Sold for $3,000
.45 Smith & Wesson. 7" barrel length. SN: 7275. Nickel plated finish overall with walnut stocks. Single action top break auto-ejector revolver with a six-shot cylinder and mounting a pinned front blade and rear notch sights installed on the barrel rib. The ejector housing is marked with the company and patent dates SMITH & WESSON SPRINGFIELD MASS. U.S.A. PAT. JAN. 17TH/& 24TH 65. JULY 11TH 65. AUG. 24TH 69. JULY 25TH 71. on the left side and continuing with SCHOFIELD'S PATS JUNE 20TH 71. APR. 22ND 73 on the right side. The serial numbers match on the frame, cylinder, and on the barrel beneath the rear sight. The revolver sports the oval cut barrel catch with knurling, flattened trigger, and solid frame without removable recoil plate indicative of the Second Model. The inside of the right grip panel has been struck with a matching serial number while the left is non numbered. The interior frame has been struck with P and W inspection stamps as have the underlug of the barrel and the cylinder face. Of the 5,934 Second Model Schofield revolvers manufactured, 5,285 were provided to the United States military under contract where they saw extensive use by the 4th, 9th, and 10th US Cavalry. Only 649 were manufactured for the commercial market, and seldom produced with a nickel finish. In contrast to previous models, the Second Model Schofields featured an improved latch mechanism that made it easier to unload the firearm one handed. Offered here is a rarely encountered example of a scarce side development of one of the most famous handguns of the American West.
Very good. Bore is dark with a brown patina throughout and strong rifling. The nickel finish is strongest on the barrel and forward frame. Nickel finish to the gripstraps and rear frame has worn off with a mottled gray to brown patina forming in its place. The cylinder shows weak edges indicating polishing and refinishing, with similar signs of polishing evident elsewhere on the frame and covered up by the nickel. Cylinder shows a gray patina over the rear cylinder and the chambers with some light pitting at the front cylinder and on the forcing cone. Barrel retains much of the nickel with the finish worn off on the barrel flanks and at the rear of the barrel on the latch. The latch and recoil shield both show signs of light pitting. Stocks are worn with rounded edges and fail to fit flush with the frame indicating refinish. The left panel shows some glue residue where it was repaired after splitting through the screw hole. Both panels have dings and mars along the edges of the butt. The screw heads for mounting the combination latch and rear sight to the topstrap are stripped, and multiple screws on the revolver show deformations. Action displays good timing with some wiggle to the lockup and some rounding on the edges of the ratchet teeth and the cylinder stops.