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Are Uberti Schofields worth it $$$$


Charlie Bison

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I am looking to buy a Schofield. I do not want pay the the high dollar amount for the Smith repro, so that leaves Uberti. I have read a lot of threads on the board that complain of problems with Uberti's model, e.i., indexing, ejecting, ect.

 

Any input from those that own them?

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This is like asking if the Uberti Henry rifle is worth the extra tariff with all of its differences, for some yes. Most of the supposed problems I have heard with the Uberti Schofield had to do with design characteristics rather than mechanical problems. A few of these design complaints can be addressed by the right gunsmith while a few, such as bp loading shortcomings should be considered as take it or leave it issues. The real issue is whether you are wlling to pay a premium for and accept something that is different. I really like mine but do not shoot them that often.

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Any brand can send out a lemon now and then. Some brands (Taurus, Colt, & others) can have an entire line be troublesome (Lightning, Gaucho, Cowboy, etc.). I have two Uberti topbreaks that have been trouble free in over 6 years. I would say that in actual use, they would appeal to a smaller group than an actual Colt copy, so I would see if I could shoot one to determine which camp you belong to. Mine have been reliable shooting duelist. Some of the quick two handed shooters would be harder on them, btu who knows?

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I have two sets of Schofields, one in .38 in the Wells Fargo agent style with the shorter barrel, and two in the .45 8" barrel size. I slow shoot Duelist and like them. The only trouble I have is remembering NOT to reach up too far with my thumb to cock them. You could reach all the way to the opening lever and open the piece.

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I have 2 schofields in 45 Colt, a long and a short, both work very well. Had two previously in 44-40 which were also excellent, but I hardly ever shoot 44-40 in revolvers, so I sold them. I have two Russians chambered in 44 Russian, also good shooters and trouble free. The only thing I did was remove thge hammerblock safety in them to smooth tha action a bit.

 

They are (at least when mine were made) the best fitted and finished guns Uberti makes.

 

No, they don't like black powder, but neither do the original S&W Russians I have, even though they must use it. I shoot smokeless in the Ubertis.

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Schofields are kinda like Lugers; the cool factor is undeniable. I got my Uberti Schofield in .45 Colt late last year, and I like it just fine. It took a little getting used to though. The long barrel makes it a bit front-heavy, but it soaks up recoil so well it's almost like shooting a cap pistol. That's fine, since it helps keep me on-target. The bigger rear sight notch is a plus for my 65 year old eyes also. No complaints on metal-to-metal or metal-to-wood fit, finish, or functioning either. I got a set of eagle-on-shield ivory polymer grips from Buffalo Brothers and fitted them to it, and it looks pretty sharp. I paid just over $900 for mine, the most I ever paid for any firearm I own.

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Top's Schofield

 

Well my pard Old Top thought his "main" gun was gonna be the Remingtons. Then he happened on to the Schofields. He got a pair (got em used from seperate sellers) He paid about $600 each and he loves them. They both work fine (altho he did have the famous hit the wrong button on the firing line and opened the action once.....wish I had a picture of that one..)

 

It appears there are several around in 45, and the 44/40 like his seems to be less plentiful, but it does have style points.

 

(I have included a pix of Tops dream rig: A "man with no name" rig made for the Schofield. My leather guy RedDog Leather did it in spades...

 

NoName Rig

 

And as you can see RedDog outfitted him with all the accessories "matching".

 

good luck and we want pix when you get them.

 

curley

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I've been fancying a Schofield in 45 LC for some time now. Not an original, but a newly manufactured firearm. Now more frequently I see mention of Schofield's made by S&W. When or are they currently being made? In either case, where would a guy go about purchasing one (or two more likely)? Does S%W have the extension on the cylinder under the barrel/cylinder gap to keep the gases and blow by off the cylinder pin? Or, is it designed and built like the Uberti? Thanks in advance for any words of advice. Smithy.

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I've been fancying a Schofield in 45 LC for some time now. Not an original, but a newly manufactured firearm. Now more frequently I see mention of Schofield's made by S&W. When or are they currently being made? In either case, where would a guy go about purchasing one (or two more likely)? Does S%W have the extension on the cylinder under the barrel/cylinder gap to keep the gases and blow by off the cylinder pin? Or, is it designed and built like the Uberti? Thanks in advance for any words of advice. Smithy.

 

Howdy

 

Smith and Wesson produced the Schofield Model of 2000 staring in ..........2000. They were only produced until 2002, no they are not currently being produced. The production run was pretty small, I can't remember now specifically how many. They come up pretty frequently on Gun Broker and the other gun selling boards. But you ain't gonna find one for what you will pay for an Uberti.

 

Unlike the Italian versions, the modern version of the S&W Schofield was only chambered for 45 Schofield. Not 45 Colt nor 44-40. The cylinder is not long enough to accept either. The 'extension' you are talking about is the gas collar, sometimes also called the gas ring, and no, the modern version of the Schofield does not have the same gas collar that the old original did. S&W specifically designed them to shoot Smokeless powder, they do not do any better with Black Powder than the Italian versions do. S&W really missed the boat when they messed with the old gas collar design.

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I've been fancying a Schofield in 45 LC for some time now. Not an original, but a newly manufactured firearm. Now more frequently I see mention of Schofield's made by S&W. When or are they currently being made? In either case, where would a guy go about purchasing one (or two more likely)? Does S%W have the extension on the cylinder under the barrel/cylinder gap to keep the gases and blow by off the cylinder pin? Or, is it designed and built like the Uberti? Thanks in advance for any words of advice. Smithy.

The S&W were 2001 and 2002, they came out of the Performance Center,only chambered in 45 Schofield.

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I have a pair that I have used a few times in matches. They work just fine after you get used to their individual quirks. If you are a two-handed shooter and like to slip-hammer, the Schofield is NOT the gun for you. It has a hammer interlock that prevents the hammer from being drawn until the trigger is released. If you are a two-handed shooter and get a little sloppy bringing your cocking thumb over the top of the gun to engage the hammer, you will experience a very breath-taking and picturesque shower of your loaded rounds being ejected from the now-empty revolver. I know this from personal experience. Gunfighters or duelists with short thumbs may also find the hammers a bit of a stretch to reach.

 

Those things aside, the Schofield handles well and points very naturally. They are also very accurate. I also like the fact that should there be a reload on the clock, the Schofield is second to none. In summation, the Schofield gets a ton of style points, hits what you aim at and handles well. Just know the gun's quirks before you take it to a match and you'll get a ton of enjoyment out of it.

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But you ain't gonna find one for what you will pay for an Uberti.

 

Thank you Driftwood Johnson and Boulder Canyon Bob. I don't think I want to spend the time and effort fishing for guns on the GunBroker (I did that to get my ROA, not fun). And I know I don't want to jump calabers to 45 Schofield so thank you very much for steering me right. I think my money and I would be better served with a current production Uberti Schofield. I can choose my barrel length and finish that way as well. Smithy.

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I own one of each, a Uberti Schofield and a Smith & Wesson 2000 Schofield . Most if not all of whats here on the wire is true . I first bought the S&W about 9 years ago, cost me 1300.00 new, shot it many times over the years, it has broke down twice, each time I have sent it to S&W and they fix it and send it back, my cost has been 20 bucks each trip. I liked the look and feel, more comfortable for big hands and at the loading tables they rule. So last year I decided to look around for another one, the first one I looked at was a used Uberti Wells Fargo model for 700.00, but the barrel wobbled even when closed, a no go for me. Then my buddy at the gun shop pulled out a new one they just got in, 45LC cal. nickle plated, fire blued screws, pearl grips. I went back to the shop a few days later and forked over 1100.00 for the Pearl Destiny as I call it. I have been shooting duelist the past 3 or 4 matches with them and they are a blast. The Uberti is a little bigger because it chambers 45 long colt that Smith & Wesson refused to make back in 1875 or so, I guess the reason being they wanted to sell more of there own S&W 45 ammo to the customer. Any way I shoot 170gr ultramax in the S&W and it's a smooth load with not much kick, and 200gr long colt in the Uberti that are reloads. The only thing different I see is that the S&W comes with a heritage warranty that they will stand behind, don't know how the Uberti will hold up yet, but it looks like one of the best guns I've seen.

 

See ya on the trail NOOSE

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I paid $825 + tax for the first one at a store and $625 to an individual for a used one. I didn't care if it was a long barreled one or a Wells Fargo 5" I got first, but the second would be an identical length. I ended up with the 5" Wells Fargo length, in blue and in .45 cal. I shoot Schofield cases and have shot bullets of 180, 200 & 220 weights that I reloaded. I have large hands and long thumbs. My wife can't reach the hammer.

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I've been thinkin about a pair of 'em in .44-40 but since I shoot black I will not be buying Schofields. Thanks Driftwood for your in depth report on these guns. I might buy one just to fool with but then it could be in any caliber and I'll shoot smokeless in it.

Rye, who loves his black powder, Miles :lol:

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I bought a consecutive pair of Ubertis locally for $1200 back when that was pretty high for a pair. I intended to use them with black powder but feedback was negative so I tried smokeless for my first match and found that they actually got sticky within two stages and I swapped out for my .45 Rugers. After a couple of days, weeping all over the WIRE, someone suggested that I try what was working for a tiny few Schofield shooters. The old load consisted of a small charge(?) of the old Clean Shot and then cut an appropriate length of caulk backer to fill the case to level and then compress a 200gr or lesser bullet in. Though that load has evolved, the guns continue to work perfectly with narry a glitch through up to six stages of shooting. I have never heard of any S&W made gun, any caliber other than .45 and even precious few 45s that will work with this method. Lube has nothing to do with this, well perhaps the self lubing sub residue, as I mix unlubed or wax lubed with no effect and have used Ballistol and Breakfree as gun lube.

 

I have seen some mighty fine looking S&W made Schofield guns but I fear that they would be wasted on a pard like me, so no thank you. I have actually known of a couple of pards who have the brand name for occasional show and shoot Ubertis to quench the urge. The pard who inspired me to get mine does not shoot his any more due to their refusal to work when the trigger is touched while trying to cock. Those who do not like them usually do have valid complaints, does anyone know of a shooter who is a top ten percent competitor using Schofields? Like my earlier reference to the Henry, you gotta look past the shortcomings to see the beauty in the beast.

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The Uberti is a little bigger because it chambers 45 long colt that Smith & Wesson refused to make back in 1875 or so, I guess the reason being they wanted to sell more of there own S&W 45 ammo to the customer.

 

Not quite.

 

Around 1872 the US Army announced it was looking to replace all the old Cap & Ball revolvers it had in inventory with modern cartridge revolvers. Colt won a contract to supply the Army with their new cartridge revolver chambered for the 45 Colt cartridge in 1873. Smith & Wesson had been making large caliber top break cartridge revolvers since about 1870. But all their large caliber revolvers had been chambered for the relatively short 44 American and 44 Russian cartridges. Not wanting to miss out on a lucrative government contract, S&W approached the Army about submitting one of their cartridge revolvers for approval, but the Army insisted they wanted their new side arms to be 45 caliber, not 44.

 

S&W went back to the drawing board. It was not too difficult to bore out the cylinders and barrels for 45 caliber instead of 44, there was plenty of metal there. But the cylinders that Smith was tooled up to make were too short to accept the 45 Colt cartridge. Rather than retooling for longer cylinders and correspondingly longer frames, Smith went back to the Army and asked if a shorter 45 caliber round would be acceptable. The Army said yes, and the Revolver Ball Cartridge, Caliber .45, M1875 was the result. S&W had not been selling any guns chambered for the cartridge later known as the 45 Schofield to anyone, the Army was the first customer.

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The pard who inspired me to get mine does not shoot his any more due to their refusal to work when the trigger is touched while trying to cock. Those who do not like them usually do have valid complaints, does anyone know of a shooter who is a top ten percent competitor using Schofields? Like my earlier reference to the Henry, you gotta look past the shortcomings to see the beauty in the beast.

 

Howdy

 

I will chime in one more time. No, I do not own a Schofield, but I love shooting my New Model Number Three in CAS matches. For those who are familiar with the Beretta Laramie, that revolver is a pretty faithful copy of the New Model #3. Because of the design of the gas collar on the cylinder, my old New Model #3 does just fine with Black Powder, that's what it was designed for. But that is the subject of another post.

 

Yes, I do have to be careful when cocking the hammer on my #3, just like a Schofield, the bolt is actuated by the trigger, not the hammer. I have noticed sometimes there is a slight 'hitch' when I am cocking it. At first I was afraid there was something wrong with it, perhaps something was wearing out, but finally I realized that I must have been touching the trigger ever so slightly, and I was presenting some slight resistance to the bolt dropping. But let's all remember back to our early gun instruction. Weren't we instructed to keep our finger off the trigger until we are ready to shoot? A S&W top break will reinforce that discipline.

 

I only shoot duelist, and yes I do have to reach pretty far forward with my thumb to reach the hammer spur.

 

No, I am not aware of anybody using a Henry rifle or a Schofield (or a New Model Number Three) who consistently wins the big matches. But I always say, there are more important things than shooting fast.

 

Fun

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The US Army ordered a few hundred Schofields but due to ordinance supply foul ups they quickly abandoned them. Seems some units were sent 45 long colt rounds that wouldn't fit in the gun, this caused confusion so they sold the guns off as surplus. Think of it from Smith & Wesson's point of view, they didn't want to build a gun for a rivals bullet and they wanted continued patronage of there products, namely the short 45 Schofield round that they made. Back when I was a carpenter for a large outfit the fastening company gave us the nail guns for free as long as we bought our nails from them. Any way S&W didn't care what the US Army did because they had found a huge market for there guns with the Russians who eventuality ordered over half a million of them in various configurations. Its hard to grasp the mindset of the US Army in the late 1800s, thinking troopers would shoot to much ammo with such a fast loading gun, I can't imagine why the Army would pass on the Schofield for an inferior product like to Colt that in close combat was little more than a club after shooting five rounds. This was also during a time of extreme

government corruption under the Grant administration and the Colt Company probably paid politicians kick backs to keep the contract, sad to think some soldier boy paid the price because he was ill equipped but it wasn't the first time and surly wont be the last.

 

As to the question the are Uberti Schofields worth the money, yes I think so.

 

See you on the trail NOOSE

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The US Army ordered a few hundred Schofields but due to ordinance supply foul ups they quickly abandoned them. Seems some units were sent 45 long colt rounds that wouldn't fit in the gun, this caused confusion so they sold the guns off as surplus. Think of it from Smith & Wesson's point of view, they didn't want to build a gun for a rivals bullet and they wanted continued patronage of there products, namely the short 45 Schofield round that they made. Back when I was a carpenter for a large outfit the fastening company gave us the nail guns for free as long as we bought our nails from them. Any way S&W didn't care what the US Army did because they had found a huge market for there guns with the Russians who eventuality ordered over half a million of them in various configurations. Its hard to grasp the mindset of the US Army in the late 1800s, thinking troopers would shoot to much ammo with such a fast loading gun, I can't imagine why the Army would pass on the Schofield for an inferior product like to Colt that in close combat was little more than a club after shooting five rounds. This was also during a time of extreme

government corruption under the Grant administration and the Colt Company probably paid politicians kick backs to keep the contract, sad to think some soldier boy paid the price because he was ill equipped but it wasn't the first time and surly wont be the last.

 

Howdy Again

 

You are playing a little bit fast and loose with the facts.

 

When the Army first tested the Schofield they requested it be produced chambered for the 45 Colt cartridge. S&W demurred, noting that the rim of the 45 Colt cartridge as it existed back then was too small to be reliably extracted by the type of extractor that S&W employed on all their top break revolvers. Don't forget, the 45 Colt cartridge was designed to be ejected by the type of ejector that a Single Action Army uses. Poked out from inside. Extraction using an extractor was not a consideration when the cartridge was developed. Modern 45 Colt cases have larger rims, and an extractor groove, which makes them able to be extracted by rifles and the modern Schofield reproductions. Here is a photo of a typical 45 Colt round from the 1880s. The round on the right is the 45 Colt, the round on the left is a 44 Colt. There is no way that any type of extractor could reliably extract that round.

 

Cartridges

 

Yes, S&W did not want to go to the expense of retooling for a longer cartridge, but the cartridge then in use would not have worked with their extractor system anyway.

 

In fact, S&W later did produce some models with longer cylinders. Both the New Model Number Three and the 44 Double Action originally had short cylinders suitable only for short cartridges like the 44 Henry and the 44 Russian. But later on S&W lengthened the cylinders and frames of both models by about 1/8" so they could accept 38-40 and 44-40 cartridges.

 

The Army ordered 3,000 Schofields in 1875. An additional 5,000 were delivered in 1877. A few Schofields were made for the civilian market, but most of them went to the Army. In contrast, by 1877 the Army had purchased about 15,000 Colts.

 

Total shipment of the Russian model to the Czarist government was about 150,000 revolvers. About 5,000 Russian models were shipped to the Japanese government. About 3,000 Russian models were shipped in two different calibers to the Turkish government.

 

Source: Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson, 3rd edition, by Supica and Nahas.

 

It has often been speculated that the downfall of the Schofield revolver with the US military was the ammo supply problems you mention, but no such instance has ever been documented. All the talk about the wrong ammo going to the wrong unit is pure speculation, most of it repeated over and over again on the internet.

 

Whatever the reason was that the Army decided to surplus out their inventory of Schofields, it did not occur until 1880.

 

Comments about collusion between Colt and corrupt government officials are pure speculation without supporting evidence.

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Guest Tennessee Stud, SASS# 43634 Life

Just remembered... I got a couple of 'em... S & W 2000's, NIB, consec serial numbered...

 

Smith & Wesson's... (pic was made for insurance purposes)...

 

Might have to consider sellin' one day... don't ever see me usin' 'em. Sorta glad I read this post.

 

ts

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You are dead on DJ and the Internet is also where so many shooters spread false information about black powder shooting. You have people who have never shot the first BP round down range say how terrible it is to clean one after firing. You also have Evil Roy and the Elvis impersonator talking about shooting the 45 Long Colt. I wish some one would show me a factory box of 45 Long Colt ammo. The reason that we never had a 45 Colt rifle had nothing to do about any thing other than the point you made. The case would not work in any rifle because it could not be extracted from the rifle and that is it. If today's cases were made in 1873 we would have antique 45 Colt rifles. Thanks for your post!!

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I have an Uberti Scofield in .45 Colt.

 

It works just fine, and I have had no problems with it from a mechanical/functionality perspective.

 

Normally I shoot Colt's, or 58 Remmingtons (Also Uberti Repros) so the Scofield is a very different gun for me, but it has not been difficult to adapt to for me in any way. Granted, I've only used it once so far, at an "Iron Man" shoot where among other things, you use 4 revolvers. At that shoot I had 3 Colts and the Scofield, and it was no big deal.

 

The only "quirk" of the gun that I have noticed is that it somehow doesn't feel right in my left hand. As near as I can see, the gun is perfectly symetrical, but I know what I felt. As such, for me at least, the Scofield is relegated to my "weak" side. Other than that oddity, nothing but good things to say about Uberti Scofields.

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Perhaps the next logical step would be to take measurements of your left hand! A down side for me is that the Schofield does not afford me the option of shooting Dualist style. Shooting two handed does not cause me trigger problems but one handed does cause me to touch the trigger while trying to get my thumb to the hammer, a bummer.

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Perhaps the next logical step would be to take measurements of your left hand! A down side for me is that the Schofield does not afford me the option of shooting Dualist style. Shooting two handed does not cause me trigger problems but one handed does cause me to touch the trigger while trying to get my thumb to the hammer, a bummer.

 

Hmm... I shoot double duelest myself. Colt in the left, Scofield in the right.

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