| .38/.45 Clerke | ||
|---|---|---|
| Type | Pistol | |
| Place of origin | United States | |
| Production history | ||
| Designer | Bo Clerke | |
| Designed | 1963 | |
| Manufacturer | Armory Gunshop | |
| Specifications | ||
| Parent case | .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 | ||
| Bullet weight/type | Velocity | Energy |
| 130 gr (8.4 g) FMJ | 1,245 ft/s (379 m/s) | 475[1] |
The .38/45 Clerke aka .38/45 Auto Pistol or .45/38 Auto Pistol is an automatic pistol cartridge developed by Bo Clerke and introduced in Guns & Ammo in 1963.[2]
Contents |
It is essentially a .45 ACP case, necked down to .357 caliber diameter, resulting in a cartridge similar in form to the earlier .30 Luger 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.[3] The cartridge can be used in standard .45 ACP magazines.[4]
The .38 Casull followed the same forumula as the .38/45 Clerke, but with thicker case walls as in the .45 Winchester Magnum.[5][6]
Brass .45 ACP cases can be resized to handload .38/45 Auto cartridges [7] using form and sizer dies still available from the RCBS Corporation, p/n 56468.
Nearly any 45ACP 1911 pistol can be converted to the 38/45 cartridge with a replacement barrel, from a 38 Super barrel reamed out to .38/45 dimensions,[4][2] and during the rounds initial popularity, drop-in barrels were available from makers like Bar-Sto.