“…Model 1892-type revolvers first saw combat in the Spanish American War (1898) where their limited use showed no problems worth mentioning. After the war the United States found itself in possession of the Philippine islands, whose native inhabitants did not relish exchanging Iberian masters for the North American. Thus it was that the U.S. Army found itself involved in a very dirty, violent pacification campaign. During the Campaigns against the Moro tribesmen of Mindanao, the Colt revolver’s shortcomings became painfully apparent. Bolo- and Kris- waving Juramentados (fanatical suicide warriors inflamed by religious fervor and locally concocted drugs) often picked out American officers for attack. In their state of physical and psychological excitement they OFTEN ABSORBED MULTIPLE .38 COLT PROJECTILES WITH APLOMB. It was a brave (or foolhardy?) officer who entered the jungle armed with nothing but his issue .38 revolver. (American) Officers carved up like Sunday roasts became a commonplace that they attracted the notice of the Army Ordnance Department. To deal with the problem, numbers of the .45-caliber Model 1873 revolvers were taken out of storage and reissued…”

Taken from Shooting Times magazine. May, 2005 issue entitled: The Shootist.

In conclusion I have found that the Colt .45 was not made just for the Filipinos, but only reissued because the bullet caliber that it shot was not strong enough. They debated whether the .38 caliber would be of better use than the .45 caliber. They were right to say that it wouldn’t be strong enough. The American Army found that out with great consequence. To make everyone feel better about this, the American's eventually, but indirectly, were forced to adopt the great and magnificent Model 1911 as used in world war I and II. (The gun that Tom Hanks was useing to shoot the tank in the movie Saving Private Ryan) Please Leave Comments.