Folks know in regards to the Smith & Wesson Schofield revolver, even when it’s solely from watching Unforgiven. Formally often known as the S&W Mannequin 3, it’s one of many necessary revolvers of the Outdated West. Once we look again at that period of firearms — the time when cartridges turned king and outdated cap-and-ball revolvers had been being transformed to fireplace brass — we consider the Colt Single Motion Military, the legendary Peacemaker, and subsequent to it, a bit of blurry within the background, are the Schofield and the Remington 1875.
All three revolvers from a trio of iconic American gunmakers endeavored to be essentially the most dependable and environment friendly cartridge revolvers within the age of industrialization, mass manufacturing, and profitable navy contracts for a rustic increasing ever westward.
In the long run, the Colt Peacemaker reigned supreme. It dominated the market and was broadly adopted by the U.S. navy. In comparison with the Mannequin 3, it wasn’t even shut. Smith & Wesson produced its top-break revolver from 1868 to 1898, with 54,000 weapons rolling off the road earlier than manufacturing ceased.
Between 1873 and 1940, Colt produced 357,859 Single Motion Military revolvers. However why did the Colt win so handily? When you have a look at it by the numbers, the Colt wasn’t that nice of a navy sidearm, in comparison with the competitors.
It got here all the way down to timing, politics, provide traces, and, finally, a play for a navy ammo contract that kind of labored out for S&W, and kind of didn’t. In a roundabout manner, Smith & Wesson was chargeable for certainly one of Colt’s biggest successes and some of the iconic American handgun rounds — 40 years down the street.
The Mannequin 3 and Main Schofield
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The Schofield was designed as a top-break revolver: The body was hinged simply in entrance of the set off guard, beneath the cylinder, with a latch above the hammer. When the latch was launched, the motion opened like a break-action shotgun, exposing all six chambers on the identical time.
It additionally featured a star ejector, that means all six spent instances had been ejected directly when the motion was opened. Recent cartridges might be loaded rather more shortly with this design. In the event that they’d existed, the Schofield might have readily accommodated speedloaders; individuals usually use them with replica Schofields at the moment, moon clips, too. And that is sensible, since these are the identical attributes carried into extra trendy revolver designs that use a swing-out cylinder.
Reloading was less complicated within the warmth of fight, and it was far simpler to perform on horseback.
However the S&W revolver wasn’t excellent. The early Mannequin 3s had latch issues they usually had been chambered within the .44 S&W American, which was a bit underpowered.
The gun acquired its new identify because of strategies supplied by Maj. George W. Schofield who requested tweaks to make the gun extra suited to calvary use. He had S&W transfer the latch — as an alternative of mounting it on the barrel, the Schofield mannequin had it mounted on the body, which made it simpler to make use of with one hand. He additionally added a spring to the barrel catch for a similar motive.
Schofield additionally requested warmth handled, replaceable latch elements, as they skilled essentially the most put on of something on the gun.
Why the Colt Peacemaker Was Nice, and Not So Nice
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The Single Motion Military is a sturdy revolver, and it’s pretty easy. However it actually isn’t flawless.
When you spend any time on the web investigating it, you’re going to learn all about how individuals who carried revolvers within the Outdated West solely loaded them with 5 rounds, leaving the hammer resting on an empty chamber.
Sure, this totally is sensible as a security precaution. With the hammer down, the firing pin was resting proper on a primer because the gun was jostled in every single place, in a holster or in any other case — this was lengthy earlier than the transfer-bar security characteristic was invented. If the revolver was dropped or if one thing hit the hammer spur, there was an actual probability of a spherical going off.
This was additionally an issue for the sooner generations of cap-and-ball revolvers, which is why many fashions used within the 1860s had a security notch between the chambers the place the hammer might relaxation when the gun was being carried. For some motive, this characteristic didn’t carry over to the Colt SAA and S&W didn’t characteristic it on the Schofield, however Remington did embrace the characteristic on the Mannequin 1875.
However how a lot did it matter? The precaution wasn’t in navy manuals of the day. Yeah, security aware of us or individuals who had tough professions, like cowboys, might need taken the precaution of resting the hammer on an empty chamber, however it’s extremely probably that many individuals who carried a revolver, particularly an SAA, opted for the additional spherical over security.
That may be stated particularly for the SAA, as a result of it was sluggish to reload.
When all rounds have been fired from a Peacemaker, the consumer should do the next to re-charge the cylinder with contemporary cartridges:
- Carry the hammer to half-cock
- Push out every spent case with the ejector rod whereas rotating the cylinder so every chamber reveals by way of the loading gate.They by no means have to do that within the films, however you virtually at all times have to do that in actual life, and when utilizing brass loaded with black powder, it was much more needed and tougher.
- Rotate the cylinder once more whereas loading a brand new cartridge into every chamber.
- Carry the hammer to full cock
The revolver is now prepared to fireplace. That’s a full six steps requiring nice motor expertise. This isn’t lots to recollect on the firing line on the vary, however crouched behind cowl or on horseback whereas getting shot at was a special story.
It’s much better than a cap-and-ball wheelgun, however it’s nonetheless difficult, particularly in comparison with any trendy fight pistol.
Whereas the Remington Mannequin 1875 might maintain six shells extra safely, the loading course of was practically equivalent to the SAA.
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Ammo Questions and Politics
The U.S. Military formally adopted the S&W Mannequin 3 revolver in 1870, in its unique chambering, .44 S&W American. It was the primary standard-issue, cartridge revolver in U.S. historical past, and it was a progressive step ahead whereas most militaries on the earth had been nonetheless utilizing cap-and-ball weapons. Shortly after, the Military additionally started to make use of the Colt SAA round 1873.
In 1875, S&W acquired a contract to outfit the U.S. navy with new and improved Mannequin 3 Schofield revolvers, with the caveat that the weapons be chambered in .45 Colt, which was deemed simpler than the .44 S&W American. Plus, the .45 Colt was already in navy provide traces for the Colt SAA revolvers.
As a substitute of doing that — S&W delivered weapons chambered for a brand new proprietary cartridge, the .45 Schofield, which was similar to the .45 Colt, only a bit shorter and a little bit of a lighter load. Keep in mind that. It’s necessary.
The corporate principally tried to muscle the navy into adopting the brand new revolver and a brand new cartridge, each made by S&W. They usually had been profitable, for some time.
Why? Nicely, bear in mind Maj. George Schofield? His older brother was John M. Schofield, who occurred to be the top of the Military Ordnance Board on the time. Many consider that the adoption of the revolver and ammo bearing the household identify was on account of John’s place, and probably why the Military moved away from the gun later.
In a tragic twist, Lt. Col. John Schofield later dedicated suicide with an S&W Schofield revolver throughout a interval of despair and isolation in 1882.
Provide Line Issues
Now, because of navy logistics, there was a critical concern. Troopers discovered themselves carrying a mixture of Schofields and Colts — which was an issue as a result of there have been additionally a whole lot of outdated .45 Colt cartridges sitting in armories that had been nonetheless being despatched to troopers within the area.
The newer Schofields wouldn’t chamber the longer .45 Colt rounds in any respect, and whereas the Colts might fireplace the shorter .45 Schofield rounds, it wasn’t that straightforward. These early .45 Schofield cartridges had a bigger rim than the .45 Colt. In a SAA revolver, the brass would overlap and bind behind the cylinder if it was totally loaded.
So, if a soldier discovered himself with a Colt SAA and a pouch of .45 Schofield ammo, his six-shooter, which can have actually been a five-shooter, turned a three-shooter so it might perform in any respect.
However even worse, a soldier might find yourself carrying a Schofield and don’t have anything out there however unusable .45 Colt ammo.
How the S&W Schofield Led to Colt’s .45 ACP
How did the Military clear up this drawback? Slowly. First the .45 Schofield was tweaked to have the identical rim diameter because the .45 Colt. This new ammo, the M1887 Army Ball Cartridge, nonetheless chambered simply nice within the S&W revolvers and is also utilized in Colts.
Ultimately, the Military phased out the Schofield revolvers and went with the SAA throughout the board. Then, it additionally went again to the .45 Colt ammo till it was changed by the underpowered .38 Lengthy Colt in 1892.
However right here’s the factor — troopers appreciated the lighter .45 Schofield load higher, even of their Colt revolvers. The recoil wasn’t as sharp they usually discovered it was simpler to shoot precisely — bear in mind, troops didn’t get an entire lot of coaching or ammo for goal observe on the time.
The unique black powder .45 Colt was topped with a 255-grain lead bullet and had a muzzle velocity of about 1,050 fps. However the 40 grains of black powder produced intense recoil. The navy later switched to a 28-grain cost for a muzzle velocity of about 855 fps.
The unique .45 Schofield pushed a 230-grain bullet at about 730 fps from a Mannequin 3 revolver, which had a shorter barrel than the usual SAA. The modified M1887 ammo held 26 grains of black powder and generated velocities round 760 fps with a 250-grain bullet out of the Schofield.
A .45-Caliber Mannequin
When the twentieth Century got here calling and it was time for the Military to improve to a semi-auto, it wanted to determine parameters for the ammo it needed. The .45 Colt was a strong and revered spherical often known as a “man-stopper,” particularly in comparison with the .38 Lengthy Colt that had proved insufficient through the Phillipine-American War from 1899 to 1902.
However the .45 Colt of the smokeless powder period, produced even heftier felt recoil and it required extra coaching to get better for correct, quick follow-up pictures. The lighter .45 Schofield cartridge and 28-grain .45 Colt hundreds had been extra manageable.
The Military informed Colt and John M. Browning they needed their new pistol cartridge to be extra just like the lighter-kicking Schofield cartridge than the full-power .45 Colt. They had been delivered the .45 ACP that Browning developed together with the gun that will change into the Colt M1911. The traditional .45 ACP load is a 230-grain bullet transferring round 830 fps. Sound acquainted?
If all that nonsense hadn’t occurred within the 1870s with the Colt SAA and the Schofield and the drama over the .45 Colt and the .45 Schofield, we could have by no means gotten the .45 ACP that we all know at the moment.
In spite of everything, Browning wasn’t notably keen on the .45 caliber. After the 1911, he by no means constructed one other gun chambered in .45 ACP. Taking a look at his different well-known handguns: the Colt 1903 Hammerless was in .380 ACP, the Colt Woodsman was a .22 LR, and the posthumously accomplished Hello-Energy was, in fact, in 9mm. The handguns he created that had been made underneath the FN model, the FN M1900, Mannequin 1903, and Mannequin 1910 had been all .32 or .38 caliber.
The Weapons That Gained the West
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Whereas the Colt Peacemaker received out within the icon standing division, the Schofield actually has a agency place in gun historical past.
The Mannequin 3 was used within the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American Battle, and the Philippine-American Battle. And whereas the navy couldn’t get its act collectively, civilian lawmen and outlaws took to the Smith & Wesson — together with some well-known ones.
Jesse James reportedly used a Schofield at occasions, and later, Robert Ford used one to shoot James within the again, killing him in 1882. Schofields had been carried in holsters worn by Teddy Roosevelt, John Wesley Hardin, Pat Garrett, Virgil Earp, Emiliano Zapata, and Billy the Child.
Some accounts say Wyatt Earp was carrying an S&W Mannequin 3 Schofield through the well-known Gunfight on the O.Ok. Corral throughout which Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp, together with Doc Holliday confronted off towards the Clanton brothers, the McLaury brothers, and Billy Claiborne in Tombstone, Arizona.
Whereas S&W was enhancing the gun and making an attempt to promote it to the U.S. navy, it was additionally producing the Mannequin 3 in giant numbers on particular order for the Russian Empire — the first Mannequin Russian, the 2nd Mannequin Russian, and the ultimate model, the third Mannequin Russian, all that includes enhancements requested by the Russian Ordnance Inspector.
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The American Military ultimately liquidated its inventory of S&W revolvers after the Spanish-American Battle of 1898. The weapons had been reconditioned by wholesalers and gunsmiths and plenty of made it to the industrial market. An excellent lot of these reconditioned Schofields had been purchased by the Wells Fargo and Firm to be used by Wells Fargo brokers, who usually accompanied wagons hauling helpful cargo by way of harmful locations.
When you ever come throughout an outdated top-break revolver with “W.F. & Co” or “Wells Fargo & Co” stamped on it someplace, it might be a helpful Wells Fargo Schofield. Or, it might be a counterfeit, as a result of the weapons acquired tremendous standard with collectors within the Seventies.
In fact, how might we overlook, Clint Eastwood used a Schofield as William Munny within the last shootout of Unforgiven, which he acquired from his former companion, the Schofield Child.
