I often see firearms listed as firing the .45 Long Colt. Yet, consider this quote from ReloadBench.com:
The .45 Colt (often incorrectly called the .45 Long Colt) ... [4]
Which is it and why?
The Bond Arms FAQ provides an answer:
Is the .45 Colt the same as the .45 Long Colt?
Yes. The .45 Colt is exactly the same round as the .45 Long Colt. The .45 Long Colt name was required in the late 1800's to differentiate between the .45 Colt and the shorter .45 Schofield. With the passing of the .45 Schofield as a popular round, the name .45 Colt is now the most accepted name for this cartridge. [5]
More from an article by John Taffin at Sixguns.com:
Having a couple of well known friends, two in fact that all readers would know by name, that simply go ballistic with the mention of
.45 Long Colt, I had to tweak them a little as I had the chance. So this is one sixgun that is not marked .45 COLT but .45 LONG COLT. Their argument is that there never was a cartridge designated the Long Colt. I agree. The frontier army was armed with both Colt Single Actions chambered for the .45 Colt and the Smith & Wesson Schofield chambered for the shorter .45 Smith & Wesson. The latter could also be used in the Colt sixgun hence two .45's were available, a long and a short. In modern times the erroneous use of.45 Long Coltdoes preclude any confusion and mix-up between .45 ACP and .45 Colt. The Colt Single Action Army was designated at the factory as the Model P but never officially known as the Peacemaker. However, that term is widely accepted. Who can figure? [6]
I'm all for pedantry, but many firearms chambered for the .45 Colt are meant to capture the feel of the late 1800s. With that in mind, calling it (verbally) the .45 Long Colt seems defendable.
It would be nice to know the introduction dates of the .45 Colt and .45 S&W (Is it called .45 Schofield or .45 Smith & Wesson?!), and the termination date of factory Schofield ammunition. Looks like both started in 1872 [1] and .45 Schofield ammunition is in current production [2][3].