Well, Winchester shows their 45 Colt ammo with a MV of 860 fps and Muzzle Energy of 420 foot lbs. (pistol at the muzzle) Federal Ballistics Calculator shows the 240 gr. 44-40 bullet launched at 1300 fps to have 409 ft. lbs of energy at 300 yards and be rolling along at 876 fps.
Billy
I’ll add…… I have been writing a history of the ranch here and there is little documentation of the caliber of guns people carried. The Lady my family bought the ranch from in 1947 wrote that she had her husbands Colt 45. (He died in 1922)
The outlaw Marino Lebya was captured North of Ft. Sumner in 1881 when he mistakenly fed his 44-40 rifle 45 Colt shells. A chance encounter between Lebya and Santa Fe County Deputy Sheriffs Joaquin Montoya and Carlos Jacome resulted in a gun fight and the death of Lebya in 1887.
Pat Garrett killed “the Kid” in 1881 with a Colt 44-40.
Jim White killed George Peacock in the Fall of 1886 at a branding over the ownership of a calf. White was carrying a Colt 45 and a S. & W, caliber unknown and it is written that he used them both. It was thought White thought Peacock was going for his pistol. White fled and was never apprehended.
Peacock did not have a good reputation. W. C. Urton, owner of the neighboring 7HL Ranch said “Peacock and his friends were all wild rough characters” and Jack Potter, manager of the neighboring Colorado Land & Cattle Company said, “ Peacock and his friends were always into some meanness… always carried guns”……..which I always thought was an interesting statement.
Peacock’s rifle is in a private collection and I believe it to be a 76 Winchester.
Besides The Lincoln County War (which had many unknown casualties), this area actually has been pretty quiet. Although in 1885 there were 19 deaths at White Oaks and 11 were from gun-shot.
In 1894 Charles Van Sickle was murdered at Hugo Zuber’s ranch headquarters on the Yeso Creek by two thieving neighbors, Eugenio Aragon and Antonio Gonzales. A posse quickly apprehended the culprits and they were taken to Roswell, N.M., tried and sentenced to hang.
Two later homesteaders (after 1900) were killed in two separate incidents by other homesteaders over fence boundaries. (abt. 1915 & 1934) One defended himself with a Winchester 25-35 (and won the fight) and another unarmed man was shot 9 times with a 9 MM. His last words were, "Stop or you are going to kill me".