...
and have the same Rim and Base dimensions, the .45 Winchester Magnum has no parent case. The .45 Winchester Magnum case is redrawn with thicker walls and longer case. The thicker wall dimensions of the .45 Winchester Magnum are designed to accommodate a higher internal pressure (40,000
cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...
) than that of the .45 ACP (18,000 cup
1,000psi or 140MPa.
General comments
The .45 Winchester Magnum had been on the drawing board for two years before its introduction, in 1979, by Winchester. The cartridge did not gain much popularity due to the intermittent availability of the
Wildey
The Wildey is a gas-operated, double-action or single-action pistol designed by Wildey J. Moore. It was designed to fire several high-pressure proprietary cartridges including the .45 Winchester Magnum and the .475 Wildey Magnum. They are curre ...
and
LAR Grizzly pistols. The cartridge was chambered in the
Thompson-Center Contender
The Thompson/Center Contender is a break-action single-shot pistol or rifle that was introduced in 1967 by Thompson/Center Arms. It can be chambered in cartridges from .22 Long Rifle to .45-70 Government.
History
Warren Center, working in his bas ...
single shot pistols. The cartridge was also chambered for the
Freedom Arms
Freedom Arms is a Freedom, Wyoming based firearm manufacturing company, known for producing powerful single-action revolvers. The company was founded in 1978 by Wayne Baker and Dick Casull to produce the Mini revolver then later a revolver cha ...
Model 83 single-action revolver via an available optional cylinder.
The .45 Winchester Magnum gained a following among
IHMSA
Metallic silhouette shooting is a group of target shooting disciplines that involves shooting at steel targets representing game animals at varying distances, seeking to knock the metal target over. Metallic silhouette is shot with large bore rif ...
competitors as it provided the power and performance necessary to knock down targets at an extended range. The cartridge has been used by handgun hunters and is among the few semi-automatic pistol (as opposed to revolver) cartridges which have been adopted for this sport.
[
]
See also
* Table of handgun and rifle cartridges
This is a table of selected pistol/submachine gun and rifle/machine gun cartridges by common name. Data values are the highest found for the cartridge, and might not occur in the same load (e.g. the highest muzzle energy might not be in the same ...
* List of handgun cartridges
List of handgun cartridges, approximately in order of increasing caliber.
Table of handgun cartridges
{, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left"
, -
! Cartridge name , , Bulletdiameter , , Caselength , , Cartridgelength , , Type , ...
**.45 Super
The .45 Super is a powerful smokeless powder center fire metallic firearm cartridge developed in 1988 by Dean Grennell, a well-known writer in the firearms field as well as managing editor of ''Gun World'' magazine.
**.45 ACP
The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol) or .45 Auto (11.43×23mm) is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After successful military trials, it ...
** .44 Magnum
**.45 GAP
The .45 GAP (Glock Auto Pistol) or .45 Glock (11.43×19mm) is a pistol cartridge designed by Ernest Durham, an engineer with CCI/Speer, at the request of firearms manufacturer Glock to provide a cartridge that would equal the power of the ...
**.475 Wildey Magnum
The .475 Wildey Magnum is a semi-automatic pistol cartridge designed for big game hunting in the Wildey pistol.
History
The .475 Wildey Magnum was designed to be a hunting round. Cases are formed from .284 Winchester brass with the neck cut do ...
**10 mm caliber
This is a list of firearm cartridges which have bullets in the to caliber range.
*''Length'' refers to the cartridge case length.
*''OAL'' refers to the overall length of the cartridge.
All measurements are in mm (in).
Pistol cartridges
R ...
**11 mm caliber
This is a list of firearm cartridges which have bullets in the to caliber range.
*''Length'' refers to the cartridge case length
*''OAL'' refers to the overall length of the cartridge
*''Bullet'' refers to the diameter of the bullet
All meas ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:45 Winchester Magnum
Magnum pistol cartridges
Pistol and rifle cartridges
Winchester Repeating Arms Company cartridges