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Rimfire · Proprietary

.46 Short Rimfire

.46 Short RF.46 RF Short

Large-bore rimfire pistol cartridge of the Civil War and Reconstruction era; used in National Arms Company single-shot pistols and early revolvers..

Caliber
0.456″ · 11.582 mm
Introduced
1864
Case
Rimmed
Status
Discontinued
Identity
Introduced
1864
Type
Rimfire
Origin
United States
Inventor
Various / American commercial
Standard
Proprietary
Status
Discontinued
Availability
Rare
Build
Primer
Rimfire
Case type
Rimmed
Pressure & range
Eff. range
50 yd

Ballistics

Published velocity/energy data isn't available for .46 Short Rimfire — an obsolete/collector cartridge.

Dimensionscase measurements · scale drawing · size vs familiar rounds

Case dimensions — the scale drawing at the top of the page is built from these.

Wikipedia · approximate
Measuremmin✓
Bullet ⌀11.580.456~
Neck ⌀11.630.458·
Shoulder ⌀n/a
Shoulder anglen/a
Base ⌀11.630.458·
Rim ⌀13.460.530·
Belt ⌀n/a
Rim thickness——
Neck lengthn/a
Case length21.230.836·
Overall length33.931.336·

Size vs familiar rounds

Drawn at true 1:1 — every case is accurate relative to the others. Absolute size depends on your screen's pixel density, so measuring one against a real ruler may be off. .46 Short Rimfire is highlighted below.

Connected reference

FirearmsFirearms in .46 Short Rimfire↗

History

Produced during the Civil War era for large-bore rimfire revolvers and single-shot pistols, the .46 Short Rimfire represents the upper end of rimfire handgun cartridges before the introduction of large centerfire revolver cartridges. Encountered in National Arms Company and a handful of other period handguns.

FAQs

What bullet diameter is .46 Short Rimfire?
.46 Short Rimfire uses a 0.456″ (11.582 mm) diameter bullet.
Is .46 Short Rimfire still in production?
.46 Short Rimfire is discontinued; typical availability is rare.

Sources & provenance

Data & sources. Specs compiled from the Lindcott Armory reference; the trajectory is modeled (point-mass), not measured. See methodology. Spotted an error? Report it →