forty-five.com / papers /29 .45 or .44? Benjamin Nicholson When these two numbers are put together, people usually Reviewed by Ashley Hlebinsky sit up and pay attention. John Wayne stands tall with his “Colt 45,” and Clint Eastwood faces off with his “S&W 44 Magnum.”1 There’s only a hundredth of an inch separating the two calibers, and a generation of contention as to which i s t h e fi n e r r o u n d o r r e v o l v e r . T h e n u m b e r 4 5 c a n b e fl i pedto make 54, and pleasure seeking Baby Boomers come to mind, singing along with the Village People’s iconic tune YMCA against the backdrop of Studio 54, New York’s iconic 70s disco. So what happens in the brain when it hears something so reduced in size and economical in its symbolism as two numbers, juxtaposed either forwards or backwards? For all of the Steampunk cogwheels and curly-cues of the Victorian age, cartridges and bullets are amongst the most a b s t r a c t s h a p e s t o c o m e o u t o f t h e I n d u s t r i a l R e v o l u t i o n , a p e r f e c t u n i o n o f s t r a i g h t l i n e a n d c u r v e . 2 From the outside, a cartridge is haunting in its reduced simplicity: little more t h a n a t r u n c a t e d c y l i n d e r o f g l e a m i n g b r a s s fi l l e d w i t h gunpowder, into which is wedged a lead bullet. The nose cone o f a b u l l e t i s a r o u n d o g i v e s h a p e , d e s i g n e d t o s l i c e t h r o u g h w i n d w i t h o p t i m u m e f fi c i e n c y . Y e t , f o r a l l i t s m o d e r n ist austerity, a bullet is pregnant with the capacity for a life c h a n g i n g , v i s c e r a l , n a s t y , m e s s y , c a u s a l i t y . W h o w o u l d h a v e k n o w n t h a t s u c h g h a s t l y t e r m i n a t i o n c o u l d b e b o r n f r o m such pure form? The clue is the ear-splitting crack-bang that accompanies each shot. The raw power of that noise, whose only parallel in nature is a thunderclap, feels like a l l t h e n o i s e s o f t h e w o r l d h a v e b e e n c o m p r e s s e d i n t o a s p l i t second. Surely that alone tells us something. And not to be forgotten is that, when the chips are down, the cartridge becomes currency, not worthless paper money. The real price of life is unambiguously mirrored in the simple form; one is exchanged for the other.3 What we know today as a “bullet shape” started out as a perfectly round sphere of lead used for centuries in m a t c h l o c k , w h e e l l o c k , a n d fl i n t l o c k m u s k e t s a n d p i s t ols up until the 1830s. Keplarian globes would sail through the a i r i n c o n s t e l l a t i o n s f r o m m a s s e d v o l l e y s o f s m o o t h b o r e muskets, from the ranks of British Red Coats and American R e v o l u t i o n a r i e s a l i k e . T h e l e a d e n b a l l s w o u l d y a w a n d a r c through space, inaccurate and going their own way, hoping f o r a c h a n c e h i t u p o n t h e i r u n f o r t u n a t e a d v e r s a r y . T h e b a l l s w e r e b i g , s l o w , a n d h e a v y , b e t w e e n o n e - h a l f a n d t h r e e - q u a r t e r s o f a n i n c h i n d i a m e t e r . A m u s k e t e e r , i f h i s v i e w w a s unsullied by smoke, could watch the unhurried passage of the ball form a shallow parabolic arc as it wended its way into the heart of darkness. Basic military ammunition is still called Ball ammo, despite no longer being spherical. Inventing the .44 Caliber Ball It may be wondered why some of the standard ammunition we k n o w t o d a y , s u c h a s . 4 4 , . 3 6 a n d . 3 2 c a l i b e r s , h a v e s u c h s e e m i n g l y i r r e g u l a r d i m e n s i o n s . T h e r e a s o n i s d e c e p t i v e l y simple. The standard .75 Caliber Brown Bess of the 1776 R e v o l u t i o n a r y W a r m u s k e t u s e d a . 6 9 c a l i b e r b a l l a n d w e i g h e d .75 caliber and .70 caliber ball ammunition from the Revo- lutionary War. Collection of the author.This generation of bullets weighed around an ounce. They were easily dropped down the muzzle of smooth-bore muskets, as their diameter was smaller than that of the barrel. They were by no means perfect spheres and the casting sprue would be snipped off by the soldier, causing a further diminishment in accuracy. approximately 1¼ ounce or thirteen to a pound. The table b e l o w s h o w s t h e r e l a t i v e w e i g h t s o f s m a l l e r a m m u n i t i o n . 4 Caliber Approx. no. to 1lb Relative weight .69 (.68) 13 1 .58 (.57) 25 1/2 weight of .69 .44 (.453) 50 1/2 weight of .58 .36 (.375) 100 1/2 weight of .44 .31 (.320) 150 1/3 weight of .36 .28 (.265) 250 1/5 weight of .31 The diameter of ball ammunition began to diminish when b a r r e l s c o u l d b e i n e x p e n s i v e l y r i fl e d , a s a n a c c u r a t e s hot is more deadly although the ball is smaller. When Samuel C o l t p a t e n t e d h i s r e v o l v e r m e c h a n i s m i n 1 8 3 6 , a n e w s e a r c h for the right caliber ball ammo was set in motion. The Colt P a t e r s o n . 3 6 c a l i b e r r e v o l v e r , c o n s i d e r e d b y m a n y t o b e o n e of the most elegant handguns ever made, could fire five shots in quick succession. For the nascent gun industry, the s e a r c h w a s o n f o r a r e v o l v i n g h a n d g u n t h a t w a s t h e r i g h t m i x o f fi r e p o w e r , c a l i b e r , l i g h t n e s s , a n d e a s e o f m a n u f a c t ureto r e l i a b l y d e l i v e r m o r e s h o t s o n t a r g e t i f t h e fi r s t o n e m i s s ed.