Anyone here have or had a Schofield?

[Oro]

I was curious about the Schofield. I have been for a year or two now. I saw a very nice looking Navy Arms/Uberti Schofield at a dealer today. Only downside to me was it was .44-40. I went through this last year where I saw a great deal on a lovely S&W N frame, only it was .44-40 and I just went over it all and decided it wasn't worth it for having to tool up and load yet another caliber.

But my quesiton is about the Schofield in general, and the Navy Arms/Uberti if anyone has one of those.

It looked well built. The feel was very nice - it was everything people say the Colt Peacemaker feels like, but doesn't to me. I like the feel, it was natural and lent itself to a pleasant hold, grip, and trigger reach. If the thing had been in .45 Colt, I'd probably be scrounging up some money now. Any thoughts and opinion on the gun, make, etc.?

 

[Dr. Fresh]

I don't have one but I love the way they look. I'd buy a replica in .45 Colt if I had money.

There's a guy on the open carry forums who actually carries one, haha..

 

[Oro]

There's a guy on the open carry forums who actually carries one, haha

Well, that's partly why I lean strongly to the .45 Long Colt. I could then get a crossdraw holster for it and use it open carry when riding and in the mountains. Not around town like maybe you mean he does, but this would make it more appealing to me and help me justify the cost at a time that it's really not wise or practical.

 

[mgregg85]

I love the look of the schofields, if I ever get into cowboy action shooting I would like a pair of schofields instead of the typical single action army revolvers that everyone else uses.

I'd love a couple of these, to bad they are so expensive...

 

[Dr. Fresh]

Mmmmm... so pretty.

 

[denwego]

Yep, "that guy" who carries one around is me. In terms of comfort, I prefer revolvers to semi-autos as carry guns, and if you want the fastest reload when seconds matter, I've never found better than top-break. I can summarize my experience for you:

Pros -

- Sights - The sights on a Schofield are great for a revolver. The rear notch seems to line up naturally as your putting it on target without any effort.
- Speed - Top-break, auto ejection, and nothing to obstruct a speed loader like some swing-out revolvers have. In a SHTF scenario, you can use the weight of the barrel to snap the gun open and closed one handed much more easily than most normal cylinders.
- Inner Workings - Despite being more complicated than SAA's or most double-actions, Schofields have very stout springs and thick, heavy components.

Cons -

- Strength of Action - If you put a Ruger-only load in a non-Ruger Colt, you might run in to some trouble. You put them in a Schofield, and the gun's going to blow the hell apart like a Geo getting hit by a semi. I shoot mine with Winchester silver tips in .45LC, which is SAAMI spec for pressure and still packs a solid punch, but it's not pushing what the cartridge can do. If you really want a .45LC gun to stop a bear, something strong like a Ruger is the way to go.
- Size - I openly carry my Schofield because there's no way I'm going to hide it. I hear they make a 3" barrel model, but mine's a 5.5", and most are 7.5". No one bats an eye in Virgina, but your milage may vary in your neck of the woods.


And a note: try to go for the Uberti label if you want .45LC. Beretta makes one in their name, but I've never seen one that wasn't .38Spc., and the S&W reissue from a few years ago was only in .45S&W (.45 Schofield); Harder than hen teeth to find off the internet specialty market for SASS. Navy Arms has a reputation that would keep me away.

 

[Oro]

Thanks, Denwego, for your clear and organized answer.

That is what I pretty much thought on most points, and it is really helpful to have an experienced user confirm it. A .45LC within SAAMI is all I'd shoot out of it, so if it's strong enough for that, that's good enough for me. I have a .44mag for when I want real "punch" and bought that gun for that purpose instead of "hot rodding" a .45acp or .45LC that I already had.

Two questions:

Navy Arms has a reputation that would keep me away.

Ok, the Navy arms .44-40 I looked at said "Uberti" on the side. I thought Uberti made all of them and Navy arms was just importing and marketing them? Or am I fundamentally misunderstanding something, or did that change at some point?

Secondly, is the cylinder spacing sufficiently close to an N-frame that an HKS S&W 29 speedloader (what I use for both .44 and .45LC in an N frame) will work with the Uberti .45LC Schofield?

 

[Harve Curry]

I have a 44-40 made by Uberti. It is an excellent shooter, accurate.
I just am spoiled shooting 44spl, alot easier to reload.
I have been toying with the idea of having a gunsmith convert the cylinder to 44spl.

 

[Oro]

Harve,

Have you slugged your barrel?

I ask as I read a thread about the .44-40 Uberti where an owner had poor accuracy, then slugged it and found it to be .431 or something, basically a .44 spcl/mag barrel and not truly a .44-40 barrel (I think the are .427 or something).

If this were the case, it would sure make the prospect of converting to .44 spcl much more likely to be a good one. I also like .44 spcl and a "warm" load (within SAAMI, but on the upper end) would work fine for me. Also I would have a reloading headache with .45LC, as my only other one is a pre-WWII one and is barreled for the "original" .45LC of .454" bullets, not the newer .451/2 standard.

 

[Penzanse]

I have an Uberti in 45LC. I have the short barrel "Wells Fargo". Love the gun. feels good in the hand, very front heavy so it points well for me. Takes a long thumb to cock though. Been using it for about 3 yrs now in Cowboy Action Shooting and no problems yet. Had an action job done as the gun, box stock felt a little rough. For me, it feels a tad heavy but then it mitigates recoil.

 

[denwego]

Oro:

Your points! Uberti does indeed make all the Schofields for Navy Arms, Cimarron, Stoeger, and the other labels you'll see marked "Uberti" in the US. The way they do it, though, is they import the parts and assemble them in the country, because the import taxes are lower, and since they're not semi-automatic, you can get by what restrictions might exist more easily. The problem is quality control; Navy Arms does a bad job of putting them together, with awful tolerances and materials which often end up damaging the gun. Cimarron, out of Fredericksburg, TX, does a much better job, and even refinishes the gun bluing before they sell them. Stoeger might not do Schofields anymore, but their quality is likewise high. Beretta own Uberti, but the "Beretta" Schofields are modern updates with transfer bars and the Russian-style latch on the top which is slightly weaker than the Model 3 latch on the Uberti.

And as for speedloaders, the #29 is what I use, and it is perfectly sized for a Schofield!

 

[Harve Curry]

No I haven't slugged it, but now I will.
I shoot .430" bullets in all my 44-40's, the same ones I use in the 44spl.
I was shooting a 200gr bullet with 7 1/2 gr Unique. Hitting coffee can size rocks at 50 to 100 yards.

There was an original floating around town for about $2K, very clean, ivory stocked, nickle, in 44 Russian. I lawyer was handing the sale of an estate had it. If your interested PM me and I'll get you his number.

 

[Oro]

Denwego - thanks. I did not understand about the US assembly angle. I'll take that into consideration.

Harve - I guess I'll ask around who can re-bore a .44 cylinder then, that might be an option. I do not have the money for that right now, but in different circumstances I would be interested in that. I recall you mentioning it a few months back.

Thank you all for your comments and insight. I think an Uberti will be on my list for later this year.

 

[Harve Curry]

A 44-40 cylinder would have to be sleeved then rebored to 44spl.
I don't know about finding an extra cylinder in 38spl then rechambering it to 44spl. The ejector mechanisim would be a challenge.