FALL 2019
TombstoneandhandedtoWyattatthetime
oftheshootoutattheO.K.Corral,orat
least that’s one version of the story. Cowboy
and stage actor Texas Jack Omohundro,
who performed in Buffalo Bill Cody’s
original theater troupe, also carried this
model. El Paso, Texas, City Marshall Dallas
Stoudenmire carried a First Model No. 3,
as did Texas Ranger L.H. McNelly and out-
laws Jesse James and John Wesley Hardin.
Gunmen like James and Hardin carrieda
variety of guns, as did some lawmenlike
St oudenmire, but at one point or another,
there was an S&W top-break in theirholster.
The next .44 in the S&W line wasthe
Second Model No. 3 introduced in 1872.
This differed with a bump in the bottomof
the frame to accommodate a larger trigger
pin. The Second Model No. 3 also borea
number of minor exterior modifications
made to models produced under contract
for the Russian military, including alocking
hammer and barrel latch,
a new barrel hinge and
screw, and a steel front
blade sight replacing the
original German silver
front sight. A detachable
shoulder stock was also
offered for the first time.
The next variation
was the New Model No. 3
manufactured from 1878
to 1908 with a standard
barrel length of 6½ inches
and chambered in .44
Russianand.44-40.Duringitsproduction,
barrellengthsvariedfrom3½to8 inches,
and a detachable shoulder stock was again
available. The model was also chamberedin
.32-44, .38-40 and .320 S&W for the revolv-
ing rifle variation. Between 1870 and 1912,
total production for all Model No. 3 revolv-
ers, including those for foreign contracts
but excluding Russian models, totaled over
110,700 guns. The New Model No. 3—sub-
dividedintoa fewvariations,includingthe
Fr ontiermodelin.44-40—replacedthe
American,RussianandSchofield,which
wereallphasedoutbyS&Wafter1878.
Although the vast majority of sidearms car-
ried by the U.S. Army in the 1870s ended
up being Peacemakers, S&W still got the
drop on Colt by delivering a significant
number of top-break models to the cavalry
beginning in 1870. The most noteworthy
wasa variationdesignedspecifically for the
mountedsoldier:theSchofield.This ver-
sion, chambered in the new .45 Schofield
caliber, arrived in 1874 as an improved
Model No. 3 designed by U.S. Army
Colonel George W. Schofield.
The first .44-caliber S&W revolvers car-
ried by the U.S. Army beginning in 1870
had been criticized for their top-break
latch design, which had the original barrel-
mounted release. This often proved hard
to use on horseback.
Schofield, then a major,
redesignedthelatch
mechanismtofitonthe
frame,insteadof thebar-
rel,andthusreleasethe
barrelbysimplypulling
thelatchback(withthe
hammerathalf-cock)
andpressingthebar-
reldownagainstone’s
leg(orothersurface)to
pivotitopen.TheU.S.
OrdnanceDepartment
SPECIFICATIONS
GUNS OF THE OLD WEST 57
Unlike the original (left), which has later
design features, the Uberti-made Frontier
(right) uses the Third Model Russian’s
cylinder retaining screw and a rear sight
better than the original No. 3 Target Model’s.
