Schoefield Revolvers for SASS

[Col Del Rio]

Anyone use the uberti schofield revolvers for SASS?  I've never seen one up close so I have no frame of reference on how it handles.

 

 

[Prairie Dawg, SASS #50329]

Good Morning:

We have a mighty fine GunFighter in these parts, known by the alias Hooligan Howes.
He shoots a pair.

Send him  a PM

https://www.sassnet.com/forums/index.php?/profile/86698-hooligan-howes/

--Dawg

[Dantankerous]

Boulder Canyon Bob uses 5 inch Schofields and he absolutely rocks them. He shoots duelist, fast and accurate. He makes it look easy. I was on a posse with him at HoW and loved watching him shoot. 

 

They have a totally different feel than a standard hogleg, but when you get practiced with them and learn to keep your finger off the trigger while pulling the hammer back they will serve you well.

 

 

[Dutch Coroner]

I used them exclusively for 7-8 years.  I switched to Old Model Vaqueros this year and now wonder why I handicapped myself for so long.

 

Don't get me wrong, I think Schofields are great, if you shoot duelist, but they are expensive, not every gunsmith will work on them and in my experience they were temperamental and broke down a lot.  Which is why I finally switched. 

 

They couldn't stand up to the amount of use/abuse I gave them.  I ended up with a pair for dryfire practice and a match pair and I always traveled with backups, even to a monthly match, because I never knew when something in one of them would break.

 

As Dantankerous said, they feel a lot different.  The key to shooting them is getting a high grip.

 

There are a lot of "cool" points when using Schofields but if you are competitive and are going to practice a lot, I can't recommend them.

 

Dutch

 

 

 

 

 

[LostVaquero]

They are fun a bit muzzle heavy at least to me.  While not Schofields I used Laramies which are New Model 3 copies.  Very accurate but you have to learn to keep finger off trigger.  My wrists are degrading and I was sore after a match since I wanted to shoot gunfighter style.

Put them away for maybe long range pistol.

[Rafe Conager SASS #56958]

Shot mine for years,when I shot smokeless different feel than my saa or my open tops, never could get them to like black powder! Maker left the gas ring out of the cylinder like the originals had when they started making them. I pull them out every now and then but they go back in the safe.

Rafe

[Wild Ben VanDorn]

5 hours ago, Rafe Conager SASS #56958 said:

Shot mine for years,when I shot smokeless different feel than my saa or my open tops, never could get them to like black powder! Maker left the gas ring out of the cylinder like the originals had when they started making them. I pull them out every now and then but they go back in the safe.

Rafe

 

I had the same problem with mine, Rafe - the Holy Black wasn't well received by the modern .45 Colt chambering in them.  For smokeless, however, they shot really well.  Everyone talks about holding them high, but I had a better grip down low (almost like a Bisley grip).  With big hand I could still get onto the hammer easy enough, other's mileage may vary.

 

Very cool and iconic gun, and definitely get some style points in my opinion.  

 

Keep your powder dry,

 

Wild Ben

 

[Tex Jones, SASS 2263]

19 minutes ago, Wild Ben VanDorn said:

 

I had the same problem with mine, Rafe - the Holy Black wasn't well received by the modern .45 Colt chambering in them.  For smokeless, however, they shot really well.  Everyone talks about holding them high, but I had a better grip down low (almost like a Bisley grip).  With big hand I could still get onto the hammer easy enough, other's mileage may vary.

 

Very cool and iconic gun, and definitely get some style points in my opinion.  

 

Keep your powder dry,

 

Wild Ben

 

Shot one for a few years and like Ben I held them down low.  In the "old days" when there were reloads, they came in handy.  As stated, the grip is different than a Colt type revolver.  There was one fellow out of California, if I'm remembering correctly, who shot two of them and scored well.  i don't know who does action jobs on them.

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

I use mine about once a year or so.  It's a nice revolver.

 

 

As you can see, they are very different from a Colt style gun in a myriad of ways.  I have found that they are natural pointers, and have decent accuracy.  As others have stated, the modern reproductions do not do well with black powder for various reasons, and should really only be used with smokeless.

 

Also, since someone mentioned it, it should be pointed out that Schofield is very different from the Laramie, which is a copy of the S&W New Model 3.

 

 

The differences should be obvious.  Personally, I prefer the grip on NM3 to the Schofield.  But that's a personal preference.

 

I'd recommend, if possible, that you find a way to shoot the Smith before you decide to purchase one.   There is a reason why the Colt and it's clones dominate our game.

 

Good luck!

 

Oh, and this is a Scofield.  I use it occasionally as well.

 

[Ron "Ironhead" Smith]

I have a pair I plan to shoot Duelist with, just going to get some custom grips made first. I got a great price on a pair of the color case frame and charcoal blue cylinder & barrel and the plain walnut doesn't do them justice.

[El Hombre Sin Nombre]

I bought one recently and absolutely love it. It’s a lot of fun to shoot. I shot it today at a non sass match, where we had a full pistol reload. Worked as advertised. I love flipping it open and watching the brass fly out. I’ll know I’m really good when I can load and get back to firing while the brass is still in the air

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

Howdy

 

Sorry these photos are a little bit out of focus, I was holding my phone in one hand and the gun in the other.

 

As stated, the grip of a Schofield is considerably different than a Colt. When I shoot a Colt, I always curl my pinky under the grip. This opens up a space between the trigger guard and the knuckle of my middle finger. If I try to cram my entire hand onto the grip, this places my knuckle in contact with the trigger guard and it whacks my finger in recoil, and it hurts. Curling my pinky under the grip still allows me to reach the hammer spur with my thumb. Yes, I always shoot duelist style.

 

 

 

 

 

The reach to the hammer spur on any #3 S&W Top Break is farther than the reach on a Colt. I have fairly large hands, but if I curl my pinky under the grip of a Schofield, I cannot reach the hammer with my thumb. This is a real 1st model Schofield, made in 1875 and factory refinished in 1957. The shape of the Uberti Schofields, pretty much mimics the shape of the originals.

 

 

 

 

 

By gripping a bit higher and placing my entire hand on the grip, I can then reach the hammer spur, and I still have a space between my knuckle and the trigger guard, so I don't get whacked in recoil.

 

 

 

 

 

I know at least one shooter who uses a pair of Uberti Schofields at every match. He does quite well with them. However I tend to agree that if you are a really fast shooter, the Schofield model probably will not put up with the abuse that really fast shooters subject their revolvers to. For a medium fast shooter, they will probably last just fine. But if you are completing stages in under 30 seconds, the Schofield might not be the best choice.

 

 

 

 

Regarding shooting the Uberti replicas with Black Powder: Uberti did not eliminate the gas collar on the cylinder, but they shortened it a great deal. This is because when they chose to chamber their replicas for cartridges such as 45 Colt, which is longer than the original 45 Schofield cartridge, they had to make the cylinders longer to accommodate the longer cartridge. However they did not lengthen the frame a similar amount, so something had to give in order to fit the longer cylinder in the same size cylinder window. The gas collar then suffered, and became shorter.

 

Here is an actual Schofield cylinder. Notice the relatively long gas collar pressed into the front of the cylinder.

 

 

 

 

 

The way it works is, the extractor rod and spring fit inside the quill, while the gas collar remains outside the quill.

 

 

 

 

 

Sliding the cylinder into place.

 

 

 

 

 

When fully assembled, the front of the gas collar is about .180 in front of the barrel/cylinder gap. So the gas collar shields the quill from most of the Black Powder fouling blasted out of the barrel/cylinder gap. This system worked very well to keep an original S&W Top Break running without the cylinder binding up from BP fouling.

 

 

 

 

 

The cylinder in the foreground in this photo is an Uberti cylinder. Notice how much shorter the gas collar is. When assembled, the collar is not long enough to shield the quill from Black Powder fouling blasted out of the barrel/cylinder gap and the cylinder starts to bind very quickly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Redwood Kid said:

I’ll know I’m really good when I can load and get back to firing while the brass is still in the air

 

 

Good luck with that. Let us know how it works out.

 

By the way, when I unload a #3 Smith, I rotate the revolver so I am actually ejecting the empties sideways, rather than straight up and down. I give the gun a little flip with my wrist to help propel the empties out sideways. This prevents a rim from slipping under the extractor star. It is a real pain in the butt to get an empty out that has slipped under the extractor star. Real tricky to do without sweeping anybody.

[El Hombre Sin Nombre]

On 9/16/2018 at 9:23 PM, Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 said:

Howdy

 

Sorry these photos are a little bit out of focus, I was holding my phone in one hand and the gun in the other.

 

As stated, the grip of a Schofield is considerably different than a Colt. When I shoot a Colt, I always curl my pinky under the grip. This opens up a space between the trigger guard and the knuckle of my middle finger. If I try to cram my entire hand onto the grip, this places my knuckle in contact with the trigger guard and it whacks my finger in recoil, and it hurts. Curling my pinky under the grip still allows me to reach the hammer spur with my thumb. Yes, I always shoot duelist style.

 

 

 

 

 

The reach to the hammer spur on any #3 S&W Top Break is farther than the reach on a Colt. I have fairly large hands, but if I curl my pinky under the grip of a Schofield, I cannot reach the hammer with my thumb. This is a real 1st model Schofield, made in 1875 and factory refinished in 1957. The shape of the Uberti Schofields, pretty much mimics the shape of the originals.

 

 

 

 

 

By gripping a bit higher and placing my entire hand on the grip, I can then reach the hammer spur, and I still have a space between my knuckle and the trigger guard, so I don't get whacked in recoil.

 

 

 

 

 

I know at least one shooter who uses a pair of Uberti Schofields at every match. He does quite well with them. However I tend to agree that if you are a really fast shooter, the Schofield model probably will not put up with the abuse that really fast shooters subject their revolvers to. For a medium fast shooter, they will probably last just fine. But if you are completing stages in under 30 seconds, the Schofield might not be the best choice.

 

 

 

 

Regarding shooting the Uberti replicas with Black Powder: Uberti did not eliminate the gas collar on the cylinder, but they shortened it a great deal. This is because when they chose to chamber their replicas for cartridges such as 45 Colt, which is longer than the original 45 Schofield cartridge, they had to make the cylinders longer to accommodate the longer cartridge. However they did not lengthen the frame a similar amount, so something had to give in order to fit the longer cylinder in the same size cylinder window. The gas collar then suffered, and became shorter.

 

Here is an actual Schofield cylinder. Notice the relatively long gas collar pressed into the front of the cylinder.

 

 

 

 

 

The way it works is, the extractor rod and spring fit inside the quill, while the gas collar remains outside the quill.

 

 

 

 

 

Sliding the cylinder into place.

 

 

 

 

 

When fully assembled, the front of the gas collar is about .180 in front of the barrel/cylinder gap. So the gas collar shields the quill from most of the Black Powder fouling blasted out of the barrel/cylinder gap. This system worked very well to keep an original S&W Top Break running without the cylinder binding up from BP fouling.

 

 

 

 

 

The cylinder in the foreground in this photo is an Uberti cylinder. Notice how much shorter the gas collar is. When assembled, the collar is not long enough to shield the quill from Black Powder fouling blasted out of the barrel/cylinder gap and the cylinder starts to bind very quickly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good luck with that. Let us know how it works out.

 

By the way, when I unload a #3 Smith, I rotate the revolver so I am actually ejecting the empties sideways, rather than straight up and down. I give the gun a little flip with my wrist to help propel the empties out sideways. This prevents a rim from slipping under the extractor star. It is a real pain in the butt to get an empty out that has slipped under the extractor star. Real tricky to do without sweeping anybody.

Driftwood, if you ever decide to sell that Schofield, I am letting you know now I want to be first in line. I put aside some cash the very first time I saw you post a picture of it just in case that day ever comes.

[Sixgun Sheridan]

I bought a Uberti Schofield as a range toy last year, and I shoot it better than a SAA. But it's very muzzle-heavy and the cylinder binds up easily if it gets dirty. Unfortunately mine also has a cylinder gap big enough to slip a copy of War & Peace in it, so the entire cylinder gets coated in fouling in short order. They're extremely fun guns to shoot though, and I've had people at the range ask to shoot it including the RSO once.