School me on the Schofield

[awp_101]

I wouldn't call it BAD, just not as handy as a Colt.

This.

I have a 7” .38 Special Uberti that is fun but the balance is not to my liking. If I get another it will have a shorter barrel. I’ve thought about having this one cut but it’s too nice IMO and I don’t really know how much it would cost anyway.

[Dave T]

I have one of the S&W 2000 Schofields. I haven't shot CAS in 20 years but got this as a "re-living history" adventure. I wanted to know what shooting the 45 Smith & Wesson Schofield, loaded with black powder was like. I won't go into all the trouble, and reasons for it, shooting black powder in this thing evolved but initially nothing worked. I ended up loading Black MZ (American Pioneer Powder) to reduce fouling and duplicate the original cartridge's performance - a 230g RNFP over 28g of BP.

That load allowed me to shoot multiple cylinders without the gun jamming up. Compared side by side with a 7-1/2" USFA shooting full power 45 Colt black powder loads the SAA styled gun was the clear winner. As mentioned before the original sights on the Schofield are just awful. And, despite what's made of the "fast reload" for the S&W historically reloading your pistol was not that big a consideration in the frontier West. Also the grip shape and hammer reach on the Schofield is quite awkward for me. I found I could get off 5 rounds faster and more accurately with the SAA style gun than the Schofield re-creation.

I wouldn't buy another one and these days I only take the S&W 2000 out to let other people try it.

Dave

[Jim Watson]

I have a 7” .38 Special Uberti that is fun but the balance is not to my liking.

And so will a .38 SAA. Small holes, more iron. A shorter barrel would bring the center of gravity back, but a .44 or .45 cal. would have the natural balance of the design.

[Willard]

For about the same money as the Schofield one can own a copy of an 1873 or 1866, if they interest you at all. They are highly interesting to me as representative of the period and something I use since coming into the Miroku/Winchester 73 carbine.


Attachment 115502

Looks very nice. Is that a current production version? Does tang safety preclude placement of folding sight on tang? Thanks!

[Borderland]

This.

I have a 7” .38 Special Uberti that is fun but the balance is not to my liking. If I get another it will have a shorter barrel. I’ve thought about having this one cut but it’s too nice IMO and I don’t really know how much it would cost anyway.

What barrel length would you suggest? Just asking because I might buy a 38 spl. Uberti or other Italian repro.

[awp_101]

And so will a .38 SAA. Small holes, more iron. A shorter barrel would bring the center of gravity back, but a .44 or .45 cal. would have the natural balance of the design.

True, but the grip shape and angle are a big part of it for me. One of the BK grip adapters mostly fits and helps but it’s still doesn’t feel as good as a SAA or Blackhawk.

What barrel length would you suggest? Just asking because I might buy a 38 spl. Uberti or other Italian repro.

For me it would be a 4” or 5” barrel but I generally don’t like barrels over 6” anyway.

[Malamute]

Looks very nice. Is that a current production version? Does tang safety preclude placement of folding sight on tang? Thanks!

Not my picture, though mine is exactly like this. None of the current Winchester/Miroku made 1866 or 1873s have a tang safety.

[Malamute]

...Every one of those old west single action revolvers has a different grip and different geometry, so which one works best for you is a combination of your hands and what you are used to. The gun is supposed to roll a bit to allow you to get to the hammer and SSA's seemed to put my thumb in place faster, so I was slightly slower with the Schoefields but I knew people who preferred them. The reach to the hammer for cocking shots was just a bit off for me, but that could be a function of how many rounds I had through SAA designs...

This is likely a factor for me, Ive shot the standard style SAs far more and they just feel familiar to me.


Regarding the feel of different calibers, and grip shape, Ive mostly had Rugers*, in 357 they feel rather heavy and clunky compared to the Colt size guns (they also do in other calibers, just not as heavy). I borrowed a 4 3/4" Colt SAA in 357 cal at a shoot once, the lady gave me a 100 rd box of shells to shoot in it, I enjoyed it very much and have wanted one ever since. The 357 Rugers dont leave me with that feeling, though its been a very long time since Ive handled an early Ruger flat top 357. They were a smaller frame and cylinder, not as top heavy feeling.

The flair of the grip I feel definitely helps with shooting the SA one handed, the heel of the hand indexes on it when cocking and shooting one handed, the gun is not firmly held when coking the hammer in one handed shooting, the flair gets my hand right back where it needs to be to get a shooting grip again. For that reason a birds head style grip has never felt quite right to me. They were originally on DA Colts back in the day, the 1877s and 78s.

Reloading an SA revolver is not hopelessly slow, just significantly more so than a DA revolver. I think most never get past the awkward "trying to save the brass" stage and just call it hopeless. Id compare it more to an average shooter reloading a DA revolver with loose rounds from a pocket more than requiring geological time measurements. In shooting 22s and not caring about the brass, I had it to the point its takes about 3-4 seconds to clear one, a centerfire is easier with the larger cylinder and holes to hit with the ejector rod and heavier brass to kick out. I need to get it on camera some time to confirm, but when a system is used enough to become habit, its not really all that bad.

* Ive had 4 Colt SAAs and liked them quite a lot, but have had a fair pile of Rugers over the years.

[03RN]

Not my picture, though mine is exactly like this. None of the current Winchester/Miroku made 1866 or 1873s have a tang safety.

Well that's good to know

[awp_101]

Speedloader notwithstanding, TK Custom will apparently cut a .45 Uberti Schofield for moonclips.

Oh, that is just WRONG...I wonder what they charge for that? LOL!

There’s always this… Tomorrow's Schofield: Guest Build