Going authentic. Selling the 45lc Russian and getting a 44

[45Russian]

Howdy,

After thinking about it long and hard I decided to sell my Russian in 45lc (consigning through Buffalo Arms) and will be looking for one in the authentic 44 caliber.

Has anyone made a similar switch? Im assuming it will be a seamless transition in terms of shooting and handling?

[MJN77]

I got one in .44 russian and had the chambers reamed out to .44 special by Hoof Hearted. Now it shoots .44 russian, .44 colt, and .44 special. Couldn't be happier with mine.

[Irish Dave]

Never had one in .45, but I have a brace of them in .44 Ruskie and couldn't be happier. I suspect you will be, too. The .44 Russian is a very accurate, easy-to load, relatively mild cartridge with modest recoil and loads of history.

I think you'll be happy you made the switch.

[John William McCandles]

For those who have shot both the Uberti S&W Russian and Uberti S&W Schofield revolvers which do you prefer as to grip and handling? I shoot duelist style in NCOWS matches.

Thanks
JW

[MJN77]

For those who have shot both the Uberti S&W Russian and Uberti S&W Schofield revolvers which do you prefer as to grip and handling? I shoot duelist style in NCOWS matches.

I have both. I like the russian better in overall looks, feel and balance, but the schofield is much easier to cock with one hand. Too long of a reach on the russian.

[John William McCandles]

I have both. I like the russian better in overall looks, feel and balance, but the schofield is much easier to cock with one hand. Too long of a reach on the russian.

Thanks, for the reply. I've been looking at both for awhile. I really like the idea of the Russians, being able to ream the cylinder to .44 spl. so I can shoot my regular match rounds in all my revolvers but was concerned with the longer reach for cocking one handed.
That may have been remedied as I have two '58 Remingtons I plan on converting to .45 and shooting .45 Schofield in them, so since I will be loading Schofield rounds anyway the S&W Schofield revolvers are looking better.

JW

[Blair]

JW,

The repro Schofield, for me, is more comfortable.
Both repro Schofield and Russian models have grip frames that are large or oversized when compared to their original Smith counter parts.
The European "hump" on the repro Russian model back strap is in the wrong location due to being oversized. (just my opinion)
The location of the "hump' is not an issue (for me) with the original 2 nd. and 3 rd. model Russians and especially not on the New Model No. 3's (in any caliber).
Best suggestion I can offer is to handle and/or shoot (if at all possible) before you buy.

[harleydavis]

Howdy,

After thinking about it long and hard I decided to sell my Russian in 45lc (consigning through Buffalo Arms) and will be looking for one in the authentic 44 caliber.

Just purchased your old Russian from Buffalo Arms. I guess I will see how it handles & performs alongside of my Cimarron Schofield. Thanks for the heads up that you had it at BA, been looking for one for a while now.
Regards

[harleydavis]

JW,

The repro Schofield, for me, is more comfortable.
Both repro Schofield and Russian models have grip frames that are large or oversized when compared to their original Smith counter parts.
The European "hump" on the repro Russian model back strap is in the wrong location due to being oversized. (just my opinion)
The location of the "hump' is not an issue (for me) with the original 2 nd. and 3 rd. model Russians and especially not on the New Model No. 3's (in any caliber).
Best suggestion I can offer is to handle and/or shoot (if at all possible) before you buy.

Blair's assesment is spot on. The New Model Russians were one of the most accurate revolvers of the day, I wish that someone would remake them. Sadly, I sold my matched pair of originals some years along a whole pile of other great orginals. But, I just got the Uberti Russian .45, it is a very nice piece. The action is substantially better than my Cimarron ASM Schofield. As noted, the Schofield fits in the hand better than the Russian. The Cimarron is a tad smalller frame, closer to the orginals from my understanding. Since I sold my original I do not have one to compare side by side. But the Russian has it in style points all the way. I have not shot it yet, will do that this weekend. My Schofield shot 3 inches to the right, it is in the shop right now getting the latch TIG welded & remachined to tight the barrel assembly up. Hopefulll that will bring it closer to POA.

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

I cannot tell you if the modern versions of the Russian are oversized are not. I can tell you that the big knuckle on the grip frame of the originals makes them difficult to shoot one handed. The big knuckle was meant to keep the gun from rotating in the hand during recoil, it does its job very well. Unfortunately, the way the hammer spur curves up I cannot reach the hammer spur with my thumb unless I shift my grip. But I then have to shift my grip back down again. If I try to shoot the gun without repostioning my hand, the knuckle digs into my hand and it hurts, even with the relatively mild 44 Russian cartridge.

The New Model Number Three is a pleasure to shoot by comparison. The upward pointing hammer spur is still difficult to reach, and I have to shift my grip, but shifting my grip back again is easy with the New Model Number Three and its much lower knuckle.

I am not quite sure why S&W decided to curve the hammer spurs up like that, if they had been curved differently the guns might have been easier to shoot.

I don't own a Schofield to compare. Maybe someday.

By the way, the grip on the Double Action 44 is just about perfect. As a matte of fact, it is almost completely the same as the grip that was later developed for the K frame swing out cylinder models. No regripping needed.