Smith & Wesson Model 3 (Schofield)

About the Smith & Wesson Model 3 (Schofield)

The Smith & Wesson Model 3 is a top-break single-action revolver from the cartridge era of the American Old West, most famous in its Schofield configuration. Major George Schofield modified the basic Model 3 with a frame-mounted latch that could be released with the thumb of the firing hand, letting a mounted cavalryman open the action, eject all spent cases simultaneously, and reload one-handed on horseback. The U.S. Army adopted the Schofield in .45 S&W (a shorter, fatter cartridge than the .45 Colt) in 1875.

Surplus Schofield revolvers were bought up and shortened by distributors like Wells Fargo, and outlaws including Jesse James and Frank James are reported to have favored the top-break Schofield for the speed of its simultaneous ejection.

Smith & Wesson Model 3 (Schofield) specifications

The shorter .45 Schofield cartridge would chamber and fire in Colt Single Action Army revolvers, but the longer .45 Colt would not fit the Schofield's cylinder, creating supply problems that contributed to the Army eventually surplusing the guns.