Original Item: Only One available. This is a really nice and rare old Wild West Revolver to find. This is a very nice Smith & Wesson "Schofield Model" No. 3 revolver, in .45 Smith & Wesson Caliber. It has some lovely aged walnut grips. The S&W Model No. 3 was introduced in 1869 as the U.S. Army's principal sidearm, after which they requested several changes to the design suggested by Major George W. Schofield.

This fine example features a shortened 5" barrel and has a cylinder capacity of 6 shots, and functions in single-action only. The left side of the barrel bears the Smith & Wesson patent information:

The left side of the barrel bears the Schofield patent information:

These patent markings are definitive for a Schofield model, as is the design of the revolver, which features a frame latch that pulls back, instead of lifting up. Above this patent information is also the marking 643 and WF & CO. EX., the markings of the Wells Fargo company. This number is the inventory number from Wells Fargo, and it also is stamped on the bottom of the grip. There is also a U.S. marking there, indicating U.S. Army Service, next to the original serial number 7421, which also appears on the back of the cylinder.

The U.S. Army eventually decided to switch to the Colt Single Action Army revolver in .45 Long Colt, so they disposed of the Schofield Model Revolvers via the surplus market. One of the largest customers for these was Wells Fargo, who used them to arm their field agents. They would shorten the barrel to a more concealable 5 inches, and add their own stampings and asset number.

This is a Top-break revolver making loading extremely easy and frankly a much better system than the side loading Colts and Mervin & Hulbert revolvers. This was the same model revolver that the famous Lawman Wyatt Earp used in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26th 1881.

The revolver functions, however portions of the action are worn, making it finicky, so it will not cycle correctly at times. The cylinder must be moved by hand to get it going again. The revolver breaks open correctly with ejection, and correctly retracts. The bore shows clear rifling, with some fouling and wear.

A great old west revolver, ready to become a part of your collection!

History of the Smith & Wesson Schofield Model .45cal Revolver

The U.S. Army adopted the .44 S&W American caliber S&W Model 3 revolver in 1870, making it the first standard-issue, cartridge-firing revolver in US service. Most military pistols until that point were black powder cap-and-ball revolvers, which were (by comparison) slow, complicated, and susceptible to the effects of wet weather.

In 1875, the US Ordnance Board granted S&W a contract to outfit the military with Model 3 revolvers incorporating the design improvements of Major George W. Schofield (known as the "Schofield revolver"), providing that they could make the revolvers fire the .45 Colt (or ".45 Long Colt") ammunition already in use by the US military. S&W instead developed their own, slightly shorter .45 caliber round, the .45 Schofield, otherwise known as the .45 S&W.

When it became obvious in the field that the two cartridges would not work interchangeably in the Schofield (although they both worked in the Colt), the U.S. government adopted the shorter .45 Schofield cartridge as the standard cartridge. Despite the change, old stocks of the longer .45 Colt rounds in the supply line caused the Army to drop most of the Schofields and continue with the Colt. Major Schofield had patented his locking system and earned a payment on each gun that S&W sold, and at the time, his older brother, John M. Schofield, was the head of the Army Ordnance Board and the political situation may have been the main issue for the early end of army sales.

Many of the S&W Model 3 Schofield revolvers served in the Indian Wars, with reports of them in use as late as the Spanish–American War and Philippine–American War. Like the other Model 3s, they were also reportedly popular with lawmen and outlaws in the American West, and were reportedly used by Jesse James, Bob Ford (who used one to kill James),[6] John Wesley Hardin, Pat Garrett, Theodore Roosevelt, Virgil Earp, Billy the Kid, and many others. The S&W No. 3 revolver was famously used by Wyatt Earp during the gunfight at the O.K. Corral with the Clanton Gang.

While the standard barrel length was 7 inches, many Schofields were purchased as surplus by distributors, and had the barrels shortened to 5 in, and were refinished in nickel. After the Spanish–American War of 1898, the US Army sold off all their surplus Schofield revolvers, which were reconditioned by wholesalers and gunsmiths (at professional factory-quality level), with a considerable number offered for sale on the commercial market with a 5-in barrel, as well as the standard size barrel of 7 in.

Of the most notable purchasers of these reconditioned Model 3 Schofield revolvers was Wells Fargo and Company, which purchased the revolvers for use by Wells Fargo road agents, and had the barrels shortened to a more concealable 5-in length. These revolvers were then inspected by the Wells Fargo armorer and uniquely stamped "W.F. & Co" or "Wells Fargo & Co", along with the original Smith & Wesson serial number restamped alongside the Wells Fargo stamping on the flat part of the barrel just forward of the barrel pivot, as well as restamping any part of each revolver that had not originally been stamped or stamped in a location that would be difficult to view the serial number, when needed.

The Wells Fargo Schofield revolvers became so popular with collectors from the 1970s onwards that the unique Wells Fargo markings were being "counterfeited" or "faked" by unscrupulous sellers to enhance the value of other similar versions that had not been genuinely owned by Wells Fargo & Co. More "fake" Wells Fargo-marked Schofield revolvers than genuine ones are in existence, and accordingly, a collector interested in purchasing a "Wells Fargo" Schofield revolver would be well advised to have a prepurchase inspection and verification performed by an expert who specializes in this model.

Lieutenant Colonel Schofield shot himself on December 17, 1882, with a S&W Schofield revolver after suffering a bout of mental illness, stress, and isolation.

An engraved, gold-plated New Model No. 3 with pearl grips was presented to sharpshooter Annie Oakley in the 1890s by her husband Frank Butler. The revolver was one of three embellished guns that were cased for Oakley as a presentation group.

Specifications: 

Years of Manufacture: c.1876-77
Caliber: .45 Smith & Wesson
Ammunition Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 5 inches
Overall Length: 10 3/4 inches
Action: Single Action
Feed System: 6 Shot Revolver