History of Schofield Pistol

[Frank Courtell]

I'm new to the forum. I've recently purchased a US Ser. 4xxx Schofield that was sold by the military, had the barrel shortened to 5", and resold. I understand that many of these were sold to law enforcement. The grip panels on this one were sanded and a Block Style "A" was stamped on the right panel.

Does anyone have some idea who would have marked one like this?

 

[DWalt]

Yours would be a Second Model. Many of these were sold as Army Surplus on the commercial market with 7" barrels cut back to 5", as well as uncut. It would be very difficult, if not impossible, to determine where yours has been. Many (real and fake) will be marked as Wells Fargo guns. No idea what the A marking means, but someone may know.

 

[opoefc]

Welcome to the Forum. I doubt if law enforcement purchased any more of the surplus Schofield's than non-law enforcement. Many of the surplus guns that reached the civilian markets were from various state militias, as the military turned over most of the Schofield's they no longer needed to the states, which then eventually sold them to surplus gun dealers. I would suspect that the "A" stamp on your gun may have been applied by a militia unit, as a unit designation, or it may just be the initial of a former owner. Who cut the barrel, and when, will always be unknown. Ed.

 

[DWalt]

The regular army disposed of Schofields relatively early on, choosing to stay with the Colt SAA .45 instead. The Cavalry preferred the Colt, despite the increased speed of reloading the Schofield. The Cavalry felt that speed of reloading was unimportant as compared to the greater simplicity and ruggedness of the Colt. As was often the case, the Army pushed its obsolete iron off to the State militias, where they stayed indefinitely. There are stories alleging that some Schofields saw service during the Spanish-American War and in the Philippines, and perhaps even later. It is also known that some rear-area troops used .30-40 Krag rifles during WWI, same idea of getting the most use out of old guns.

 

[opoefc]

DWalt, Old guns never die, they just keep getting issued! I have a Springfield Model 1881 Trap Door rifle issued to the Navy in WWII ( yes, WW 2 !) Ed.

 

[DWalt]

The Navy did use trapdoor Springfields as line throwing guns.

Here's a box of Navy .45-70 line throwing blank ammo:

 

[shouldazagged]

I'm a history lover, and I learn a LOT here. This is a fascinating thread!

 

[Frank Courtell]

History of Schofield

I love finding history of old firearms. I started buying older ones when I retired and now I have a 1875 12ga Shotgun purchased by Pinkerton, a 1894 Krag with the 1901 sight, a Perfected .38S&W that was factory refinished in 1951 and unfired since then, a 1905 Hand Ejector that was originally sold to a Southern Virginia Police Department, and the 1877 US Schofield. These have been lots of fun collecting and I love the history.

Thanks to all of you for the interest and information.