Anyone here have experience with a Uberti Schofield?

Sorry double post.

Speedo66 said:

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.

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True statement.

There's a nice Uberti Schofiled on GB right now. .45LC, 8" barrel, under $1200.

Speedo66 said:

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.

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Most revolvers have a tall front sight. When the revolver is aimed so the top of the front sight is level with the top of the rear sight, the bore will actually be at a slight downward angle. This is to compensate for the muzzle rising in recoil before the bullet exits the barrel. By the time the bullet exits the muzzle the bore is actually pointed slightly up. Hence the bullet is not traveling horizontally as it exits the muzzle it is actually rising. At some point gravity will arc the bullet over and it will begin descending towards the ground. This means the bullet will actually cross the line of sight twice, once on the way up and once more on the way down.

In the example sited, I expressed the thought that the shooter's bullet was still traveling up and had not yet reached the line of sight to the target, hence it was striking the target low.

As I stated earlier, the #3 Top breaks, such as the Schofield model, all had very short front sights. I don't know why S&W put such short front sights on them, but they did, and all the #3 Top Breaks tend to shoot high because of it. Compare the front sights on this Colt Single Action Army and a Schofield. See how short the front sight is on this Schofield compared to the Colt? The tall front sight on the Colt will point the muzzle slightly down when the sights are lined up on a target, to allow for the muzzle rising in recoil before the bullet exits the barrel. In contrast, because of the short front sight, the bore of the Schofield is already pointed slightly up when the trigger is pulled, and when the muzzle rises in recoil, the bullet will leave the muzzle traveling up. More so than with the Colt.






The same with this Russian 2nd Model. The short front sight does not depress the muzzle as much as with the Colt.






And again with this New Model Number Three, the short front sight means the bore will not be angled down as much as the Colt when the sights are aligned with the top of the front sight level with the top of the rear sight. My usual revolvers at a CAS match are a pair of Second Generation Colts with tall front sights like the one pictured above. I usually hold on the center of the target with a Colt and I seldom miss. I have a pair of these New Model Number Threes, and I can't tell you how many times I have shot right over the target if I hold on the center of the target and forget to hold low. Because they shoot high.






When I bought this 44 Double Action someone had substituted a home made front sight for the original front sight. Notice how tall it is, pretty much like the Colt. And it did not shoot high.






The home made front sight was ugly, so I had a Smith install an old dime as a new front sight. I explained to him that I wanted the dime mounted with the same amount showing as with the home made front sight. He did just that, the dime protrudes above the barrel rib the same amount as the home made front sight, and this revolver does not shoot high.

toivo said:

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.

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I always say I do not recommend the Russian model to shooters. Notice that sharp, pointy hump on the grip. The Russians specified they wanted that feature on the Russian Model so the grip would not rotate in the hand in recoil. When I shoot a Colt, I hold it relatively lightly and allow the grip to rotate slightly in my hand. This helps tame recoil with a full house Black Powder 45 Colt load, and brings the hammer spur closer to my thumb for when I cock the hammer for the next shot. As I say, the sharp, pointy hump on the Russian model (S&W calls it a knuckle) does a very good job of preventing the grip from rotating in the hand, just as the Russians wanted. But in order to reach the hammer spur with my thumb I have to regrip, placing the knuckle against the palm of my hand. Then I have to regrip again and get my hand under the knuckle. If I forget, and fire the revolver with the sharp, pointy knuckle in contact with my hand, it hurts, even with a relatively light recoiling round such as the 44 Russian. For this reason I do not recommend the Russian model to shooters.


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Throughout this post I have been referring to the various different models of #3 Top Breaks that Smith and Wesson made. There were five models in all, the American Model, the Russian Model, the Schofield, the New Model Number Three, and the 44 Double Action. At one point or another in this post I have pictured examples of all five models. They were all built on the large #3 sized frame, but they were all slightly different in appearance. The first #3 Top Break I bought was this nickel plated New Model Number Three that I happened to see in the display case of a local shop close to 20 years ago. I did not know much about #3 Top Breaks at the time and made a typical error, asking to see the 'Schofield'. The dealer gently corrected me and told me it was a New Model Number Three. When the Clint Eastwood movie The Unforgiven came out in 1992 the Schofield carried by The Schofield Kid brought a lot of public attention to the Schofield model. Roy Jinks, the official S&W historian says that at that time a lot of people were sending him photos of their 'Schofields' so they could get a factory letter. It turned out a lot of those revolvers were not Schofields at all, but other examples of #3 Top Breaks. I like to say all Schofields are #3s, but not all #3s are Schofields.





Just thought I would add that to the discussion.

Driftwood Johnson said:

I always say I do not recommend the Russian model to shooters. Notice that sharp, pointy hump on the grip. The Russians specified they wanted that feature on the Russian Model so the grip would not rotate in the hand in recoil. When I shoot a Colt, I hold it relatively lightly and allow the grip to rotate slightly in my hand. This helps tame recoil with a full house Black Powder 45 Colt load, and brings the hammer spur closer to my thumb for when I cock the hammer for the next shot. As I say, the sharp, pointy hump on the Russian model (S&W calls it a knuckle) does a very good job of preventing the grip from rotating in the hand, just as the Russians wanted. But in order to reach the hammer spur with my thumb I have to regrip, placing the knuckle against the palm of my hand. Then I have to regrip again and get my hand under the knuckle. If I forget, and fire the revolver with the sharp, pointy knuckle in contact with my hand, it hurts, even with a relatively light recoiling round such as the 44 Russian. For this reason I do not recommend the Russian model to shooters.

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Thanks -- you just saved me $1000!

Seriously, it's informative posts like yours that make this forum one of the best.

While I do not recommend the Russian Model, I do recommend the Schofield Model. Just be aware that because of the design change to lengthen the cylinder and not lengthen the frame a corresponding amount they usually do not do great with Black Powder. But they are fine with Smokeless.

The best of the #3 Top Breaks was the New Model Number Three. As I stated earlier, I have two of them, one made in 1882, the other in 1895 if I recall correctly.

They perform beautifully with Black Powder because they were designed for it.

Taylors lists a replica of the New Model Number Three on their website, but it is currently out of stock. They call it the New Model No. 3 Frontier, which is kind of erroneous because 'Frontier' was a term usually reserved for revolvers chambered for 44-40. Taylors lists it chambered for 45 Colt and 44 Special. Currently out of stock, I have no idea if they are going to be importing them again. Notice the Taylors version has a rear sight that is adjustable for windage. Beretta marketed this same model a number of years ago as the Laramie.

https://taylorsfirearms.com/catalog/product/view/id/346/s/frontier/category/343/

That's the Beretta Laramie. I'm not sure if Beretta still makes old west revolvers, or the guns currently available from some dealers are new old stock. But if you go the their web site, they don't list any revolvers at all.

Dudemeister said:

That's the Beretta Laramie. I'm not sure if Beretta still makes old west revolvers, or the guns currently available from some dealers are new old stock. But if you go the their web site, they don't list any revolvers at all.

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The Laramie was actually made by Uberti. Uberti is owned by Beretta, so it was marketed under the Beretta name, but as I say, it was actually made by Uberti.

Here is a video by Mike Beliveau about Taylors' Top Break 'Frontier' model which is really the Beretta Laramie under a different name.

Mike always does great videos, notice his comment that this revolver has a quick take down knurled wheel in the top strap, which the original New Model Number Three did not have. Mike mentions that the barrel is probably the same barrel that Uberti uses for their Russian model. The third Model Russian had this feature, not the 1st or 2nd Model. So it makes sense that Uberti used the same barrel for the Laramie that they did for their Russian model.

Also, notice that Mike states several times how this model shoots high, just like any other S&W #3 Top Break.

Notice too that the video was made in 2013. I do not know if this model is still being made. If it is, I heartily recommend it over the Russian model.