Bob Wright
Hawkeye
I feel loquacious today, so forgive me if I seem wordy. The question has been asked on another forum about the difference in the .32 revolver cartridge and the .32 ACP. And that just dips the bucket into my well of knowledge.
Handgun cartridges, especially those of some age, are generally comparatively short straight walled cartridges, or with very little taper. Admittedly some are indeed bottleneck, especially the Winchester rounds of the Nineteenth Century. These were designed for the short action Winchester rifles of the era. Most cartridges had their birth dates during the last of the Nineteenth or early Twentieth Century.
Revolver cartridges with very prominent rims (I'm speaking primarily of American rounds here.) are designs of Smith & Wesson or Merwin Hulbert, the guns of which utilized multiple "star" extractors. Colt designed rounds have very small rims, just enough to keep the cartridge from going too deep into the chamber. Whether this was intentional, to prevent their use in multiple extraction revolvers, or not, has never been factually determined.
Auto pistol cartridges usually are rimless, or have a rim that is no larger in diameter than the case body, and will have a prominent extractor groove, usually sharply beveled. This to provide clearance for the extractor. Currently manufactured revolver cartridges have a cannelure just ahead of the rim, but is smaller and more square shouldered. This is a manufacturing feature only, though does add some stress relief to the case construction. And some pistol rounds have a slight rim, though not as pronounced as revolver cartridges.
Revolver cartridges, the .41 Magnum has the modern groove ahead of the rim:
.45 ACP cartridges, not the sloped shoulder of the extractor groove:
Vintage .44 cartridges. Not the larger rim of the MH round compared to the Colt and Remington rounds:
(Now stepping down from the pulpit.)
Bob Wright
Handgun cartridges, especially those of some age, are generally comparatively short straight walled cartridges, or with very little taper. Admittedly some are indeed bottleneck, especially the Winchester rounds of the Nineteenth Century. These were designed for the short action Winchester rifles of the era. Most cartridges had their birth dates during the last of the Nineteenth or early Twentieth Century.
Revolver cartridges with very prominent rims (I'm speaking primarily of American rounds here.) are designs of Smith & Wesson or Merwin Hulbert, the guns of which utilized multiple "star" extractors. Colt designed rounds have very small rims, just enough to keep the cartridge from going too deep into the chamber. Whether this was intentional, to prevent their use in multiple extraction revolvers, or not, has never been factually determined.
Auto pistol cartridges usually are rimless, or have a rim that is no larger in diameter than the case body, and will have a prominent extractor groove, usually sharply beveled. This to provide clearance for the extractor. Currently manufactured revolver cartridges have a cannelure just ahead of the rim, but is smaller and more square shouldered. This is a manufacturing feature only, though does add some stress relief to the case construction. And some pistol rounds have a slight rim, though not as pronounced as revolver cartridges.
Revolver cartridges, the .41 Magnum has the modern groove ahead of the rim:
.45 ACP cartridges, not the sloped shoulder of the extractor groove:
Vintage .44 cartridges. Not the larger rim of the MH round compared to the Colt and Remington rounds:
(Now stepping down from the pulpit.)
Bob Wright
