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9mm MAJOR

The 9mm MJR (9mm Major) dates from around 1991 and was designed by Horst Grillmayer, who also developed the 9x25 SAG (Super Auto Grillmayer). It is based on the 40 S&W case necked down. As can be seen from the specimens below, some of the original testing was done...

12mm FRENCH

Cartridge for the heavy civilian model of the French Revolver and was available in a series from 5mm, 7mm, 9mm, 12mm and 15mm. (Erlmeier, Brandt Ref. 173).                    ...

44 WEBLEY

The 44 Webley is the American designation of the 442 Royal Irish Constabulary revolver developed in 1868. It was manufactured in the US up to the early 1940’s and was at a stage a popular self-defence caliber in pocket type revolvers. (Erlmeier, Brandt Ref. 419)

44 WEBLEY LONG CASE

This cartridge is listed as the 10.8mm Montenegrin No.4 Revolver in Erlmeier, Brandt Vol 1 p.199 as Ref. 157. From an earlier IAA Forum discussion however this cartridge has been identified as an early long-cased, inside lubricated 44 Webley by UMC and pre-dates the...

480 RUGER

Joint development by Ruger and Hornady for the Super Redhawk revolver and was launched in 2003 to provide a cartridge that is far superior to the 44 Magnum but still manageable as a carry gun. Many more powerful handguns like the 500 S&W have been introduced since...

9mm LARGO

The 9mm Largo is the Spanish version of the 9mm Bergmann-Bayard cartridge that was adopted by them as a military side-arm in 1905 for use in the M1903 Bergmann-Mars Pistol. It is not a separate cartridge and is listed here only for interest’s sake, as the main...

44 THUER

There were two developments that were the sliced bread version of handgun design. The first was the self-contained metallic cartridge and the second was the bored-through cylinder that enabled cartridges to be loaded from the rear of the cylinder. Swiss gunsmith Jean...

44 TARGET

This is a target cartridge developed by Speer and is technically not a separate caliber, but is interchangeable with all 44 cal. handguns (44 Spl, 44 Mag etc.) Listed here as it is described separately in Erlmeier, Brandt Vol 2 p. 173 (Erlmeier, Brandt Ref. 416)...

9mm JAPANESE REVOLVER

With Japan opening to Western influence from the 1860’s onward, the Imperial Army used a wide variety of different firearms sourced and imported from various countries. As handgun they used the .44 Smith & Wesson Russian and the Model 3 revolvers, but in 1877 it...

38 LONG COLT (NAVY)

The 38 Long (Caliber .38 Revolver, Ball) was developed in 1875 by Colt and is essentially a centerfire version of the .38 Long rimfire, originally developed by UMC in late 1873 or early 1874 for the Navy to use in their Colt M 1851 and 1861 revolvers that were...

38 LONG COLT (ARMY)

This is the improved, inside lubricated version of the original .38 Colt Navy discussed below. The case is longer than the original to enclose the inside lubricated bullet, but the overall length is basically the same as the Navy version. The US Ordnance Office...

12mm DEVISME

Louis-François Devisme was known for his exceptional quality firearms during the 19th century, which are highly sought after, even today. He received numerous awards over a thirty year period, from his first award for firearms design and manufacture at the 1834 Paris...

476 ENFIELD Mk.III

This is the third version of the Enfield series, the others being the Mk. 1 (EB Ref. 457) which was reportedly only manufactured in very small lots in India in the latter part of September 1880 and had a shorter bullet than the Mk. 2 with a modified bullet that was...

9mm HIGH STANDARD

The 9mm High-Standard was an experimental cartridge developed by the High Standard Manufacturing Corporation of Hamden Conn. The case is a standard 9mm Parabellum case, but it used a sintered iron bullet as can be seen in the middle specimen. Trials were done for the...

58 WHITE AUTO

It was designed by Mark White of Sound Technologies, a US Class II manufacturer specializing in sound suppressors. The idea was that if you are going to use a subsonic cartridge, it might as well use the largest diameter projectile possible. “White has developed an...

577 HOWDAH JURRAS

One of a series of cartridges designed by the Late Lee Jurras, one of the greats in handgun hunting. He was very interested in the exploits of the old hunters with their Howdah pistols and in the early 1970’s brought out his own versions chambered in 6 different...

577 REVOLVER

info to follow (EB Ref: 477)                Box copy from RSA Newsletter 219 (#4 of 2016). Original from Martin Golland (UK). The hand written "Special Bullet" referred to the RN instead of the flat tip lead bullet...

510 GNR

The 510 GNR was developed by Gary Reeder from Rheeder Custom Guns, Flagstaff, AZ around 2004 and is based on the 500 Linebaugh case that was shortened by about 1/10th of an inch. It allows for the cartridge to be downloaded to about .500 Special ballistics and upward...

500 WYOMING EXPRESS

The 500 Wyoming Express was developed in 1995 for the Freedom Arms Model 83 revolver. It was a new design with a belted case and not based on any existing cases. The reason for the belted case was for the cartridge to headspace on the belt which would allow a heavier...

500 SPECIAL

The 500 Special is a shortened version of the 500 S&W Magnum and was launched after the 500 S&W was released. The idea behind the 500 S&W Special was an alternative cartridge for optimized reduced loads, much like the 38 Spl is to the 357 Magnum, or the 44...

500 SMITH & WESSON MAGNUM

Developed by Smith & Wesson in 2003 in the X-Frame Model 500 revolver the 500 S&W ranks as one of the most powerful handgun cartridges with almost the same muzzle energy than the .308 Winchester. The "LR" on the Hornady headstamp means large rifle primers used.

500 MAXIMUM

The 500 Maximum was developed by John Linebaugh in 2001 is sometimes called the 500 Linebaugh Long. The parent case is also the 348 Winchester, but the 50 Alaskan cases are more readily available to use. It is 0.2” longer than the ‘standard’ 500 Linebaugh....

500 JURRAS

One of a series of cartridges designed by the Late Lee Jurras, one of the greats in handgun hunting. He was very interested in the exploits of the old hunters with their Howdah pistols and in the early 1970’s brought out his own versions chambered in 6 different...

50 REMINGTON ARMY MOD. 1871

The Remington Rolling block action evolved from the earlier split breech design by a Remington employee named Leonard Geiger who patented his design in 1863. During the next few years this idea was further improved upon by Joseph Rider, who was the superintendent at...

50 FRENCH REMINGTON PISTOL

I am still looking for information regarding this cartridge. The #9 shot load of the top specimen matches a cartridge (possibly SFM manufactured) that was listed in an old Buttweiler catalogue (RTB VI.3.250) designated as the .50 French Remington Pistol, but apart...

50 ACTION EXPRESS

The 50 AE was designed around 1988 by Bob Olsen who owned ODL (Olsen Development Laboratory) together with Evan Whildin from Action Arms. The original barrels were done by Fred Wells, who developed the 510 Wells Express and the first cartridges were headstamped A.A.L....

38 DARDICK

This interesting cartridge was designed by David Dardick, who already started during the late 1940’s with his design, although the patent application for his “Open Chamber Gun” was only filed in 1954 and granted in August of 1958. The gun was designed to be a...

11 X 59R GRAS

During the Franco-Prussian War the French were armed with the Chassepot rifle that was adopted in 1866. It was a better rifle in all aspects that the Dreyse needle-fire rifle the Prussian forces were using, but notwithstanding that they still lost the war, more...

475 WILDEY MAGNUM

Designed in the early 1970’s by Wildey J. Moore for a gas-operated, double-action/single-action pistol and was offered in a variety of calibers, the biggest being the 475 Wildey Magnum. it is based on a shortened 284 Winchester case. It was made famous in the Death...

9mm GLISENTI

The Glisenti Model 1910 was adopted by the Italian Government in 1911 as the “Cartuccia a Pallotolla Cal. 9 M.910.”. The locking system of the Glisenti was weaker than that of the standard 9mm Parabellum cartridge adopted by Germany earlier, and therefore the 9mm...