Craig Boddington was the senior contributing editor of our modern gun and ammunition caliber dictionary. Craig was involved in the development and testing of many of these and writes from first hand experience. This dictionary was written exclusively for Wholesale Hunter with unique information found nowhere else.
GUN CALIBER DICTIONARY
Handgun
45 Winchester Magnum
The 45 Winchester Magnum was introduced by Winchester in 1979. It is a powerful rimless cartridge using a .452-inch bullet with a case length of 1.572 inches. With a breech pressure about double that of the 45 ACP it propels heavier bullets at higher velocity--a 320-grain bullet at 1150 feet per second, yielding nearly 1000 foot-pounds of energy (double the 345 ACP). Originally designed for the Wildey pistol, financial difficulties precluded production and semiautomatic pistols 45 Winchester Magnum pistols have not been available. Thompson/Center offered it in Contender barrels and it proved an effective handgun hunting cartridge in that platform. Despite excellent performance the 45 Winchester Magnum is lapsing in near-obsolescence and seems unlikely to make a resurgence. — Craig Boddington