.38/.45 Clerke
The .38/.45 Clerke (pronounced "clark"), aka .38/.45 Auto Pistol, .45/.38 Auto Pistol, or 45/.38 Hard Head, is a wildcat semi-automatic pistol cartridge developed by Bo Clerke and introduced in Guns & Ammo in 1963.[1] History and designIt is essentially a .45 ACP case, necked down to .357, resulting in a cartridge similar in form to the earlier 7.65×21mm Parabellum and 7.63×25mm 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] Ammunition and reloading.45 ACP cases can be resized to handload .38/.45 Auto cartridges [4] using form and sizer dies still available from the RCBS Corporation, p/n 56468. Nearly any M1911 pistol and pistols of the same pattern 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 roundsSee alsoReferences
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