Schofield Ammo

[Schof45]

I am getting ready to take my Schofield with fake Wells Fargo markings to the range and fire a few rounds. The gun is mechanically sound but I want to treat the old S&W gently and was wondering what over-the-counter ammo I should use.
Any recommendations out there?

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Anything that uses a lead bullet loaded today is most likely loaded light for Cowboy Action shooting. I know Ten-X Ammunition makes a 200gr LRNFP round that is rated at only 526 fps. I'm completely sure that round won't harm your revolver at all. Black Hills and Ultramax also make lead bullet Cowboy loads that will be safe in your revolver too. There might be others but I'm sure those 3 are a good place to start, especially the Ultramax because they are less expansive than the Black Hills and Ten-X.
(You really need to look into reloading if you are going to shoot expensive ammo like the 45 S&W)

 

[Schof45]

Thank you very much for good info, it was just what I was looking for and now I even know what LRNFP stands for.
Looking forward to shooting the 135 year old gun but it will not be a lot of shooting and definitely not enough to justify buying any reloading equipment (would be fun though).

 

[BUFF]

The Schofield was designed and manufactured around black powder ammunition. That burns quite differently than any conventional smokeless gunpowder. I would be reluctant to shoot any original Schofield with smokeless ammunition, even light loads.

I am sure some specialty ammo maker loads .45 Schofield with black powder.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

If you want to shoot real Black Powder loads in your .45 Schofield Ten-X also makes those rounds. I feel smokeless loads are easier to use and cleaner while shooting. If you have any doubt they are safe in your revolver you should contact Ten-X and ask them first.

The smokeless ammo is $40.99/box and the BP loads are $44.99/box so the price is not all that much a difference especially since you won't be shooting a lot of it.
http://www.tenxammo.com/files/Shooter_Direct_Pricing_01132012.pdf

 

[Schof45]

I will start conservative on this one and go for the black powder. It is also so much more fun to shoot (but not clean). I should bring a camera and post some pictures of the black powder cloud.
Thanks guys!
Petter

 

[BUFF]

I bought my 3 digit First Model Schofield in 1993, when there was no cowboy action ammo or commercial .45 Schofield brass. I decided I wanted to shoot it.

I did some research. I trimmed a box of 50 .45 Colt brass down to .45 Schofield length with my hand-cranked case trimmer. Tedious but doable. I loaded what was supposed to be an equivalent load of Pyrodex (a non-corrosive black powder substitute) under 230 grain swaged Speer round nose bullets intended for the .45 ACP. I took them and my Schofield to the range.

I sweated, well, bullets. The Schofield was the most valuable gun I then owned. I chickened out and shot my ammo in a Colt SAA.

I've still never shot my Schofield. Some modern replicas, yes, but not my real one.

I admire your dedication.

 

[glowe]

BUFF, two things to remember about Pyrodex. First, it is almost as corrosive as BP, since is has sulfur in the powder and also leaves moisture attracting residue in the bore. Second, is it hotter than BP and when shooting antique guns, slightly reducing the load would be prudent. There are non-corrosive powders out there like Triple 7, Pinnacle, and Clean Shot. These powders are all measured by volume and not weight. I have chronographed all of these loads and find that BP is the slowest, Pyrodex is faster, followed by Clean Shot, and 777 is the fastest.

There are still lots of misconceptions about the burn rate for smokeless powders out there, but you can put together loads with smokeless powders that are lower in pressures than BP. Many members of this forum recommend and shoot smokeless 32rf, 32 S&W, 38 S&W, etc. in old S&Ws with good success. They are mild loads and are actually lower in felt recoil and velocities than original BP rounds.

It is perfectly understandable to go with the original BP loads in these old revolvers, but I am just saying that there are loads out there that will duplicate BP without the mess and cleanup. I have posted these charts before and they are from a Double Gun article by Sherman Bell that gives examples of pressures over the length of a shotgun barrel. I just wish I could find some testing research on handguns, but my experience is that you can duplicate ballistics and pressure curves with smokeless powders.