I don't believe that the .45 Colt would have been a good idea in lever-action rifles years ago.
In the 1970s, I had a hundred .45 Colt cases of balloon head design, dating back to the 1930s and 1940s, I'm sure.
These cases had such tiny rims on them, they often popped right off the RCBS shellholder when trying to extract them from the sizing die.
After about five such incidents on day, I dragged out my Lee Loader and sized them in that, because the sized cases are removed by knocking them out with a rod. No shellholder is required.
In my cartridge collection I have some black powder .45 Colt rounds. They also have very slight rims.
Such rounds work in the Colt Single Action revolver, because they are knocked out and not extracted en masse, via a star.
If the Winchester were introduced in .45 Colt way back when, it would have been a disaster, I believe.
Remember, these were the days of black powder and corrosive primers. People didn't clean their firearms as often or as thorough as we do today. Chambers would soon rust and the .45 cases would soon begin to stick.
The meager extractor on the Winchester would have easily popped over the slight rim of the .45 Colt case.
And who would be blamed?
Why, Winchester of course!
Winchester exhibited remarkable foresight in NOT chambering their rifles to .45 Colt. If they had wanted to do so, I'm sure they could have struck a deal with Colt.
Interestingly, the old .44-40, .38-40 and .32-20 rounds in my collection all have prominent rims and work fine the Winchester.
J. Miller, that's the first I"ve heard that Colt had a patent on its .45 cartridge. Interesting. Did Winchester have a patent on their 44 WCF or 38 WCF?