Was there ever any proof regarding .38 Colt Long vs. .45 acp?

[mack7.62]

Here you go, ballistic science of the time consisted of shooting live cattle (en-route to packing houses) as well as donated human cadavers and deceased horses. Keep in mind there were no high performance bullets, JHP's etc just lead and fmj so a bullet with more mass will be more effective and .38 Long Colt was pathetic delivering the same energy as a 380 90 grain.

https://www.ssusa.org/content/the-19...pistol-trials/

At the same time the Army was considering these questions, Capt. John T. Thompson, the man responsible for seeing to it Gatling Guns were used in Cuba during the 1898 war and the father of the subsequent Thompson sub-machine gun, began to conduct a series of tests with the assistance of Maj. Louis LaGarde of the Army's Medical Department, as to the ballistic properties needed to effectively stop an enemy dead in his tracks. After numerous field reports from the Philippines indicating that the .38 Long Colt cartridge failed to effectively stop Moro tribesmen, Thompson and LaGarde began experiments on live cattle (en-route to packing houses) as well as donated human cadavers and deceased horses. Their conclusion, delivered in March 1904, was that a .45 caliber cartridge was the most effective in dropping an opponent and therefore, should the Army consider a new service revolver or a reliable auto pistol, it would be preferable for it to adopt the new gun chambered in the powerful .45 cartridge.

And this.

https://www.americanrifleman.org/con...y-performance/

In 1899, a group of Moro tribesmen in the Philippines took umbrage toward a United States occupation force in the southern islands, thereby initiating what became known as the Moro Rebellion. The Moros were fierce fighters, with a reputation of resistance toward any outside rule. Officers in the U.S. force were armed with Colt Model 1892 revolvers chambered in .38 Long Colt, a cartridge that originated the blackpowder era. The load at the time featured a 150-grain lead round-nose bullet launched at 750 f.p.s. using smokeless powder. Muzzle energy was 201 ft.-lbs., about the same energy as a .380 ACP with a 90-grain bullet.

The Moros were reputed to tie themselves up with strips of vegetation from the jungles to prevent excessive bleeding and ingested locally made drugs to block the pain from wounds. Engagements involving the Colt double-action Model 1892 often resulted in the officer being killed or severely wounded by these motivated Moro juramentados. This prompted the War Department to launch the Thompson-LaGarde Tests of 1904. As expected, the rather grisly tests showed the .38 Long Colt significantly lacking in the power needed to stop a determined assailant. The tests determined that what was needed were the ballistics of the .45 Colt in a more compact round. Semi- and full-automatic arms were being developed, and the old .45 Colt would not function in the new pistols.

[C-grunt]

I think it's a bit of a combination of several things. Fairly low powered round, determined attackers. attackers taking opiates, attackers pre applying basically tourniquets, low capacity revolvers, and the general rule that handguns can sometimes require multiple hits.

In the heat of battle your average soldier is probably not going to score goof high center mass chest shots. Between misses and marginal hits, it is likely you will need multiple rounds to stop an attacker. Add in the fact that the Moros attacked en mass, and you probably dont have enough ammo and or time to reload against multiple foes.

[T2C]

https://www.americanrifleman.org/con...y-performance/

In 1899, a group of Moro tribesmen in the Philippines took umbrage toward a United States occupation force in the southern islands, thereby initiating what became known as the Moro Rebellion. The Moros were fierce fighters, with a reputation of resistance toward any outside rule. Officers in the U.S. force were armed with Colt Model 1892 revolvers chambered in .38 Long Colt, a cartridge that originated the blackpowder era. The load at the time featured a 150-grain lead round-nose bullet launched at 750 f.p.s. using smokeless powder. Muzzle energy was 201 ft.-lbs., about the same energy as a .380 ACP with a 90-grain bullet.

The Moros were reputed to tie themselves up with strips of vegetation from the jungles to prevent excessive bleeding and ingested locally made drugs to block the pain from wounds. Engagements involving the Colt double-action Model 1892 often resulted in the officer being killed or severely wounded by these motivated Moro juramentados. This prompted the War Department to launch the Thompson-LaGarde Tests of 1904. As expected, the rather grisly tests showed the .38 Long Colt significantly lacking in the power needed to stop a determined assailant. The tests determined that what was needed were the ballistics of the .45 Colt in a more compact round. Semi- and full-automatic arms were being developed, and the old .45 Colt would not function in the new pistols.

This is one of the articles I may have read in the past. The Moros used locally made drugs to block pain. I was curious how they were made.

I have a wood war club from the Pacific Islands that was brought back by my grandfather in the 1940's. It is short in length and not very heavy. Determined people indigenous to the area used the club effectively.