Posted: 2/27/2005 10:32:15 AM EDT
I was just wondering what all of the tags on the end of some handgun calibers mean. Such as .45 ACP or .38 special. Is the acp having something to do with being an automatic round or something? And what is so special about a .38? Sorry about the extreem newbitity 
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it is a way to designate diferent rounds of the same caliber. ie. .45 ACP, .45 long colt, .44 mag, .44 special, .357 sig, .357 mag, etc... usually it has something to do with the original case the round is based on or the designer of the cartridge. they do the same with rifle rounds too. edit: to answer your question about ACP, i beleve it stands for Automatic Cartridge Pistol |
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To be exact, ACP means Automatic Colt Pistol. Colt and John Browning pioneered the automatic pistol in America, and Browning invented many auto pistol cartridges like the .25ACP, .32ACP, .380ACP, .38ACP, and .45ACP. Following the practice of cartridge inventors, Browning and Colt named these rounds for the company that first marketed them, Colt. In the late 1890's through the early 1900's, both Colt and S&W invented a wide variety of .38 revolver cartridges. These were usually lower powered rounds, often first made in black powder loadings. When S&W invented a new, powerful smokeless .38 cartridge, they made it longer than most other .38 cartridges, both to increase powder capacity, AND to prevent loading the much more powerful round in an older, weaker revolver. S&W named this new round the .38 Special as a marketing technique. Early cartridges and guns were stamped ".38 S&W Special". Colt and other makers, not wanting to put S&W's name on their guns, simply called it the .38 Special. |
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Most of the time the name is left up to the person or company who designed the cartridge. Some cartridges are magnums by definition, but the word "Magnum" is not found in their name, like the 10mm Auto, or the 357 SIG. Both are considered "Magnums" because the pressure generated inside the cartridge is very high, higher than most other calibers of ammunition. Here are some links where you can read lots about any caliber you have a question about. .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) List of handgun cartridges List of rifle cartridges |
[Ammo Nazi]No such thing as .45 Long Colt, it's just .45 Colt  [/Ammo Nazi]
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And a .36 caliber ball is larger than a .38 bullet...I didn't make the rules. When in doubt, match the ammo box marking to the barrel stamping and even then there can be some problems. |
Woah... Confusing lol 
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