View source for .45 Schofield

{{short description|Revolver cartridge designed by Smith & Wesson (S&W)}}
{{Infobox firearm cartridge
|name= .45 Schofield
|image= 45 Schofield.JPG | image_size = 300px
|caption=.45 Colt (left) alongside the .45 Schofield cartridge
|origin=United States
|type= Revolver
<!-- Service history -->
|service= 1875–1892
|used_by= US Army
|wars= 
<!-- Production history -->
|designer= [[Smith & Wesson]]
|design_date= 1875
|manufacturer= Smith & Wesson
|production_date= 1875–present
|number= 
|variants= 
<!-- Specifications -->
|is_SI_specs=
|parent=
|case_type= Rimmed, straight
|bullet= .454
|neck= .480
|shoulder=
|base= .480
|rim_dia= .520
|rim_thick= .060
|case_length= 1.100
|length= 1.430
|rifling= 1 in 24"
|primer= Large pistol
|max_pressure= 14500
|pressure_method= CIP
<!-- Ballistic performance -->
|is_SI_ballistics=
|bw1= 200
|btype1= Lead SWC
|vel1= 859
|en1= 328
|bw2= 230
|btype2= Lead (factory load)
|vel2= 730
|en2= 276
|bw3= 250
|btype3= Lead
|vel3= 710
|en3= 283
|bw4=
|btype4=
|vel4=
|en4=
|bw5=
|btype5=
|vel5=
|en5=
|test_barrel_length=
|balsrc= "Cartridges of the World"<ref name="cotw">{{cite book
 | last = Barnes
 | first = Frank C.
 | editor = McPherson, M.L.
 | title = Cartridges of the World
 | edition = 8th
 | orig-year = 1965
 | year = 1997
 | publisher = DBI Books
 | pages =270, 275
 | isbn = 0-87349-178-5}}</ref> / Accurate Powder<ref name="accurate">"[http://www.accuratepowder.com/data/PerCaliber2Guide/Handgun/Standarddata/45Cal(11.5mm)/45%20S&W%20Schofield%20also%20CA%20app%20page%20148.pdf .45 S&W Schofield] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928011825/http://www.accuratepowder.com/data/PerCaliber2Guide/Handgun/Standarddata/45Cal%2811.5mm%29/45%20S%26W%20Schofield%20also%20CA%20app%20page%20148.pdf |date=2007-09-28 }}" data from Accurate Powder.</ref>
}}
[[File:Colt .45 LC Cartridges.JPG|thumb|Early .45 Colt cartridges, in the center is the shorter cartridge for the S&W Schofield revolver with Benet primer]]

The '''.45 Schofield''' / '''11.5x27mmR''', also referred to as '''.45 Smith & Wesson''' is a [[revolver]] cartridge developed by [[Smith & Wesson]] for their [[S&W Model 3]] Schofield [[top-break]] revolver. It is similar to the [[.45 Colt]] cartridge, but with a shorter case and a larger rim. The. 45 Schofield will generally work in revolvers chambered for that cartridge; but the reverse is not true, since the .45 Colt case is longer. United States government [[arsenal]]s supplied .45 Schofield cartridges for the Schofield revolver and the Colt Army revolver to help simplify their armament needs.<ref name="cotw"/>

==History==
This cartridge was originally designed as a [[black powder]] round. The Schofield revolver (a variant of the [[Smith & Wesson Model 3]]) was patented in the USA on 20 June 1871 and 22 April 1873 by Smith & Wesson. It was a Smith & Wesson Model 3 that was modified, due to a suggestion by Major [[George W. Schofield|George Schofield]], to make it easier for a cavalryman to reload while riding. While the [[Colt Single Action Army|Colt 45]] had more power, the speed at which a [[cavalryman]] could reload a Schofield was less than 30 seconds, half of the time for a Colt 45. By 1879, the U. S. Army had purchased 8,285 of the revolvers. Due to its reduced power and recoil compared to the Colt .45, it was easier to shoot accurately, yet still retained effective stopping power on the battlefield. It became the standard cartridge of the Army, though the Colt 1873 still was the main issue [[Sidearm (weapon)|side arm]] of the Army.

The .45 Schofield cartridge was shorter than the .45 Colt. It could be used in both the Schofield and the Colt 45 Peacemaker, but the .45 Colt was too long to use in the Schofield. As a result, by the late 1880s the army finally standardized on a .45 cartridge designed to fire in both revolvers, the M1887 Military Ball Cartridge. The M1887 was made at [[Frankford Arsenal]], and was issued only to the military. It had the shorter case of the Schofield and the reduced rim of the Colt round; as it was short enough to fit the Schofield, and its rim was not needed for the rod-ejector Single Action Army, the M1887 would fire and eject from both revolvers.<ref>When the Army began to adopt modern side-loading double-action revolvers, the M1887 round gave occasional ejection trouble, and was replaced in Army use by the M1909 .45 Colt cartridge.</ref>

The Schofield was quite a popular handgun in the old west, and may have been used by [[General Custer]] at the [[Battle of the Little Bighorn]].<ref name="cotw"/> The effectiveness of the cartridge in battle, and its reputation for shootability and accuracy, led to the duplication of the cartridges' characteristics in the [[.45 ACP]], which would be later chambered in Colt's [[M1911 pistol]].

In the early 1880s the Benet type (internal) cartridge primer was retired and the modern Boxer type (external) primer was adopted for all future military production of revolver ammunition.

==Synonyms==
*.45 S&W
*.45 S&W Schofield
*.45 M1877 ball revolver

==See also==
*{{annotated link|11 mm caliber}}
*{{annotated link|List of rimmed cartridges}}
*{{annotated link|List of cartridges by caliber}}
*{{annotated link|List of handgun cartridges}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140210062313/http://www.sam-hane.com/sass/schofield/index.html .45 Schofield Revolver]
*[http://www.reloadammo.com/45soload.htm Reloading info] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181211231312/http://www.reloadammo.com/45soload.htm |date=2018-12-11 }}
*{{US patent|138047}} Schofield, G. W., "Revolving Fire-Arm", Issued 1873

{{Rimmed cartridges}}
{{Smith & Wesson}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:45 Schofield}}
[[Category:Pistol and rifle cartridges]]
[[Category:Rimmed cartridges]]
[[Category:Military cartridges]]
[[Category:Smith & Wesson cartridges]]