Navy Arms Schofields, who has 'em and who likes or dislikes 'em?

[Virginia Gentleman]

I have one in .45 Colt with a 5" Wells Fargo sized barrel.  It shoots great, but how well will they hold up compared to a peacemaker type gun?

[Danny Bear Claw]

Mine is blued with the 7 inch barrel.  They got some bad press several years ago when the Italians first started making them.  Seems they shot themselves to pieces after only a few hundred rounds were put through them.  The problems regarding their failty were addressed and they are supposed to be pretty tough now.  I hope so, since I paid around $750 for mine.  I've only got about 200 rounds through mine and about half of that is light Schofield ammo - (180 gr.).  Mine is still as tight as it was on day 1 and quite accurate at 25 yards with 45 Colt ammo and more accurate with the 200 gr. and 180 gr. Schofield ammo.   

[Virginia Gentleman]

There were two versions coming out of Italy, the good one was the Navy Arms Schofield made by Uberti.  These guns were solid and did not have significant problems other than not being able to shoot black powder loads because the gas seal was eliminated.  The other version, the Cimarron Armi San Marco was the really bad and the ugly since it was poorly fitted and even broke open when being fired.  Cimarron discontinued importing them and ASM has been purchased by another company as has Uberti by Beretta.  The Navy Arms guns seem better built as far as strength goes compared to the originals with better steel and more of it in the right places.

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[L.G.]

I've got a pair of them, 7" barrels, .45 Colt, shoot them gunfighter.  I like them alot, just have to make sure finger is off trigger when cocking them.

[Virginia Gentleman]

Seems like the Navy Arms versions have a good reputation from what I have experienced and from what others have too in using them in matches.  I personally like the fact that reloads are a snap compared to the SAA and the trade off of having to release the trigger isn't  too much of an issue.  In a gun fight I think the Schofield shooter in real life would have an advantage. 

[Hell-Er High Water]

I have two Navy Arms, Wells Fargo Models, consecuively S/N'd, with the 5" barrels.  Between main matches and practice I have loaded (by actual count) in excess of 20,000 rounds of 45 colt ammunition for these two revolvers and my main match rifle.  Since I practice much more with the revolvers than I do with the rifle, I would estimate that I have shot 7,000 to 8,000 rounds through each of these revolvers in the last 5 years.  They have not given any problems as far as reliability is concerned and the only thing needed is to give them a good cleaning now and then and check all screws for tightness once in awhile.  The screws do tend to loosen up after several hundred rounds.  I don't know if this is a problem with the Colts and the Colt clones also as I have never owned either.

The only modifications that I have done to them is to remove about the top half of the front sight to get them to shoot to point of aim at 7 yards and lighten the tension on the mainspring for smoother operation.

I enjoy shooting them and would recommend them for anyone that wants something a little different from the norm.

As noted in the other posts, they don't handle black powder well, you have to keep your finger off the trigger when cocking because of the transfer bar safety feature and the Cimarron guns were a piece of S**T (this is the voice of experience talking on the Cimarron guns).

Rich Heller

[Virginia Gentleman]

Yeah, Cimarron even admitted to me that ASM did a lousy job that made them look bad too.  They ended up refunding most of the money on these guns.  The are now talking with Uberti to see if they can import a Schofield version made for Cimarron and the .44 Russian version too.  I hope they do and we will have to wait and see.  Some screws on all my guns will loosen up over time.  I just check them periodically and if they do it too much I use a small piece of teflon tape in the screw threads and they usually stay put.

[St. George]

If those screws are backing out - thoroughly clean the threads in the frame and the screws themselves and put a dot of clear nail polish on them as you screw them back in.

Once it dries - it'll hold nicely and you can clean out the holes and threads as needed with acetone.

Scouts Out!

[Virginia Gentleman]

One thing to be aware of if you use nail polish is to try not to get solvents and cleaners like gun scrubber in the screw head area as it will dissolve the nail polish.  Teflon tape eliminates the worry over using solvents and having the screws loosen up.

[Tommy tornado]

The only complaint I have about my Navy Arms is that it spits gasses every once and a while.  But I have a very early serial #5@@@.  Also the .45 LC empties will slip under the extractor every now and then.

[Rocky Jones]

I had one 45 For about 5 years with no problems. In the Spring I got a pair of the 38's with 7 inch barrels and have shot them in over 15 matches with no problems so far.

[Grapeshot]

Here's an up date on the problem I had with my Navy Arms Schofield.  I purchased this beautiful gun when Navy First started advertised them.  My serial Number was 226.  A few weeks ago I sent it back to Navy Arms because the gun had become very hard to cock.  I had thought it was some fair wear and tear on the cylinder bearing pin that protrudes from the ejector star.

I got a call from Navy a few days after I sent it to them.  The gal said my Schofield had cracks in the frame and in the chambers of the cylinder.  To top it off, they couldn't do anything for me as I had gotten it almost ten years ago.

So, after cleaning it up some, I donated it to the US Army Ordnance Museum at Aberdeen Proving Ground.  The Director was very happy to get it as they didn't have one to display with their US Military sidearm display.

So now it serves a useful purpose.  Gathering up enough cash to get a new one is my next goal.

[Virginia Gentleman]

Man, how many rounds did you have through that Schofield?  I wonder how the cracks developed or if the loads you were using were a bit hot?

[Grapeshot]

I put upwads of 2500 plus cowboy loads through my Schofield.  The breaktops are not known for their strength so I would never put hot rounds through it.

Most of the rounds put through that Schofield were 185 - 230 grain lead bullets loaded in Starline Schofield Brass with loads of Unique from 5 to 6 grains.

[Soldierboy]

As noted in the other posts, they don't handle black powder well, you have to keep your finger off the trigger when cocking because of the transfer bar safety feature and the Cimarron guns were a piece of S**T (this is the voice of experience talking on the Cimarron guns).

Rich Heller

BAH Humbug!!!
Shot my (now retired) Schofields (ubberti, 7" & 5") with the holy black for years! Got me second place in frontier cartridge category last year at the European Championships (and 7th overall).
Its not the gun, Its the loads!

And i retired them becasue they were getting kind of rickety after 5-10 thousand cas loads through them...

[Grapeshot]

Well, I got my new Schofield and I can see I'm going to have to develop a load that this gun likes.  It shoots a bit low with the 230 grain and 250 grain bullets and AA#5 and Trail Boss powders.  If it warms up some between now and the end of December I'll get it out to the range and try out some loads with Unique and Clays along with the above powders until I get it to shoot where I think it needs to be for CAS.

[Silver_Rings]

Slower moving bullets tend to hit higher so you could try a lighter load.

SR

[Virginia Gentleman]

I have had good luck with 225-250 grain bullets and it depends on how far away from the target that affects the accuracy.  At longer ranges the lighter bullets seem to impact to point of aim.

[Lucky Cuss Russ]

After reading several of these posts, I was at a gun show and handled (though I think it was more of a fondle!) a NA Wells Fargo model #3.  The man had set the price at $799, and wouldn't deal, although he said he had the gun several months and couldn't move it.  SOOOOO, I just ordered TWO 5" 'er's on the internet and got a much better deal.  I have 7" 'er's now, but got to go with Hell-Er High Water,  the 5" 'er's handled superbly; the balance was great.  Hope these guns work as well for me as they have for HEHW and Joss House!

Thanks all for sharing infor on the NA guns,
LCR

[CHUNK]

new to the Boss Forum Have a Uberti Wells Fargo , like it very much with 200gr reloads . cTried a Russian was not impressed, sights to small  or non existint, could not reach hammer without changeing my grip, was not totaly impressed at all.