Originally Posted by
HEAD0001
As stated above. Marlin and UMC did not want to use the name Winchester in their rifle and cartridges. So they stayed with current(at the time) nomenclature. Only one problem, they were not using BP in this cartridge. So initially the load was 30 grains of "smokeless" with a 160 grain bullet in 30 caliber. No BP involved what so ever-only in the parent case of 38-50(Ballard) and 38-55.
So they(Marlin and UMC) used the name 30-30, but the second thirty represented smokeless(a stray from the normal classification) powder, not BP. Tom.
This is very correct. This was a very common practice during this time in history. It was so correct that S&W lost a government contract because of it. I am talking about the more superior handgun, the S&W Schofield. Wesson would not design his handgun to take the Colt .45 round for his gun. And the Army would stay with the .45 Colt SAA pistol. It was a shame because the break top Schofield was much more capable for reloading then the SAA and would have been much better for the mounted calvary troops.
Just thought I would throw out this small tidbit.
