Anyone here have experience with a Uberti Schofield?

I think the quality of the Uberti Scofield is very good... I would shoot one first if you could.. Mine shoots a tad to the upper right

Mn Fats said:

I did hear they shoot high. I would just file down the front sight a bit.

Click to expand...

Ummm....


hmmmmmm....

I've been eyeballing one of these also.
But yeah, I could think of a hundred other ways to spend a grand on my shooting addiction, I mean hobby....

I do think that if you look around on the used market you can get some gently used ones a little south of that 1k figure..

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/865187513

I have one in 45 Colt. Mine shoots low by quite a bit, since I didn't want to file the front blade, I just put some orange tape on it about1/8" from the top, so I use it like that. The only drawback is the top of the sight overlaps the bullseye, but I got used to it.

I had wanted one of those for a long time, but now that I got it, if I'm honest to myself, It's not as good or as much fun as my SAA clones. It's just too bulky.

Dudemeister said:

I have one in 45 Colt. Mine shoots low by quite a bit, since I didn't want to file the front blade, I just put some orange tape on it about1/8" from the top, so I use it like that. The only drawback is the top of the sight overlaps the bullseye, but I got used to it.

I had wanted one of those for a long time, but now that I got it, if I'm honest to myself, It's not as good or as much fun as my SAA clones. It's just too bulky.

Click to expand...

You reminded me of something.. The 45 colt revolvers do tend to soil the areas in front of the cylinder along the sides of the barrel, So you need to clean that area with a good lead and powder cleaner.

The gun is really solid. I only put about 250 rounds through it, so I really don't have a long term assessment, but I see no reason why you shouldn't be able to run thousands through it.

I've heard some people say that the stirrup latch has a tendency to open occasionally, but I haven't had that issue.

Howdy

I have a little bit of experience with them.

Actually, all my Schofield experience is with originals, but I know a little bit about the Uberti replicas too.

This is a 1st Model Schofield. It shipped in 1875 and was refinished at the factory in 1957.






This is another 1st Model Schofield. It also shipped in 1875 but has not been refinished. Most of the blue is gone and the steel has weathered to a dark patina.






The first thing is, they all tend to shoot high, because the front sight is so low. Uberti replicas tend to shoot high too.

I really don't know how much luck you would have filing down the rear sight. The actual rear sight is in the latch, just in front of the hammer. In my experience with other fixed sight revolvers, filing the rear sight notch deeper does not really work to raise the point of impact. If one uses a typical sight picture, with the top of the front sight level with the top of the rear sight, the top of the rear sight would have to be filed down, as well as the V notch deepened. The V groove visible at the top of the barrel is really just a 'clearance' V groove. It is there so the top of the barrel does not block the view of the front sight. I have no idea whether or not it would have to be deepened as well, so the front sight can be seen clearly in a deepened V groove in the rear sight. Normally, the V in the top of the barrel is not seen when sighting in, but deepening the V groove of the rear sight might require deepening the V groove on top of the barrel so the front sight is not obscured. My solution is simple, I simply always try to remember to hold low, to compensate for the revolver shooting high.







Incidentally, all the old S&W Number Three Top Break revolvers tend to shoot high because they all have short front sights.

This 2nd Model Russian tends to shoot high because of the short front sight.






As does this New Model Number Three.






Here is another solution to the problem of the old S&W #3 Top Breaks shooting high. An old coin has been substituted for the original front sight on this 1st Model Russian.






The same with this 44 Double Action. I had a gunsmith install an old dime to raise the front sight and lower the point of impact. This is easy to do because all of these revolvers had the front sight pinned in place. Simple to drive out the pin and substitute and old coin. The bottom of the coin has to be trimmed so it will fit in the groove in the barrel rib, but that is easy to do too.






Another thing about shooting the old #3 Top Breaks is most of them require more of a reach to the hammer spur to cock the hammer than a typical Colt style revolver. No problem if you are shooting two handed, but if you are cocking the hammer with the thumb of your shooting hand, you may need to regrip slightly to reach the hammer spur.

Here is the way I hold a Colt. Yes, I always curl my pinky under the grip. I have fairly large hands and I have no trouble reaching the hammer spur to cock it with this grip.






The reach is longer on most of the old #3 Top Breaks. With my pinky curled under the grip I cannot quite reach the hammer spur with my thumb.






With my entire hand crammed onto the grip, I can reach the hammer, but I tend to like to shoot with my pinky under the grip, which means I have to regrip to shoot.






I only shoot these originals with Black Powder, which is what they were designed for, and they shoot cartridges loaded with Black Powder very well with out binding up.



You may not be interested in shooting Black Powder cartridges, in which case this next point is moot. But Uberti made some changes in the design of the replicas that causes them to not shoot Black Powder very well. The original Schofield had a cylinder 1 7/16" long, which was perfect for the Over All Length of the 45 Schofield cartridge. When Uberti decided to make their replicas, they chambered them for the more easily available 45 Colt cartridge, as well as 44-40 and 38 Special. The OAL length of the 45 Colt and 44-40 cartridges would not work in a 1 7/16" long cylinder, the rounds are too long. So Uberti lengthened the cylinder enough to accommodate the longer rounds. However they did not lengthen the frame a corresponding amount to accommodate the longer cylinders. Instead they shortened the gas collar at the front of the cylinder. A longer gas collar as on the originals works fine deflecting BP fouling away from the front of the cylinder and the underlying cylinder arbor. The shorter gas collar of the Uberti version does not do as well deflecting fouling away from the cylinder arbor and the Uberti Top Breaks tend to bind up relatively quickly when shooting them with Black Powder.

This is not an issue if you only intend to shoot Smokeless ammunition.

It was the early Schofield replicas made by ASM were the ones that had a poor lock up and would often unlatch themselves when fired. The current ones made by Uberti do not have this problem.

Lastly, a 38 Special Top Break is going to be heavier than one chambered for 45 or 44, because the holes in the barrel and cylinder are smaller.

Driftwood---I will probably never own a Schofield but love reading your nuggets of knowledge.

Yes! Really cool guns, fun to shoot and one of my favorites to make a holster for.

I guess my Uberti is made differently than the originals, not just with regard to the caliber chnage. Here are some photos. My blade is pretty tall. I usually wrap a piece of orange or yellow electrical tape on blade about 1/8" down. But ten again the point of impact is also dependent on how far you're shooting. I usually shoot these at 15 yards, and was told by someone here that it probably shoots low because the bullet doesn't yet have time to rise at that short distance.

Also, the Uberti's v notch sight is on the latch itself, not the barrel block. Also, I don't have an issue reaching for the hammer spur, and I only have medium sized hands.

Howdy again

If you look at my earlier photos and explanation, you can plainly see that I said the rear sight of the Schofield model is on the latch. I only mentioned the V groove in the latching block and barrel rib because if the V groove in the rear sight is deepened, the groove in the latch block and barrel rib might need to be deepened also.

Again, if you check out my photos, I cannot reach the hammer spur with my thumb when my pinky finger is curled under the grip, which is the way I shoot most revolvers. You are cramming your entire hand onto the grip, as I do in the second photo, which allows both of us to reach the hammer spur more easily.

With a New Model Number Three I cannot reach the hammer spur with my pinky curled under the hammer.





I can if I cram my entire hand onto the grip.






The same holds true with the Russian model. I have to shift my grip up on the grip in order to reach the hammer spur. Experience has taught me not to try shooting the revolver with this grip, the pointed spur on the grip will drive itself into the palm of my hand and even with the relatively light recoil of the 44 Russian round it will hurt.






No, your front sight is no taller than on an original. That was me who mentioned your bullets may still be rising to meet the target and may not have arced over yet. In my experience, if I don't hold low on the steel targets in CAS with a #3 Top Break, I run the risk of shooting right over the target. I am not the first one to have noticed how the #3 Top Breaks tend to shoot high, years ago, before I owned one, Mike Venturino mentioned in one of his books how they tend to shoot high. If you are hitting where you point, more power to you, but that is not my experience, with a #3 Top Break.

If you look at the photos with the coin substituted for the front sight, that is why they have been put there, to lower the point of impact.

Well, I tried holding the gun with the pinky tucked under, and I can still reach the hammer. Not a comfortable grip for me though. Anyway, my gun, at least my specific sample, shoots about 6" low out of the box.

Intrigued by the old S&W Schofields, I bought a few Uberti replicas, before the prices rose (what hasn't?). Mine are 44-40, 45LC, and a 44S&W Russian. I found them to be well-built, durable, and just fun. It has been a while since I shot them, but I don't remember any sight problems, but if I did I chalked it up to "pilot error".

I've always coveted the Russian model, but I really can't get myself to spend $1000 on a gun that I'll hardly ever shoot. The funny thing is that I've dropped $500 on guns in that category before, but $1000 is a psychological barrier for me.

Mn Fats said:

As a Ruger owner, I'm used to bulky lol. Also own 2 Uberti Walkers so bulk isnt my concern. More curious if anyone here has had functional issues. I'm looking into the 38 special model.

Click to expand...

MN Fats, in your "looking into 38 Spl. model", does Uberti say they're +P rated?

Silvermane. I don't remember any reference to +P loads in the Uberti advertising.

I have one.

Uberti decided to chamber them in .45 LC, instead of the original .45 Schofield. That meant that they had to make the cylinder longer than the originals, and therefore the gap in front of the cylinder shorter. That causes a fouling issue. Using black powder loads is tough, because the cylinder jams up easily. Stick to cowboy smokeless loads.

I am one of those few who wish for a "modern" version of the Schofield, chambered in something like (ideally) .357 Mag. With modern materials and design it should not be impossible. I also note the movie called "3:10 to Yuma" (2007), starring Russell Crowe, which is a remake of the original with Glenn Ford. The remake has a pair of Schofield's in it. Mostly visible towards the end.

Dudemeister said:

I usually shoot these at 15 yards, and was told by someone here that it probably shoots low because the bullet doesn't yet have time to rise at that short distance.

Click to expand...

Bullets don’t rise on their own. A bullet fired from a barrel parallel to the ground will always drop. It will only rise if the sights cause the barrel to be pointed up.

I had a 5" model, it was a great gun in every respect but I never warmed up to it so I sold it, not sorry.