45 Schofield (45 S&W) was introduced in 1875 in the S&W Schofield revolver. It was an alternate issue by the U.S. Army until 1892. Bullet diameter is .4559-inch, but the Schofield revolver has a shorter cylinder than the Colt single-action, so the 45 Schofield has a shorter case. Its original charge of blackpowder was thus much smaller than the 45 Colt. The 45 Schofield is thus not nearly as powerful as the 45 Colt, but the break-open Schofield revolver was much faster to reload...and, with less recoil, it is considerably easier to shoot than the 45 Colt. As with many older cartridges cowboy action shooting has brought it back, with reproductions and modern smokeless loads readily available.
