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The Colt Model 1910 was a prototype .45 ACP caliber automatic pistol developed by John Browning as an improvement of the earlier Colt Model 1909, which was rejected by the United States Department of War due to the Cavalry's belief that the design was too complicated for use by enlisted men, and because it lacked a safety mechanism. The M1910 ...
The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911 for the original model adopted in March 1911, and Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911A1 for the improved M1911A1 model which entered service in 1926. The designation changed to Pistol, Caliber .45, Automatic, M1911A1 in the Vietnam War era. [10]
The .45 ACP (not to be confused with .45 Colt) cartridge is a very popular caliber due to its low velocity and relatively high stopping power. This caliber is associated most with the Colt M1911, logically, as ACP literally means 'Automatic Colt Pistol'. However, there are many more guns and variations on the M1911 that are chambered in .45 ACP.
John Browning's 1911 .45 ACP has been used for many cartridges over the past century. In every instance the cartridge used a bullet with a diameter that was the same or smaller than the original .451". Both the Desert Eagle and the LAR Grizzly have been offered in cartridges of .50 caliber. Both are large cartridges requiring a large, heavy pistol.
The cartridge-pistol combination was quite successful but not satisfactory for U.S. military purposes. Over time, a series of improved designs were offered, culminating in the adoption in 1911 of the "Cal. 45 Automatic Pistol Ball Cartridge, Model of 1911", a 1.273-inch-long (32 mm) round with a bullet weight of 230 grains (15 g).
Models in use included the M1911A1 (Colt .45 Automatic), Smith & Wesson (Combat Masterpiece in .38 Special caliber), Smith and Wesson Model 1917 (.45 ACP and .45 Auto Rim) and various other small arms. By the 1970s it became obvious that the M1911A1 (Colt Government .45ACP) model was going to have to be replaced. [4]
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Browning Arms Company (originally John Moses and Matthew Sandefur Browning Company) is an American marketer of firearms and fishing gear. The company was founded in Ogden, Utah , in 1878 by brothers John Moses Browning (1855–1926) and Matthew Sandefur Browning (1859–1923).