ArachnoSoldier
New member
I was looking into Schofields, and saw a few pictures of them with chopped barrels. My questions are... Is this a good or horrible idea? And I get keep getting mixed answers on which manufacturer makes the best.
Chopped Schofield?
- Thread starter ArachnoSoldier
- Start date
Mike Irwin
Staff
Define chopped barrel. What length?
The original chopped Schofields were done by Bannerman or Hartley, Schulyer, and Graham, the big surplus dealers of the day.
Wells Fargo bought several hundred of them, which they issued to their courier agents.
The original chopped Schofields were done by Bannerman or Hartley, Schulyer, and Graham, the big surplus dealers of the day.
Wells Fargo bought several hundred of them, which they issued to their courier agents.
SundownRider
New member
You can get a reproduction in 3" (Hideout) 5" (Wells Fargo) or standard 7"(Cavalry) lengths. Uberti makes them. Nickeled a few, too.
Any original gun in an altered state other than original will definitely be worth less unless said piece has some sort of historical provenance (sp?).
Any original gun in an altered state other than original will definitely be worth less unless said piece has some sort of historical provenance (sp?).
RevolverRO
New member
Any of the newly-manufactured replicas are well-made guns. However, a few caveats.
Armi San marco (ASM) made guns for Cimarron about 10 years ago. They had quality-control issues. Basically many parts were sloppily made/fitted, and Cimarron ended up dumping the ASM guns and going with the Uberti gun, which is of a much better quality (and consistant quality).
All the guns today are made either by Uberti or S & W.
The S & W is about twice as expensive as the Uberti gun, and can only fire .45 S & W schofield ammo. The Uberti guns can fire .45 colt or .45 scofield, kind of like the .357 magnum/.38 special interchangability.
Thw Uberti uses a fixed firing pin integrally forged with the hammer. The S & W uses a frame-mounted firing pin.
Both guns are very tightly fitted examples of engineering. I wouldn't recommend extended shooting of blackpowder ammo or heavy loads, but factory spec. .45 colt would do them no undue harm. High-end (1000 fps +) loads are a little stout for the hinged-frame design.
I have owned an ASM/Cimarron 5" 'Wells Fargo' revolver and a Uberti 7" revolver. Aside from the problems I had with the ASM guns' firing pin and sloppy hammer/sear fit, both were accurate guns. I spent a lot of time fixing the various problems with the ASM gun, and finally sold it for quite a bit less then I paid for it. The Uberti gun is a joy, but I don't really want to try and find a matching partner for it (for SASS matches). Other then having to make sure I keep it clean (the barrel/cylinder gap is very sensitive to fouling) I think it is an excellent gun, although a little pricey compared to a SAA copy. The S & W price is way too high for a poor boy like me.
Armi San marco (ASM) made guns for Cimarron about 10 years ago. They had quality-control issues. Basically many parts were sloppily made/fitted, and Cimarron ended up dumping the ASM guns and going with the Uberti gun, which is of a much better quality (and consistant quality).
All the guns today are made either by Uberti or S & W.
The S & W is about twice as expensive as the Uberti gun, and can only fire .45 S & W schofield ammo. The Uberti guns can fire .45 colt or .45 scofield, kind of like the .357 magnum/.38 special interchangability.
Thw Uberti uses a fixed firing pin integrally forged with the hammer. The S & W uses a frame-mounted firing pin.
Both guns are very tightly fitted examples of engineering. I wouldn't recommend extended shooting of blackpowder ammo or heavy loads, but factory spec. .45 colt would do them no undue harm. High-end (1000 fps +) loads are a little stout for the hinged-frame design.
I have owned an ASM/Cimarron 5" 'Wells Fargo' revolver and a Uberti 7" revolver. Aside from the problems I had with the ASM guns' firing pin and sloppy hammer/sear fit, both were accurate guns. I spent a lot of time fixing the various problems with the ASM gun, and finally sold it for quite a bit less then I paid for it. The Uberti gun is a joy, but I don't really want to try and find a matching partner for it (for SASS matches). Other then having to make sure I keep it clean (the barrel/cylinder gap is very sensitive to fouling) I think it is an excellent gun, although a little pricey compared to a SAA copy. The S & W price is way too high for a poor boy like me.
I have a Uberti Schofield with the 5". It handles and shoots well for me. The 5" tube is still pretty long by modern standards. It's even got some historical accuracy, since the surplus Schofields that Wells Fargo bought had been cut to 5". For once the popular name of a revolver model does have some basis in historical fact.
I think I might have liked the longer barrel, but it wasn't available where I bought mine. These puppies do tend to be muzzle-heavy. Probably even more so because the Uberti is built more heavily than the original Smith and has a .45 Colt-length cylinder. (The original Schofield didn't accept the .45 Colt. Its cylinder was shorter. It was chambered for the shorter .45 Schofield aka .45 S&W cartridge.) Having a couple inches less barrel might help correct that a bit. Although if you're shooting old-west style, one-handed duelist, a muzzle heavy balance in a revolver isn't necessarily bad.
I think I might have liked the longer barrel, but it wasn't available where I bought mine. These puppies do tend to be muzzle-heavy. Probably even more so because the Uberti is built more heavily than the original Smith and has a .45 Colt-length cylinder. (The original Schofield didn't accept the .45 Colt. Its cylinder was shorter. It was chambered for the shorter .45 Schofield aka .45 S&W cartridge.) Having a couple inches less barrel might help correct that a bit. Although if you're shooting old-west style, one-handed duelist, a muzzle heavy balance in a revolver isn't necessarily bad.