Smith & Wesson Model 3
S&W incorporated these modifications into an 1875 design they named after the major, planning to obtain significant military contracts for the new revolver.
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.
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),[5] John Wesley Hardin, Pat Garrett, Theodore Roosevelt, Virgil Earp, Billy the Kid, and many others.
[3] 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.
[7] The First Model Schofield has a latch configuration that is rather pointed at the top and has a circle around the screw head at the bottom.
Schofield's improvement called for heat-treated, replaceable components at this sensitive "wear" area of the catch and latch.
[8] In 1880, the South Australia Police, which were then interested in rearming with up-to-date weapons, noted a display of New Model No.
At the direction of Police Commissioner Peterswald, an order was placed through S&W's New York agent for 250 nickel revolvers in .44 Russian with a 7-in barrel length.
The order, which included extension shoulder stocks, ammunition, and reloading kits, arrived at Adelaide in March 1882.
Licensed production for the Russian order was carried out first by Ludwig Loewe & Company of Germany and, since 1886, by the Tula Arsenal in Russia,[11] whereas counterfeit copies were made in Spain, Mexico, and Belgium.
One victim of this was S&W, whose lucrative contract to produce Model 3 revolvers for the Spanish Army was quickly cancelled.
These copies, mostly manufactured in Liege, were marked as if to deceive a buyer into thinking that they were a revolver produced by Smith & Wesson.
[3] Smith & Wesson brought lawsuits against two gunmakers in Liege, which they originally lost, but won on appeal.
[citation needed] Many Spanish firearms were captured by the Liberation Army during the Revolution, among them Orbea Model 1884 revolvers in .44 Russian.
[citation needed] Revolvers for the Romanian military were chambered for the .44 Russian cartridge, and were made by Trocaola, Aranzabal y Cía.
The RUC later sold them off to the New South Wales Police Force, who made snub-nosed revolvers out of them and issued them as backup pistols.
[citation needed] Modern reproductions of the Model 3 revolver are made by several companies, including (most notably) Smith & Wesson themselves, as well as the Italian arms-makers Uberti and Armi San Marco.
Unlike the Uberti reproductions that have a longer-than-original cylinder and frame, the S&W was made to only accommodate the shorter original Schofield rounds.
[16] The Uberti version, imported by Navy Arms and Cimarron Firearms, has external dimensions generally similar to the original 2nd Model Schofield, but the barrel and top strap are considerably thicker, for additional strength.
Although some problems arose with the locking latch angles in early versions, these were generally corrected or the revolvers were replaced.
European reproduction Model 3 revolvers have changes made to their lockwork to meet import regulations.
