Smith & Wesson Unholsters Sixgun Classic

Shooting Industry, April, 2000 by John Taffin

For those most interested in singleand double-action sixguns, Smith & Wesson's new Model 3 Schofield is worthy of large headlines. This is the first single-action introduction from Smith & Wesson since the company dropped the New Model #3 in 1912. That was 14 years after S&W manufactured their last single-action S&W frame in 1898. This year, after more than 100 years, Smith & Wesson goes back to 1875 to reintroduce the Model 3 Schofield.

The Schofield is not new to today's American shooters. Several years ago, Navy Arms, and then several other importers, began selling Italian replicas of the sixgun. What makes the new Smith & Wesson different is it's an all-American sixgun. All parts production, assembly and finishing is being done at the Smith & Wesson Performance Center.

The Model 3 Schofield was originally designed by Colonel Schofield, a member of the 10th Cavalry on the Western frontier in the 1870s. Unlike the solid-frame Colt Single Action Army, the Schofield is a top-break design. The rear sight is also the frame-mounted barrel latch which releases the barrel so that it can be tipped forward and down. This ejects the spent cartridges, permitting new rounds to be inserted.

Smith & Wesson will limit the Model 3 Schofield, at least for now, to 100 units per month, all completely built in the Performance Center. The guns will be blued with walnut grips and case coloring on the hammer, trigger, trigger guard and barrel latch. It has a 7-inch barrel, chambered, as the original, in .45 S&W, or .45 Schofield. Factory ammunition is readily available from Black Hills with brass also offered by Starline.

The Schofield will be an immediate success that, I expect, will trigger the reintroduction of other 19th century single actions from Smith & Wesson including the New Model #3. Progress in the right direction can certainly be wonderful!