Uberti & Schofield Shouldn't Be Used In The Same Sentence

[Foto Joe]

This is the "3rd" Schofield that I have gotten from Uberti and it also presented some serious problems yesterday. The star ejector has been failing to release when the gun fully opens, that problem showed up time before last when I went out with it (smokeless only). I pulled the entire mechanism apart when I got home and found that Uberti DID NOT use any type of bushings or shims in the break top hinge assembly. The actuator ring which operates the star ejector is prone to even a small amount of crud binding the mechanism. I'm familiar with H&R Top Breaks and the engineering on the Uberti is trash compared to a 100+ year old gun that belonged to my Great Grandpa. I pulled the hinge and ejector mechanism apart again when I got home yesterday. Even after running 25 Black Powder rounds through it, the hinge and ejector were clean.:banghead:

The other issue that cropped up yesterday is that once in a while the firing pin won't strike the primer:banghead::banghead::banghead: It does leave a slight mark, but nothing that could be considered a decent hit. With the gun open I can cycle this thing and the firing pin ALWAYS protrudes at the same depth. I have had this thing apart three ways from Sunday, it is clean enough to eat off of.

There has been more than one thread on THR relating to Uberti Schofields and the lack of workmanship/quality control that seems to be inherent to these guns. So it's at this point that I'm giving up. I'm calling Uberti this afternoon to see if we can work out a deal. I think I'm going to ask for a Cattleman in 44-40, you haven't lived until you fired 44-40 Black Powder out of a pistol And I'm also thinking about a Bisley in 45 Colt. The value of those two guns is slightly more than the original value of the Schofield, but I figure the shipping and aggravation that the three Schofields have put me through had better mean something to Uberti Customer Service. If not, there shall be a letter writing campaign on my part (polite of course) to every higher up at Uberti that I can get an address for. Even if it means having somebody translate my displeasure with their company into Italian so that they can understand me!!

So...now that my little rant is finally over. I think I can CALMLY call Uberti Customer Service and start this process.

Trust me, y'all will hear about how this turns out.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I had a pair, and they were expensive, but wow were they ever accurate. Fit my hands very well, and the the times I completely cleared a string-of-fire without a miss..., it was with them. BUT..., I noticed as the CAS competition went on during a match..., they would have ignition problems. The firing pin would start to miss the primers, and I was also shaving bullets on the forcing cone when they would go off. My gunsmith found that they were not correctly made. See at the beginning of a match, when they were clean, pulling the hammer back fast gave the cylinder some spin velocity and they would correctly lock up. But as they got dirty during a match, or if you pulled the hammer back slowly, you could get them to full cock, but the cylinder would be out of timing. To fix them I needed the gunsmith to make a slightly longer hand assembly, or needed to send them back. Well if I am paying that much for a brace of revolvers, I'm not paying for machining of proper parts. So I sent them back, but all the maker would do is replace the hand assembly or replace the revolvers, NOT correct the problem. So I ditched them for Rugers. Pity that they still have problems.

LD

 

[Foto Joe]

I had another conversation with Uberti Customer Service this afternoon. It sounds like they are open to trading in my non-functioning Schofield for two working Cattleman revolvers of approximately equal value.

We'll have a final decision from the supervisor at Uberti Customer Service Wednesday morning hopefully and we'll get this show on the road.

If any of you have any use for a Dodge City style holster that fits a Schofield with a 5" barrel, shoot me a PM.

 

[BHP FAN]

I love a story with a happy ending...I hope they make the swap for you, Joe. You won't regret it.

 

[ClemBert]

I can't blame you one bit Joe for your frustration over this whole mess. That's ridiculous that even the 3rd one still has problems. I personally will have second thoughts about Uberti if I even get the itch for a Schofield. Good luck. I hope it works out in your favor. I love it when the good guys win!

 

[Jaymo]

Does anyone else make a Schofield repro? I've been wanting one, but I'm not liking what I'm hearing about them.

 

[arcticap]

Smith & Wesson made a reproduction that's discontinued.
Beware, ASM made some early on.

http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php?topic=18434.0

 

[Oyeboten]

Hi Foto Joe,



Well, you sure gave it one long hard try there.

What a shame their Shofield rendition was not a better effort on their part.

I am puzzled about how or why they would not have been greatly more careful to have proved their product and tested it thoroughly, before letting them loose into the World.


Good luck on the 'trade-in'..!

 

[Foto Joe]

Oyeboten,

Yeah, I guess I just need to stick to Colt's pattern revolvers. But I'll tell ya what, that Schofield (when it worked) would eat 44-40 ammo almost as fast as a 9mm semi would spit itty bitty pieces of brass all over the ground. If you're a Colt's person, a Schofield will spoil you when it comes to loading and unloading.

I think one of the issues that Uberti has with the Schofield repro is that very few have even been produced. When talking to Customer Service they of course weren't going to admit to anything but what the rep told me was that they've sold many tens of thousands of Cattleman revolvers so of course they would have more satisfied customers with that model. The other thing that makes me think that the Schofield is a limited thing with Uberti is the price. Yes there are more moving parts but...it's 19th century technology for cryin' out loud. It's not like they had to engineer it and make all the drawings from scratch!!

Anyway again, Uberti Customer Service has been great, I wish I didn't need to talk to them so much though. They have approved the swap for two Cattleman revolvers to replace the one Schofield. I have to ship the Schofield back to them probably Monday and then they'll send me the new ones. I'm going to wait until we get home though as we'll be taking our time going up through Utah. And yes I WILL remember to buy beer BEFORE I leave Arizona.

 

[mykeal]

It's not like they had to engineer it and make all the drawings from scratch!!

Well, yeah, they kinda did - those old drawings don't program an NC mill...

 

[Oyeboten]

Indeed, the Drawings and setting up of Tooling and proving all the Jigs and Fixtures and so on is an enormous task, and the Shofield design is certainly more demanding than the design of the Colt Cap & Ball or Cartridge Models.


However, doing such things IS their occupation or business, so, they of course should require of themselves TO do it right and to make sure the product is somewhere between 'good', damned good, or 'excellent'.

That or 'Stop the Presses!' untill they do get the 'bugs' worked out.


I am sure sure I would LOVE the Shofield and how it loads and ejects and shoots!


When did 'Uberti' come out with these?


I recall a friend here in town, bought a brand new re-production Shofield or other large .44 or .45 Break Top S&W design, sent off for it Mail Order, or had some local Gun Shop order it in, quite a long while ago, in the mid 1990s I think, and, he was not happy with it, gritty action, and troubles with the mechanism, and, he sent it back for a refund...but, I do not know if it was an 'ASM' or who made it.

 

[gizmodog]

this may not be on topic with uberti but still talking Italian repos.....

i was interested in a spencer carbine a fella had for sale and met him at the range to inspect it and shoot a few rounds. the owner was a range officer and actually on-duty at the time.

his opening remark of it's a little stiff in the action it's not broke in yet....threw up the caution flags for me. he immediately began to struggle with trying to get a russian .44 round into battery. after the third or fourth jam or dropped round i asked if i could hold the rifle and investigate.

as usual upon completion of my function check & inspection i noticed some reversed engineering production cuts that affected the operation of the loading assembly, mix in really poor quality control and the end result is an outward appearence of a quality 19th century carbine but really a cobbled troublesome clone not worth 1/4th the asking price of $1300.00 new!:O

i felt for the poor guy....he finally admited the rifle had been trash from day one and the importer or maker...ARMI-SPORT would not make it right.

i have heard of several folks who own the spencer speak well of them ...i was wondering maybe it was due to the shorter and smaller .44 round being used with out matching the loading tube and tweaking the loading tray to the cartridge size....after all it was designed for the 56/50 rimfire.

at least the fella was nice enough to allow a live fire otherwise i may have purchased it and had a $600.00 paper weight!

Gizmodog!