FALL 2019
orderedalmosttheentireproductionofthis
distinctiveS&Wmodel.Thestandardbarrel
length for the Schofield was 7 inches.
There was only one drawback tothe
S&W from a military logistics stand-
point: It used a different-sized cartridge
from the Peacemaker. The .45 Schofield
cartridge would fit into a Colt in arush,
but a .45 Colt round was too long forthe
Schofield’s cylinder, and if you ranout
of Schofield ammunition, you wereout
of ammo, even if there 10,000 roundsof
.45 Colt ammo sitting in a supply wagon.
Ultimately, that led to Colt becomingthe
dominant U.S. military sidearm andthe
S&Ws being phased out.
A number of military Schofieldswere
refinished and altered to barrel lengthsof
4¼ inches for civilian sales. Others were
specially built with 5-inch barrels foruse
by Wells Fargo agents, and surplus guns
with cut-down barrels were sold through
New York retailers Schuyler, Hartley&
Graham and Francis Bannerman &Co.
Total Schofield production in all variations
accounted for approximately 8,969 guns.
The Russian models, with their rede-
signed grips and triggerguards to accom-
modatetheRussianmilitary,werean
overwhelmingsuccess.Andif thereisone
Model3 thatiseasilydistinguishedfrom
another,itistheRussian!Thisvariation
waschamberedforthe.44S&WRussian,a
differentcaliber.Whilethe.44S&Wused
anoutside-lubricatedheeledbulletofequal
diametertothecase,the.44S&WRussian
useda largercasediameterthanthebullet.
Thiseventuallybecamethedominantcali-
berforS&Wtop-breaks.
TheRussianmodelhada largeknuckle
atthetopofthebackstraptorestoverthe
weboftheshooter’shand,a severelyangled
grip,a roundheel,a lanyardringanda
mostdistinctivetriggerguardspur.There
werethreeRussianvariations,thefirst
almostidenticalto theAmericanModel
No.3 exceptforcaliber,andthesecondand
thirdwiththeaforementionedchangesto
thegripandtriggerguardconfigurations.
Russianbarrellengthsrangedfrom5½
inchesto8 inches,withSecondandThird
Modelsgenerallyofferedin7-and6½-inch
lengths,respectively.Intotal,allRussian
variationsmanufacturedfrom 1871 to 1878
reached131,138guns,makingtheRussian
modelsplentifuleventothisday.Andthis
doesnottakeintoaccountS&Wcopies
madeinRussiaat theTulaArsenal,andin
GermanybyLudwig&Lowe,whichadds
another400,000to500,000guns,even
thoughtheyarenotS&Ws.
58 GUNS OF THE OLD WEST
FRONTIER FIREPOWER
The Taylor’s Frontier is quick to draw and fire,
and is so well balanced that it points naturally
when you pull it from a crossdraw rig.
(Above) This gent chose to carry an S&W
New Model No. 3 with an 8-inch barrel,
the longest length available for the top-
break pistol. (Right) If there is any truth
to the story, Jesse James, who carried
a pair of S&W Model 3s, gave this one
to gang member Bob Ford as a gift. He
later used it to murder Jesse in 1882.
