Field Guides / Cross-reference library
Follow the designers, military decisions, target traditions and commercial experiments behind the chamberings in this knowledge base. Start with a name, then follow its linked historical reference.
36 documented entries · M1911 family, M1 Garand & FN-49 · Updated November 6, 2026
Records distinguish service and factory chamberings from historical, specialist, case-variant, derivative and trial contexts. Inclusion does not establish current manufacture, availability in every model, or the suitability of any ammunition for an individual firearm.
This is an expanding documented index, not a claim to list every one-off custom build or every cartridge ever tried. It contains history only, with no conversion, handloading or firing instructions; similar names are never proof of interchangeability.
Showing 36 documented cartridge histories.
Try a shorter name or reset the filter. No match does not establish that a chambering never existed.
Original service family
The .45 automatic cartridge belongs to Browning and Colt's early-20th-century pistol-development story; Colt's Model 1905 preceded the U.S. Model 1911 (NRA Museum: Model 1905). It became the original M1911 service chambering, while later Colt variants used other cartridges (Wiley Clapp: Colt chambering history).
Historical British service
Britain's self-loading .455 cartridge belongs to the Webley automatic-pistol family and is distinct from .455 revolver ammunition (Wiley Clapp: Colt chambering history). Colt supplied 1911 pistols in this chambering for British service during the First World War, a separate history from the standard .45 ACP pistol (Wiley Clapp: Colt chambering history).
Commercial & competition
Colt introduced the Super .38 pistol in 1929, carrying forward the earlier .38 Automatic cartridge family in a higher-performance commercial offering (Wiley Clapp: Colt chambering history). Its later competition history led to several distinctly named case variants (Mike Nischalke: competition-cartridge evolution).
Rimfire target family
J. Stevens Arms & Tool introduced .22 Long Rifle in 1887, combining elements of the earlier .22 Long and .22 Extra Long families (Savage: .22 LR origins). Colt's Ace and later rimfire offerings brought it into the 1911 family's training and target story (Wiley Clapp: Colt chambering history).
Commercial factory family
Georg Luger's 9mm cartridge was introduced in 1902 and became a major international service cartridge (Gun Digest: 9mm history). Colt's 1911-family production also included 9mm Luger, distinct from 9mm Steyr and 9×23 Winchester (Wiley Clapp: Colt chambering history).
Historical target pistol
Smith & Wesson introduced .38 Special in 1898, developing it from the older .38 Long Colt family (Speer: The Great .38). Colt's specialized National Match Mid-Range brought this revolver-cartridge family into a 1911-style target pistol, not an ordinary service M1911 configuration (Wiley Clapp: Colt chambering history).
Historical U.S. target development
The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit's .38 AMU used a rimless case related to the .38 Special target tradition and appears in Colt-associated 1911 history (Wiley Clapp: Colt chambering history). Its Fort Benning target-pistol context is documented, but an exact introduction year is not assigned here without a stronger original record (Wiley Clapp: Colt chambering history).
Historical export chambering
The bottleneck 7.65mm Parabellum dates to 1898 and the early Luger-pistol story, following the Borchardt cartridge lineage (cartridge historical reference). Clapp documents .30 Luger among Colt's less-common 1911-family export chamberings (Wiley Clapp: Colt chambering history).
Historical export chambering
The 9mm Steyr dates to the early 1910s and the Steyr M1912 service-pistol family (Steyr cartridge history). It appears in Colt's export-chambering record, distinct from 9×23 Winchester despite the similar dimensional name (Wiley Clapp: Colt chambering history).
Commercial factory family
Jeff Cooper helped define the concept, Dornaus & Dixon developed the Bren Ten pistol, and Norma supplied the cartridge for its 1983 introduction (Shooting Illustrated: 10mm development). Colt's Delta Elite and Dan Wesson's 1911 line helped carry the cartridge beyond the Bren Ten (Wiley Clapp: Colt chambering history; CZ: Dan Wesson history).
Competition-era commercial cartridge
The Winchester 9×23 belongs to the competition-driven 1990s search for alternatives to .38 Super; Colt announced its version in 1996 (Wiley Clapp: Colt chambering history). The competition literature distinguishes it from Starline's later 9 Super Comp and from the .38 Super Comp family (Mike Nischalke: competition-cartridge evolution).
Commercial factory family
Smith & Wesson and Winchester introduced the .40 S&W in 1990 as part of the shortened-10mm development story (Wiley Clapp: Colt chambering history). Colt offered a small run in its Combat Elite family; historical factory production is not a guarantee that a particular model remains available (Wiley Clapp: Colt chambering history).
Scaled 1911 derivative
John Browning designed both the .380 ACP and the 1911 pistol, although the two originally belonged to different pistol projects (Browning: .380 and 1911 lineage). Browning's later 1911-380 uses a scaled 1911-style platform, which is why this entry is labeled a derivative rather than an original military-size Colt chambering (Browning platform reference).
Modern specialist cartridge
Fred Craig's .22 Micro-Mag development led to collaboration with Armscor and Martin Tuason; TCM names the Tuason Craig Micromagnum project (American Rifleman: .22 TCM history). The documented Rock Island 1911 association places it in the modern specialist family rather than the original military chambering list (platform history).
Documented custom example
SIG Sauer and Federal introduced the bottleneck .357 SIG in 1994 (cartridge origin reference). A documented Tommy Guns USA custom 1911 illustrates a specialist application, not a claim that every 1911 manufacturer offered it (published custom-pistol profile).
Specialist cartridge family
The .45 Super is associated with the 1980s work of Dean Grennell and Ace Hindman and the wider .451 Detonics / .45 Winchester Magnum lineage (Richard Mann: cartridge development). It is not another name for ordinary .45 ACP; its historical 1911 association does not establish ammunition suitability in an individual pistol (historical family reference).
Specialist commercial development
Triton's Fernando Coelho developed the .450 SMC in the .45 Super lineage, with its commercial story reaching 2001 (Richard Mann: origins). “SMC” means Short Magnum Cartridge; this record documents history, not adaptation or firing instructions (historical reference).
Specialist cartridge family
Johnny Rowland designed the .460 Rowland, introduced in 1997 and belonging to the .45 ACP-derived family (cartridge historical reference). Its 1911 association is specialist rather than standard U.S. service production, and shared ancestry is not proof of interchangeability (development context).
Specialist commercial cartridge
Cor-Bon's Peter Pi developed the bottleneck .400 Cor-Bon from the .45 ACP family in the mid-1990s; accounts give differing dates, including 1995 and 1997 (Cartridges of the World editor: non-.45 chamberings; cartridge history). The 1911 appears in its documented platform history; no modification or compatibility instructions are provided here (Cartridges of the World editor: non-.45 chamberings).
Proprietary specialist family
Alex Zimmermann developed the .50 GI for Guncrafter Industries, with a public debut in the Model No. 1 at the 2004 SHOT Show (cartridge and maker history). That model is a dedicated 1911-pattern application, not a generic designation for other .50-caliber handgun cartridges (historical context).
Historical wildcat
Bo Clerke developed the .38/.45 in 1963 as a target-oriented 1911 cartridge based on the .45 ACP family (Travis Pike: historical account). It belongs in a wildcat appendix rather than Colt's documented factory-chambering count (Wiley Clapp: Colt chambering history).
Historical wildcat · Research incomplete
Clapp explicitly names .38 Casull among wildcat cartridges built for the 1911, outside his twelve Colt factory chamberings (Wiley Clapp: Colt chambering history). This entry does not assign an introduction year or complete development lineage without a stronger original record; the research gap is preserved rather than filled with an unsupported claim.
Modern cartridge · Historical model option
Federal introduced .30 Super Carry in January 2022 following development involving Nighthawk Custom and Smith & Wesson (2022 development report). Nighthawk's GRP 1911 was a documented application; the historical reference lists that particular model option as discontinued, not the cartridge itself (cartridge and model history).
Specialist commercial family
Fernando Coelho and Tom Burczynski developed the .40 Super, introduced by Triton in 1996; its lineage connects .45 Super experimentation with the .45 Winchester Magnum case family (development history). STI offered factory-chambered 1911 pistols, a documented specialist platform connection (historical platform reference).
Competition-family case variant
Pistolsmith and competitor Matt McLearn introduced rimless .38 Super Comp brass with Starline in the mid-1990s (Mike Nischalke: competition-cartridge evolution). It is recorded here as a competition-case variant within the wider .38 Super story, not as another original military or Colt service chambering (Mike Nischalke: competition-cartridge evolution).
Competition-family case variant
Starline's 9 Super Comp followed 9×23 Winchester in the competition-driven search for alternatives to the semi-rimmed .38 Super (Mike Nischalke: competition-cartridge evolution). The cited account distinguishes it from .38 Super Comp but does not establish an exact introduction year here (Mike Nischalke: competition-cartridge evolution).
Competition-family case variant
Competitor Todd Jarrett designed the .38 TJ as another evolution in the .38 Super-derived competition family (Mike Nischalke: competition-cartridge evolution). Its distinct name and designer are recorded without inventing a first-production date or counting it as a separate Colt factory chambering (Mike Nischalke: competition-cartridge evolution).
Production service cartridge
The U.S. Army introduced .30-06 in 1906 as a development of the earlier .30-03; the name combines the nominal .30 caliber with the adoption year (cartridge history). It became the M1 Garand's standard service cartridge and a major FN-49 production chambering (Bruce Canfield: Navy Garands; American Rifleman: FN-49 history).
Navy Garand & Argentine FN-49
The cartridge grew from U.S. T65 development and NATO standardization in 1954 (development and standardization). It connects the Navy's MK 2 Garand program with Argentina's later FN-49 conversions; an original chambering and a later service conversion are separate historical events (CMP: The 7.62MM Garand; American Rifleman: FN-49 history).
Commercial terminology cross-reference
Winchester introduced .308 Winchester commercially in 1952, before NATO standardized the closely related 7.62×51 service cartridge in 1954 (commercial origin; NATO chronology). “Navy .308” is familiar shorthand, but a commercial .308 rifle is not thereby an authentic Navy conversion; the official program used 7.62 NATO nomenclature (CMP: The 7.62MM Garand).
Service-rifle trial context only
The .276 cartridge belongs to the 1920s service-rifle trials and John D. Pedersen's experimental rifle project, dated 1923 in the National Park Service account (NPS: Pedersen experimental rifle). It provides development context for the Garand story, not a standard production M1 chambering (NPS trial history).
Venezuelan production contract
Mauser designed the 7×57 in 1892, and Spain adopted it for its Model 1893 rifle (cartridge origins). Venezuela chose it for its FN-49 contract, connecting a 19th-century cartridge to a postwar self-loading rifle (American Rifleman: FN-49 history).
Original Argentine production
Mauser introduced the 7.65×53 in 1889 for Belgium's Model 1889 rifle; Argentina's later adoption helped give it the familiar “Argentine” name (origin and adoption). Argentina's FN-49s originally used it before later 7.62 NATO conversions, so national markings alone do not establish present chambering (American Rifleman: FN-49 history).
Egyptian production contract
The German service-cartridge family began with the Gewehr 88 in 1888 and later S-pattern development in 1903–1905; the original project was not a Mauser-company invention (cartridge development history). Egypt's FN-49 contract used the 7.92×57 family; a broad “8mm” label does not establish equivalence among older cartridges and chambers (American Rifleman: FN-49 history).
Experimental context
The 6.5×55 cartridge resulted from joint Swedish-Norwegian development and adoption in 1894 (joint-development history). The FN-49 account identifies it among experimental chamberings, not the principal production-contract cartridges (American Rifleman: FN-49 history).
Experimental context
France developed the 7.5×54 in 1929 by revising the earlier 7.5×57 MAS service-cartridge project (French cartridge chronology). It appears in FN-49 experimental history rather than the main production-contract tables (American Rifleman: FN-49 history).
Manufacturer timelines, museum histories and CMP research are used where available, with specialist publications supplying context. Encyclopedia entries are identified as historical starting points rather than substitutes for original factory records.
A cartridge, a case variant and an experimental application are different kinds of records. Unresolved dates remain unspecified; discontinued entries stay visible because collecting includes the history of things no longer manufactured.
Linked material may be dated or contain differing accounts. Consult original records before making a provenance claim; no purchase, conversion or use recommendation is made here.
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https://www.nramuseum.org/guns/the-galleries/world-war-i-and-firearms-innovation/case-36-great-inventors/colt-model-1905-45-automatic-pistol.aspxhttps://www.americanrifleman.org/content/the-1911-not-just-a-45/https://www.ssusa.org/content/nothing-s-perfect/https://savagearms.com/blog/post/from-plinking-to-precision-the-evolution-of-the-22-long-riflehttps://gundigest.com/gear-ammo/ammunition/9mm-lugerhttps://www.speer.com/speer-stories/the-great-38.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7.65%C3%9721mm_Parabellumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9%C3%9723mm_Steyrhttps://www.shootingillustrated.com/content/10mm-auto-what-s-the-big-deal/https://www.czfirearms.com/en-us/about-dan-wessonhttps://www.browning.com/news/articles/pistols/1911-380-the-right-380-pistol.htmlhttps://www.americanrifleman.org/content/tested-the-22-tcm-cartridge/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.357_SIGhttps://athlonoutdoors.com/article/tommy-guns-usa-357-sig-1911/https://www.americanhunter.org/content/the-450-smc-super-size-your-45-acp-pistol-performance/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.460_Rowlandhttps://blog.cheaperthandirt.com/top-10-non-45-1911-cartridges/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.400_Cor-Bonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.50_GIhttps://gatdaily.com/articles/the-38-45-clerke-a-bizarre-1911-cartridge/https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2022/mar/06/cartridges-road-to-market-a-long-one/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.30_Super_Carryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.40_Superhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.30-06_Springfieldhttps://www.americanrifleman.org/content/7-62-nato-u-s-navy-garand-rifles/https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/fn-49-the-last-old-school-battle-riflehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7.62%C3%9751mm_NATOhttps://thecmp.org/wp-content/uploads/762Garand.pdfhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.308_Winchesterhttps://www.nps.gov/spar/learn/historyculture/experimental-rifle-by-john-pedersen.htmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7%C3%9757mm_Mauserhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7.65%C3%9753mm_Argentinehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7.92%C3%9757mm_Mauserhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6.5%C3%9755mm_Swedishhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7.5%C3%9754mm_French