45 Colt

Question
Looking at the cartridge specifications for the 45 Colt, the rifle and handgun appear to be exact.  Is it possible to use the same cartridge for both for cowboy shooting?  I am assuming the load would have to be different for each firearm.

Answer
Jack,

You are absolutely correct, although the .45 Colt are rifle chambering is more or less a modern phenomenon, popular with Cowboy Action shooters.

In 1873 Winchester introduced the .44-40 cartridge. Colt readily made handgun chambered in it and Winchester made a rifle chambered in it. For those going west to make a new life, with was a great combination. The .44-40 in a rifle was a formidable defensive weapon against Indian raids (excuse me; Native American visits). Chambered in a pistol, it was a formidable reactive weapon (handguns can always be worn, but rifles cannot always be borne - you'll set the rifle down at some point).

The rifle and revolver chambered for the same round greatly simplified logistics, and that is why "the gun that won the west" might be a reference to the Colt revolver or the Winchester rifle. It would probably be more accurate to call the .44-40 the cartridge that won the west.

Later the .45 Colt (introduced a year earlier) gained in popularity with the handgun, although that chambering in rifles never widely caught on until modern times.

The most rigorous of times was over, supply was easier to come by, and rifles chambered in true rifle cartridges became more popular.

All that to say, no, the load should not be different for the two firearms, generally speaking. You may have a beefed up rifle, and there will be load data specifically for it (there is different load data for the .45-70 cartridge depending on whether it is being used in period or modern guns). But if you buy it off the shelf, it will be loaded to pressures appropriate for the handgun.

There are pistol caliber carbines today (most popular the 9mm), but none that have enjoyed the grand popularity of the .44-40.