Black Powder in a Schofield?

[Rooster Ron Wayne]

I use Unique and never exceed 4% .

Always put the smokeless in first.

But like already stated .

You can't fix stupid !

Im completely surprised this post has even gotten this far .

Do your own research. 

Dont just think you know because you won't like the outcome. 

Rooster 

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

This thread sure has taken some interesting turns!   In the end, if you want to shoot black powder in a S&W top break revolver, it seems like you need to use a vintage one, which you pretty much need to use black in anyway.  Modern reproductions, be they made in Italy or Springfield, are smokeless only guns, if you want to use them in a SASS match.    Specific ways to get all the smoke of black powder out of them do exist, but are not allowed in our game.   It could be argued that SOME of those restrictions should be revisited and perhaps safely changed, but I seriously doubt they ever will be.   

We've got a lot of "because the rules say so" rules in our game, and I don't think any of them will ever be modified, even if they safely can be.   But that's a topic for another thread.  

As far as S&W top breaks go, be they tiny little .32s like the 1-1/2 or big .44-40's like the New Model 3, or something in between like the model 1891, are just plain fun to own and shoot.  May all of us who own one, or more, be they originals or reproductions, enjoy shooting them for as long as we are able.

[Lucky R. K.]

20 hours ago, Eyesa Horg said:

You mix the two or does the 4F go in first? Just curious!

I put the 4F in first, don't know if it makes any difference.

Lucky 😁

[Wyatt Earp SASS#1628L]

10 hours ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

This thread sure has taken some interesting turns!   In the end, if you want to shoot black powder in a S&W top break revolver, it seems like you need to use a vintage one, which you pretty much need to use black in anyway.  Modern reproductions, be they made in Italy or Springfield, are smokeless only guns, if you want to use them in a SASS match.    Specific ways to get all the smoke of black powder out of them do exist, but are not allowed in our game.   It could be argued that SOME of those restrictions should be revisited and perhaps safely changed, but I seriously doubt they ever will be.   

We've got a lot of "because the rules say so" rules in our game, and I don't think any of them will ever be modified, even if they safely can be.   But that's a topic for another thread.  

As far as S&W top breaks go, be they tiny little .32s like the 1-1/2 or big .44-40's like the New Model 3, or something in between like the model 1891, are just plain fun to own and shoot.  May all of us who own one, or more, be they originals or reproductions, enjoy shooting them for as long as we are able.

Your assumption is incorrect.  You CAN easily use a repro (S&W or Uberti) in a match. All you need is a quick spritz of moose milk at the unloading table after clearing the pistol afer each stage.

Edited January 8 by Wyatt Earp SASS#1628L

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

 

I'M the poster Kid for PAM (Equal parts Hydrogen Peroxide - Denatured Alcohol & Murphy Oil Soap).  Same same as Wyatt Earp.  Except I suggest a rag of PAM to wipe down the cylinder face AND the Cylinder Pin.  The gun may still quit on ya.

 

AND YES:

 

Best bet for Black Powder in a Schofield an original.  The original had the correct length Cylinder and Cylinder Bushing.  S&W and Uberti ruined the Repos trying to include the 45 Colt to increase sales.  What a Crock.

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

Howdy Boys.

 

Thanks to H.K. for including my old post about cylinder bushings on original S&W revolvers and how they allow an antique revolver to be fired all day long with Black Powder without needing cleaning.

 

I am slightly annoyed about the video by the guy shooting BP out of a new Uberti Schofield because the photo of a close up of a cylinder a S&W Top Break was my photo, used without my permission. Also, he opines that S&W should have chambered the Schofield for 45 Colt in the first place. Clearly he does not know what he is talking about, S&W were in the middle of producing about 150,000 Top Break revolvers for the several European governments at the time. S&W's standard cylinder length was 1 7/16", which was fine for cartridges such as the 45 Schofield and 44 Russian. But chambering the Schofield revolver for 45 Colt would have required a cylinder 1 9/16" long, and the frame would have needed to be stretched 1/8" to accommodate the longer cylinder. S&W was not about to create new tooling for a longer cylinder and frame while producing thousands of revolvers with the 1 7/16' cylinder. If memory serves, there were only something like 7,000 Schofield revolvers produced, so clearly S&W made the correct decision regarding not changing tooling mid-stream.

 

I have not been on the Wire much recently, but I am going to try to post a few photos anyway.

 

The first is of an actual antique Schofield in my collection. This is a First Model Schofield, which shipped in 1875. Full disclosure, I have never actually fired this revolver, but if I did I am sure it would function beautifully with Schofield cartridges loaded with real Black Powder.

 

Next, a pair of S&W New Model Number Three revolvers. I have shot these many times with real Black Powder. They are chambered for the 44 Russian cartridge, as were many of this model. I can shoot these revolvers for an entire match without needing any cleaning or spritzing or anything. They just keep on shooting because of S&W's brilliant cylinder bushing design. This is a photo taken at the end of a match before cleaning them. Note how sooty they are, but they kept on shooting for the entire match just fine.

 

Lastly, I never use any sort of Black Powder substitute. My powder of choice is Schuetzen FFg for all my Black Powder cartridge shooting. Yes, this is the same stuff Graff sells. Schuetzen uses better charcoal than Goex does, and the result is less fouling. Yes, Swiss creates even less fouling, but I have never seen the need to buy the more expensive Swiss when Schuetzen performs so well in my revolvers, shotgun, and rifles.

 

Lastly, cleaning. Number one: Black Powder is no where near as corrosive as many shooters think. It was corrosive when combined with the old corrosive primers, but we don't use corrosive primers any more. I clean my Black Powder guns with the old equal parts Hydrogen Peroxide, Denatured Alcohol & Murphy Oil Soap solution. I seldom clean them directly after a match, I am too tired to clean 4 guns after driving home from a match. I try to get to them within a week, but I am not going to state here how long I have been known to delay cleaning them. Much more than a week. After cleaning I lube with Ballistol.

 

There you have it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 10 by Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283

[Rooster Ron Wayne]

On 1/8/2026 at 10:51 AM, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

 

I'M the poster Kid for PAM (Equal parts Hydrogen Peroxide - Denatured Alcohol & Murphy Oil Soap).  Same same as Wyatt Earp.  Except I suggest a rag of PAM to wipe down the cylinder face AND the Cylinder Pin.  The gun may still quit on ya.

 

AND YES:

 

Best bet for Black Powder in a Schofield an original.  The original had the correct length Cylinder and Cylinder Bushing.  S&W and Uberti ruined the Repos trying to include the 45 Colt to increase sales.  What a Crock.

Im surprised for as long as you have been around and doing this type of shooting .

You would touch anything with  hydrogen peroxide !

( hydrogen Rust peroxide )

You can pour that stuff on a F250 at 8pm and by 8am it will disappear  lol 

Too each there own .

I will stick with Ballistal myself  lol

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

19 hours ago, Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 said:

Thanks to H.K. for including my old post about cylinder bushings on original S&W revolvers and how they allow an antique revolver to be fired all day long with Black Powder without needing cleaning.

 

Hey, Driftwood!   Nice to see you making a post.  Welcome back. 

And you are very welcome.   I have always found your technical posts to be most informative, and that one in specific even more so.

[Griff]

2 hours ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

Hey, Driftwood!   Nice to see you making a post.  Welcome back. 

This ↑↑↑ +1!

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

On 2/10/2026 at 2:37 PM, Rooster Ron Wayne said:

Im surprised for as long as you have been around and doing this type of shooting .

You would touch anything with  hydrogen peroxide !

( hydrogen Rust peroxide )

You can pour that stuff on a F250 at 8pm and by 8am it will disappear  lol 

Too each there own .

I will stick with Ballistal myself  lol

 

 

Oh please!

 

The concentration of Hydrogen Peroxide in normal drug store hydrogen peroxide is about 3% if I recall correctly, the rest is water. After being diluted with alcohol and Murphy's Oil Soap the concentration goes down to about 1%. The only thing the H2O2 does is add a little bit of fizzing action to the mixture. Although the Germans were using Hydrogen Peroxide in the V2 rocket, it was a highly concentrated version. 1% of H2O2 is not going to rust anything. Before I started using this mixture, about 20 years ago, I doused a piece of carbon steel with the mixture and let it sit overnight until the mixture evaporated. Guess what? No rust. 

[Lucky R. K.]

I have been using PAM as a black powder cleaner since I first found the recipe sometime in the 1980's. I have never had ANY problem with rust. PAM will remove ANY protective coating you have used on the firearm. After PAM it is critical that you use gun oil, bear grease, or some other protective coating to prevent rust.

Lucky 😁

[irish ike, SASS #43615]

Last I checked Swiss was $59 for 1 lb. yikes.....

[Rooster Ron Wayne]

Ballistal Has Never Failed Me .

Just Sayin. 

Rooster.