| .38/.45 Clerke | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Pistol | |||||||
| Place of origin | USA | |||||||
| Production history | ||||||||
| Designer | Bo Clerke | |||||||
| Designed | 1963 | |||||||
| Manufacturer | Armory Gunshop | |||||||
| Specifications | ||||||||
| Parent cartridge | .45 ACP | |||||||
| Case type | Rimless, bottleneck | |||||||
| Bullet diameter | .357 in (9.1 mm) | |||||||
| Base diameter | .470 in (11.9 mm) | |||||||
| Rim diameter | .471 in (12.0 mm) | |||||||
| Rim thickness | .050 in (1.3 mm) | |||||||
| Case length | .880 in (22.4 mm) | |||||||
| Overall length | 1.22 in (31 mm) | |||||||
| Primer type | large pistol | |||||||
Ballistic performance
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The .38/.45 Clerke (pronounced "clark"), aka .38/.45 Auto Pistol or .45/.38 Auto Pistol is a wildcat semi-automatic pistol cartridge developed by Bo Clerke and introduced in Guns & Ammo in 1963.[1]
History and design[]
It is essentially a .45 ACP case, necked down to .357, resulting in a cartridge similar in form to the earlier .30 Parabellum and .30 Mauser cartridges. It was created to be a low recoil target cartridge that would function reliably with multiple bullet types, FMJ to cast lead wadcutters without the feeding problems that straight walled pistol rounds sometimes exhibit.[2] The cartridge can be used in standard .45 ACP magazines.[3]
The .38 Casull followed the same formula as the .38/.45 Clerke, but with thicker case walls as in the .45 Winchester Magnum.[4][5]
Ammunition and reloading[]
.45 ACP cases can be resized to handload .38/.45 Auto cartridges [6] using form and sizer dies still available from the RCBS Corporation, p/n 56468.
Nearly any M1911-pattern pistol can be converted to the .38/.45 cartridge with a replacement barrel, from a 38 Super barrel reamed out to .38/.45 dimensions.[1][3] During the round's initial popularity, drop-in barrels were available from makers like Bar-Sto.
Related rounds[]
- .45 ACP
- .38 Super
- .400 Corbon
- .357 SIG
- 7.63x25mm Mauser
- .38 Casull
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 (October 1963 ed.). 1963.
- ↑ Robert K. Campbell. "The Shooter's Guide to the 1911: A Guide to the Greatest Pistol of All Time". p. 122. ISBN 1-4402-1434-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=dltfyqFaA68C&pg=PA122.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Patrick Sweeney. Gun Digest Big Fat Book of the .45 ACP. pp. 329, 332. ISBN 1-4402-0219-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=55Td91jZOa0C&pg=PA329.
- ↑ John Taffin. "Flat-shooting trail gun: Casull 3800". Guns Magazine. Archived from the original on 2012-07-09. https://archive.is/AP5X.
- ↑ "1911 Hot Rods". Guns & Ammo- Handguns Magazine. http://web.archive.org/web/20090617072247/http://www.handgunsmag.com/ammunition/1911_hot_rods/index1.html.
- ↑ Barnes, Frank C. (2006) [1965]. Skinner, Stan. ed. Cartridges of the World (11th Edition ed.). Iola, WI, USA: Gun Digest Books. pp. 140, 143. ISBN 0-89689-297-2.
External links[]
The original article can be found at .38/.45 Clerke and the edit history here.