Howdy Again
Since we seem to be getting way off the original topic, let me give some history on the 45 Schofield cartridge.
Colt obtained their first contract with the government to supply the Single Action Army revolver to the Army in 1873.
By 1875 Smith and Wesson decided they did not want to be left out of what could potentially turn into lucrative contracts with the Army, so they entered into discussions with the government about supplying revolvers to the Army. Previously, about 1869, S&W had sold 1000 of their first large frame Top Break revolver, which later became known as the American Model to the government. This was the first cartridge revolver the Army bought. The cartridge it fired was a 44 caliber cartridge that used a heeled bullet. This round became known as the 44 S&W American round. At the time Smith and Wesson was busy building revolvers for the Russian, Turkish, and Japanese governments which eventually numbered around 150,000 revolvers produced. Their standard length cylinder was 1 7/16" long, which fit the 44 American round perfectly. When S&W entered into their discussions with the Army, it became known that the Army only wanted cartridge revolvers chambered for 45 caliber cartridges. The 1 7/16" cylinder S&W was using at the time was not long enough to accommodate the 45 Colt round. Because they were in the middle of the Russian model production, S&W did not want to change the tooling for a longer cylinder and frame to house it, particularly since there was no guarantee a government contract would materialize.
A compromise was reached where the bore of the new S&W revolvers was opened up to .45 caliber, but a shorter cartridge was created that would fit into a 1 7/16" cylinder. The first official name for this cartridge that the government used was Revolver Ball Cartridge, Caliber .45, M1875. This was simply a shorter version of the 1873 Colt cartridge, except the rim was a larger diameter in order to engage the extractor star of the Schofield revolver. The Colt SAA cartridge did not need a large diameter rim because empties were poked out of the cylinder by an ejector rod that poked them out from the inside. All the rim of the 1873 cartridge had to do was keep the round from sinking into the chamber when struck from behind by the firing pin. Just like the first 45 Colt cartridge, the new 'schofield' cartridge had a copper, not brass case, and used the Benet style of inside priming.
The original 'Schofield' cartridge carried a 230 grain bullet, as opposed to the 250 grain bullet of the Colt cartridge, and a charge of 28 grains of Black Powder vs the original Colt loading of 40 grains. (Yes, later the 45 Colt charge was cut back to about 30 grains, as is written on the box I posted a while ago).
The Revolver Ball Cartridge, Caliber .45, M1882, and 1890, was an update to the original 'schofield' cartridge, using Boxer priming and it was reloadable. A slightly shorter version, 1.42" long as opposed to the earlier 1.438" long version of the 'schofield' cartridge was called the Revolver Ball Cartridge, Caliber .45, M1896.
Photos:
The two cartridges on the left in this photo are both 45 Colts. The two on the right are both 45 Schofields. The two in the center are the original copper cased versions with Benet interior priming. The cannelures (oh no, there's that word again) at the bottom of the copper cased rounds hold the Anvil Plate of the interior priming in place. The two rounds on the outside are my reloads in modern brass, a 45 Colt on the far left, a 45 Schofield on the far right.
Take a good look at how tiny the rim is on the copper cased 45 Colt round. That is all that was required to keep it from being shoved into the cylinder when struck by a firing pin. That rim is only .503 in diameter. The rim on the Schofield round is .517 in diameter so the Schofield extractor could get a good grip on it.
Current SAAMI standard rim diameter for 45 Colt is .512, for 45 Schofield it is .520.
This photo shows a cutaway of the Benet inside priming. There is an Anvil Plate held in place at the bottom of the cartridge. The priming compound is sandwiched between the rear of the cartridge and the anvil plate. From the rear they look like rimfire cartridges, because there is no primer pressed in from the rear. These cartridges had to be made from soft copper because when the firing pin struck the center of the cartridge, it compressed the priming charge between the bottom of the case and the anvil plate, igniting the charge. The resultant flame passed through the two flash holes to ignite the main powder charge. Because of their construction, Benet primed cartridges were not reloadable.
At the top of this photo is a 2nd Gen Colt Single Action Army, chambered for 45 Colt. At the bottom is a Smith and Wesson 1st Model Schofield that left the factory in 1875, the year S&W procured their contract with the government. The government bought 3,035 First Model Schofields, and then in 1876-1877 they bought an additional 5,934 Second Model Schofields. That is all that were ever made until the year 2000 when Smith and Wesson made some more. No I do not know exactly how many, but that version was only made from 2000 to 2002, and unlike the Italian replicas they were only chambered for the 45 Schofield cartridge.
This photo shows the rear of the Schofield cylinder. The extractor is clearly visible.
Five modern 45 Schofield fired cartridges in the cylinder of the Schofield, ready to be extracted.
Two original Benet primed, copper cased 45 Schofield rounds as well as four of my modern 45 Schofield reloads with a 2nd Gen Colt cylinder.
Here is a photo of them loaded into the 2nd Gen Colt cylinder. As can be seen, they all fit.
Just for the fun of it, here are the same cartridges in a Ruger New Vaquero cylinder.