S&W Model of 2000 Schofield .45 Revolvers

When it was introduced in 1875, S&W’s top-break .45 Schofield model was the cat’s meow of single action revolvers. This remarkable revolver was based on designs by US Army Cavalry officer Major George W. Schofield that improved Smith & Wesson’s Model No. 3 American for military use. A novel feature is a barrel catch that is pulled rearward to open the revolver allowing it to be opened for loading with one hand, a real advantage for mounted cavalry troops.

The Schofield shared other advanced features with all other S&W top-break revolvers, such as simultaneous, automatic ejection of the spent cases. Another Schofield feature the Army liked was the extraction system, which was far simpler and more dependable than the mechanisms used on earlier S&W’s, notably the American and Russian models the Army had previously tested. Schofield’s were chambered for a center-fire cartridge that is now called the .45 S&W.

The 45 S&W was bit shorter than the standard .45 Colt service cartridge and carried a lighter bullet (230 grains as opposed to the 250 grain bullet used in the Colt) and 28 grains of powder as opposed to the original Colt’s loading of 40 grains. Model of 1873 Colt service revolvers could chamber and fire the S&W cartridge but the Schofield S&W could not accept the longer .45 Colt rounds.

Not long after the adoption of the Schofield S&W into service, the Army shortened its .45 caliber service cartridge to S&W 2000 Schofields have a modern, frame-mounted pin. Modern Schofield: S&W re-released this classic with updates. length, also switching to the lighter bullet and powder charge of the S&W cartridge to reduce recoil. About eight thousand S&W Schofield revolvers were manufactured for the US Army from 1875 through 1877, with only 684 of the model made for civilian sale.

For awhile, Schofield S&W’s were issued alongside Colt Single Action revolver, seeing service on the frontier with units

Removing the rear screw from this latch and loosening the front screw lets you lift the rear of the frame latch up and the cylinder assembly off. The washer-like part ahead of the frame hinge is the ejector washer (extractor cam.) like the U. S. 9th and 10th Cavalry. Today, original Schofields command very high collector premium prices and they are among the most highly sought after of frontier-era weapons.

In more modern times, the comparatively new sport of Cowboy Action Shooting has created a large demand for all firearms used in the old west, not to mention a few that weren’t. To that end, Navy Arms introduced the first modern replica of the Schofield in .45 Colt and 44-40 calibers, manufactured by Uberti in Italy, this version is still being sold under several importers names. Though not a faithful copy of the S&W, the Uberti is a reasonably dependable revolver.

In the mid-1990’s Cimarron Firearms introduced a more faithful version of the S&W Schofield produced by Armi San Marco in Italy. The ASM version was also offered in .45 Colt and 44-40 but could not get through the teething stages and was dropped after only a few years due to various mechanical problems that the maker simply never solved. The real deal? Smith & Wesson themselves briefly became involved in the reproduction market by rein troducing a "new" Schofield at the 2000 Shot Show.

From afar the new S&W looks much like the original, however, when comparing the year 2000 S&W side-by-side with the original 1875 S&W Schofield, several not-so-subtle differences exist. These include a shorter lock frame and cylinder, a removed cylinder gas ring and the barrel/cylinder gap is placed almost directly over the front of the cylinder axis. That fact makes this a smokeless-powder-only gun due to the powder-fouling that results from firing black powder with this arrangement.

The chambering is still 45 S&W. All of the year 2000 revolvers were patterned after the 1st Model Schofields, a model manufactured in 1875 with production totaling 3,035 revolvers. The new S&W version also makes use of several off-the-shelf parts from modern side-swing S&W revolvers. In addition, the reintroduced Schofield

Pliers compress the spring, disengaging the top of the spring from the hammer stirrup. Correct re-assembly of the hammer into the frame requires careful attention to the positioning of both the hammer block safety assembly and the hammer itself. uses a frame-mounted firing pin in place of the original which was an integral part of the hammer. She also sports a rather ingenious transfer-bar type, hammer-block safety that is not like anything else.

My friend Larry Bradway up at the S&W Customer Service Department tells us the factory produced somewhere between 3,000 and 3,300 of these guns between 2000 and 2003, with the last few built in November– December of ‘03. The first 150 guns were auctioned off on the S&W web site with the first gun, serial number GSW 0001 (GSW for George Wheeler Schofield) selling for $12,000.

A seven-inch barrel was standard, as was a blue finish with color case hardened trigger guard, hammer, barrel and cylinder catches, although about 150 were offered in nickel. I am told about 300 were made with five-inch barrels, 150 each in nickel and in blue. While these reintroduced Schofields don’t look as much like the originals as we might like, to be fair, all of them that I have fired are very dependable and good in the accuracy department.

The only complaint I’ve had with Notice the cylinder stop spring as you remove the guard. All critical parts (trigger, cylinder stop and ejector lever) are held in place by domed pins that also act as pivot points. The U-shaped spring still inside the action is the barrel latch spring. any of them is that the front sights are all too low, with most guns hitting six to eight inches high at 50 feet when using the proper (lower) sighting notch.

Please note: While trying to assemble a parts nomenclature for this gun we were disappointed to

) It is actuated by both the hammer and the trigger. find a numbered parts picture was not available from the S&W Parts or Service Department, however they were able to supply a partial list of the parts. As result, and to simplify the illustration, we have taken the last two vital numbers from most of the parts on the S&W lists and have numbered our blow-up photo thusly. Add the prefix 247 to the two digit parts numbers to get the correct part number. As of this writing S&W still does have some parts in inventory.

The factory changed the names of some of the more familiar top-break parts and in the interest of avoiding confusion, we have included their original 00 frame 01 cylinder 02 hammer 03 trigger 04 latch spring 05 trigger spring 06 barrel 07 front sight 08 connector pin 09 barrel latch 10 barrel latch screw 11 frame latch screw 12 frame latch 13 connector screw 14 ejector washer 15 ejector release lever 16 ejector release spring 16a cylinder stop spring 17 ejector release 18 extractor 19 extractor rod 7685 extractor collar 7594 extractor spring 22 cylinder stop 24 cylinder stop pin 25 trigger guard 26 trigger guard screw 28 hammer block assembly 28a transfer bar 28b hammer block spring 29 trigger spring pin 30 hammer stud 32 hand 34 stirrup 7792 stirrup pin 36 strain screw 37 sideplate screw (2) 37a sideplate 38 alignment post 41 center pin 7464 center pin spring 24744 grips, pair 45 handspring 52 firing pin 21814 firing pin retainer 60 firing pin spring 70 mainspring handspring pin (not numbered) names in brackets as they appear in the text with the new names.

Disassembly Instructions The first step; please be certain the weapon is unloaded before you handle it for any reason. Grasp the revolver by grip firmly, be sure you keep those fingers off the trigger (03) and keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction. Gently pull back on the hammer (02) slightly, one click, to set the hammer in the half-cock or loading position.

Incidentally, the factory has cautioned that to avoid damaging the weapon this is the ONLY position the hammer should be in when you are either opening or closing the barrel. Pull back on the barrel latch (09). Now tilt the revolver barrel (06) down to open the action. You have exposed the rear of the cylinder (01) and you may now check to be certain the cylinder is unloaded. If cartridges are present remove them now and place them in a secure location away from the weapon.

If you will continue to open the barrel until it is all the way open, the automatic extraction system will raise and retract the extractor (18). Now, let’s move on to the disassembly. Remove the cylinder (01). With the barrel still in the opened position, loosen and remove the rear-most screw (11) in the frame latch/cylinder catch (12) and loosen the front screw.

You may now tilt the cylinder retainer up slightly and pull the cylinder (01) to the rear, withdrawing the cylinder assembly off the alignment post/base pin (38) toward the rear. If required, the frame latch can now be removed from the barrel by simply unscrewing its front screw and lifting it off. From experience, most of these screws seem to be hand-fitted and I suggest keeping them in the hole they came from to avoid difficulty later.

To remove the barrel, unscrew and remove the connector pin/joint pivot screw (13) from the left side of the hinge on the frame, while holding in on the connector pin (08). Next, use an appropriate-sized straight punch to drive the connector pin out of the frame toward the right side. Stop here to take notice of the small cog on the S&W year 2000 Scho ield (Specifications subject to change without notice) For two digit numbers, add the prefix "247" for factory ID

inside of the connector pin head and locate the place where this cog must align with the notch on the inside of the frame hole for reassembly later on. The barrel (06) is now free to be lifted out of its joint with the frame (00). The ejector washer/cam (14) is located between the ears of the barrel hinge. The ejector washer may be pulled straight down and removed from the barrel. Be sure you make note of the ejector washer’s correct positioning for re-assembly later.

Should it be necessary to remove the front sight (07) the sight is held in place in a machined slot in the barrel rib by a small domed pin passing through the barrel rib. Remove the grips, barrel latch and the sideplate. Unscrew and remove the grip screw (not numbered) and lift the grips (24744) off the frame. With the hammer (02) still in the loading position, unscrew and remove the barrel latch screw (10).

You may withdraw the barrel latch/catch (09) from the top by pulling up and pivoting it slightly to the rear. Unscrew and remove the two side plate screws (37). Turn the frame over on its side, holding it by the hinge with the sideplate facing up over a padded surface. Strike the side of the grip area of the frame with a sharp blow or two with a plastic or hardwood mallet to shock the sideplate, causing it to jump up out of its seat in the frame for removal. Never, ever attempt to pry off the sideplate.

You can do serious damage! Now, remove the mainspring and the hammer. Using a pair of spreader pliers, compress the top of the mainspring (70) and disengage it from the hammer stirrup (34). Rotate the stirrup forward and out of its seat between the claws at the top of the mainspring. You may release the tension on the mainspring now. Loosen the strain screw (36), the screw located in the bottom-front of the grip strap area on the frame and withdraw the mainspring from the frame side.

Carefully rotate the top of the hand (32) to the rear using a screwdriver as a lever, hold the hand toward the read while depressing the trigger (03). The hammer assembly (02) can now be rotated about half-way back and carefully pulled upwards, off of its hammer stud (30) and out of the frame. Pay special attention to the hammer block safety mechanism part (28, 28a, 28b). You won’t find a device like this in any other single action, so its assembly-disassembly deserves your scrutiny.

Notice how the assembly fits together. Look at the back (right side) of the hammer and you will notice a cut-away area. During re-assembly, you will have to rotate the hammer block assembly in order to align the hammer block spring ends carefully with this cut-way area or you will not catch the spring and the hammer will refuse to drop back in. Remove the trigger guard. Unscrew and remove the trigger guard screw (26) and remove the trigger guard (25) by pulling down on its front.

The cylinder stop spring (16a) is fitted into a small hole in the top of the guard. Be careful not to lose it! For the remaining action parts, using a correctly-sized cup-tipped pin punch and small hammer, drift out the cylinder stop pin (24) and push the cylinder stop #22 out toward the bottom by passing a small punch through its window in the frame. Note the center of the three pins passing through the frame from side to side.

Now use a cup-tipped punch and hammer to drift out the trigger pin (17), which is the rear-most of the three pins passing through the frame. The trigger spring (05) is mounted inside the front grip strap and it is held in place by across-pin (29) running through the frame. Drift out this pin and remove the trigger spring. The trigger (03) is pulled out the bottom of the frame. Use the same punch and hammer as before to drive out the front pin in the frame (17).

This frees the ejector release lever/extractor pawl (15) and its spring (16). Should it be necessary to remove the barrel latch spring (04) push it out with a small punch inserted through its hole on the right side of the frame. Be careful as this is under considerable tension. Under normal circumstances it should not be necessary to remove the hammer stud (30) or the grip pin (7022).

The firing pin may be easily removed from the frame by first using a small pin punch and hammer to drive out its retaining pin (21814). With the retaining pin out, the firing pin (52) and firing pin spring (60) may be removed toward the rear. To disassemble the cylinder, insert six fired cartridge cases into the chambers to help support the extractor.

Grasp the ejector rod (19) in the jaws of a lathe or drill press and rotate the cylinder in a clockwise direction (this is a left-hand thread, just like modern S&W extractor rods) to unscrew the extractor rod (19) from the extractor (18). The center pin (41), center pin spring (7464), extractor spring (7594) and extractor collar (7685) are now free to be withdrawn out the front. The extractor is pulled out the rear of the cylinder. Don’t worry, it’s designed to go back in only one way.

We will now disassemble the hammer. Rotate the hand (31) about 180 degrees forward to lift the tension from the handspring and then pull it straight out of the side of the hammer. Notice the hand shaft. On its right side half of the round has been milled away. This is used to reengage the handspring and to facilitate re-installation of the hand.

Support the hammer on a suitable bench block with holes in it and use a small pin punch and hammer to drift out the handspring pin (not numbered) from the center-front of the hammer. That pin holds in the handspring (45). Slide the handspring out of its recess in the hammer. The stirrup (34) may be removed by drifting out its pin (7792) from the rear of the hammer. Be sure you take note of the position of that stirrup for re-assembly, the curve faces down. Re-assemble the revolver the in reverse order of above. AG