Cimarron's new American model!

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

I can tell you that since the new American Model is advertised as being chambered for 44-40 and 45 Colt, it will probably suffer the same problems as the other replica S&W #3 Top Breaks. In order to fit the longer cylinder for those cartridges into a non-lengthened frame, the gas bushing at the front of the cylinder had to be shortened.

Some shooters may get away with BP in their replica S&W Top Breaks, but generally speaking they tend to bind up after not too many shots.

Perhaps this would be a good time for a bit of an explanation of the five distinct Top Break S&W revolvers that were all built on the #3 sized frame.

This is the one that started it all, the one Cimarron is going to introduce, the American Model.

To me the identifying features are the almost straight up and down grip shape, and the long extractor housing under the barrel.






The history is that the Rollin White patent, which patented the idea of boring a chamber completely through a cylinder so that cartridges could be fired, was about to expire. S&W had an exclusive licensing agreement with Rollin White, no other American manufacturer could legally produce a revolver that had the chambers bored straight through for cartridges. Starting in 1857 S&W began producing small Tip Up revolvers using bored through chambers. These small revolvers were only chambered for 22 and 32 rimfire cartridges. The first one produced, was called the No. 1. It was a tiny seven shot revolver firing what we would call today the 22 Short cartridge. In 1861 S&W made a larger 32 Rimfire Tip Up and called it the No. 2. It had six chambers and fired a 32 Rimfire cartridge. While not as powerful as the percussion revolvers of the day, it had the advantage of being much quicker to reload. In 1865 S&W made a slightly smaller five shot 32 Rimfire Tip Up that could be more easily concealed than the No. 2. Since the numbers 1 and 2 were already taken, S&W decided to call the new version the No. 1 1/2.

This photo shows the comparative sizes of, bottom to top, a No. 1 Tip Up, a No. 1 1/2 Tip Up, a No. 2 Tip Up, and a Number 3 Top Break Russian model.






So that's where the number 3 came from. I should hasten to add that there were five separate and distinct models built on the #3 size frame. When somebody says to me they have a Number 3, I always ask them exactly which model they are taking about. Roy Jinks, the official S&W historian once said that when the Clint Eastwood movie The Unforgiven came out, with its emphasis on the Schofield Model, he got a lot of calls from people who thought they had a Schofield. Many of them did not.

Back to the history for a moment. The White patent was due to expire in 1869. White tried to get it renewed, but failed. Daniel Wesson was convinced all the other revolver makers were waiting with baited breath for the patent to expire so they could hit the market with their own revolvers with cylinders bored through for cartridges. So he (or maybe the designers he employed) went to work to come up with something completely new. It was the American Model. Unlike the Colt and Remington cartridge conversions, which were basically simple updates of the earlier percussion models, the concept of a Top Break was it could be broken open, rotating the barrel down, and the empty cartridges could be automatically ejected. Then while the gun was still broken open, it could be reloaded. A very innovative idea.

As it turned out, Colt did not bring out the Single Action Army until 1873, and Remington did not bring out their Model 1875 until, well 1875. So S&W pretty much had the large frame cartridge revolver market all to themselves for a few years.

The American Model was the first cartridge revolver purchased by the US Army. In 1870 1000 were delivered to the Army.

A word here about the length of the cylinder on Top Break Smiths. A few American Models were chambered for the 44 Henry Rimfire cartridge. However most were chambered for the 44 S&W American cartridge, a round using a heeled bullet. This cartridge was pretty much a centerfire version of the Henry round. A relatively short round, it turned out that a cylinder 1 7/16" long was a perfect match for the 44 S&W American round. Although I do not have an American Top Break revolver in my collection (yet) whose bore I can slug, I have a couple of the cartridges. The bullets run about .430 in diameter, and are the same diameter as the case, being a heeled bullet.




In 1871 Russian Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich (son of the Czar) made a grand tour of the United States. He went on a hunting expedition with the likes of Buffalo Bill and General Custer. At some point he became enthralled with the S&W Top Break American model. The Russian government was looking for a modern revolver for their Army and concluded a contract with S&W for 2000 revolvers. These revolvers looked exactly the same as the American Model, except they were chambered for a new cartridge. Unlike the 44 S&W American, the new cartridge used a bullet that was the same diameter as the inside of the case. This new cartridge became known as the 44 Russian cartridge.

Smith and Wesson eventually built over 150,000 revolvers for the Russian government. The later two versions featured the distinctive hump on the grip as well as the spur on the trigger guard.

This is a 2nd Model Russian. It features the big hump on the grip, and the spur on the trigger guard. Notice the extractor housing is slightly shorter than the extractor housing of the American Model. The cylinders on the Russian models were also 1 7/16" long, still perfect for the 44 Russian cartridge. I can state from experience that the big hump on the grip frame makes it very awkward to cock and fire this revolver one handed.






The Russian model had a new feature on the latch. There was a shelf on the underside of the latch. There was a mating relief in the hammer. With the hammer all the way forward, the cylinder remained locked in position, and the cut in the hammer for the shelf on the latch prevented the latch from being opened.






With the hammer at half cock, the cylinder was free to rotate and the latch could be opened for loading.







The Schofield Model. Easily identified by the completely rounded grip shape, the shorter still  extractor housing, and of course, the frame mounted latch.





George Schofield was a cavalry officer who liked the American model, but he was able to modify the latch on one so that a mounted soldier could break one open and reload with one hand while riding. Breaking open the earlier Top Breaks was pretty much a two handed operation. One hand held the frame while the other hand operated the latch with the thumb and rotated the barrel down to load. With Schofield's serpentine shaped latch on the frame, the mounted rider could pop the latch with his thumb and brush the barrel open against his leg. Then he could shift the gun to his reins hand and reload. I don't know one end of a horse from the other, but I can load a Schofield that way, although I would probably sweep everybody at the loading table if I tried it at a CAS match.






Schofield was clever enough to patent his latch mechanism, and crafty old Daniel Wesson set his engineers to finding a way around Schofield's patent, so he would not have to pay any royalties. They did not succeed and Wesson could not get around Schofield's patent. The Schofield model was only in production from 1875 until 1877. There were two models, there were a little over 3000 of the first models made, and about 6,000 of the second models made. The chief difference was in the shape of the latch. The Schofield pictured above is a 1st Model.

Colt had landed a contract for 8,000 Single Action revolvers in 1874, and S&W did not want to be left out. The Army specified they wanted a 45 caliber cartridge for any new revolvers, not 44. Opening up the chambers and bore of their Top Breaks slightly to 45 caliber was not a problem, but a 1 7/16" long cylinder could not accommodate the 45 Colt cartridge. With lucrative foreign contracts for the Russian model, S&W was not going to change the tooling for a longer cylinder. Instead they proposed the shorter 45 caliber cartridge that eventually became the 45 Schofield cartridge.




The New Model Number Three.

In 1878, S&W cataloged what I believe to be their finest Top Break #3 revolver, the New Model Number Three.

Eventually chambered for 17 different cartridges, this model also had a 1 7/16" long cylinder. The most common chambering was 44 Russian. Easily recognized by the very short extractor housing, and the slight hump on the grip. Some of these, particularly for export to Japan had a trigger guard spur like the Russian model, but those produced for domestic consumption usually did not.






In 1885 a version with a 1 9/16" long cylinder was created specifically for the longer 44-40 cartridge. S&W also lengthened the frame by 1/8" so the very important gas collar at the front of the cylinder did not need to be shortened. S&W knew how to design a revolver that would fire Black Powder cartridges with out any problems. This model was given the specific model name of New Model Number Three Frontier. There were only 2072 of this model made, and 786 were converted to 44 Russian for sale to Japan.

There were also 74 New Model Number Threes made with the 1 9/16" cylinder chambered for 38-40. These are usually known as the New Model Number Three .38 Winchester. They are very rare.




The 44 Double Action.

The fifth type of S&W No. 3 Top Break was the 44 Double Action. This was the only double action Top Break S&W built on the #3 sized frame. Easily recognized because it is a double action. The most common chambering for this model was again 44 Russian, with a 1 7/16" long cylinder. The trigger guard and trigger are very distinctly shaped too. This one is a target model with a target front sight and a windage adjustable rear sight.






There were about 15,000 of these made chambered for 44-40, with a 1 9/16" long cylinder and the lengthened frame.

There were also 276 made chambered for 38-40, with the 1 9/16" cylinder and lengthened frame.




Gas Bushings

Since I have blabbed this long, indulge me a moment more for some photos of gas bushings on S&W Top Break cylinders.

This is a Schofield cylinder. The part protruding from the front of the cylinder is the gas collar or bushing. It is a separate piece pressed into the cylinder. The bushing sits about .180 proud of the front face of the cylinder. The extractor rod and extractor spring run the full length of the cylinder, inside the bushing.







In this photo I have lined up the cylinder with the cylinder arbor. Notice the helical groove cut around the arbor.






In this photo I have slid the cylinder partially onto the arbor. The bushing rides outside the arbor, while the extractor rod and spring ride inside the arbor.






In this photo, the cylinder is completely seated on the arbor. The front of the bushing is bearing against the bottom of the barrel. This means the barrel/cylinder gap is about .180 horizontally removed from the front of the bushing. When Black Powder fouling is blasted out of the barrel/cylinder gap it is blasted out pretty much in the shape of a disk. The front of the bushing is far enough away from the b/c gap, that the underlying cylinder arbor is shielded from fouling blasted out of the gap. So very little fouling makes its way onto the arbor. BP fouling deposited on the arbor is the chief reason for binding with revolvers fired with Black Powder. Also, the helical groove cut on the arbor provides clearance for any fouling that does make its way onto the arbor, also preventing binding. With Big Lube bullets with huge lube grooves full of a BP compatible bullet lube, and plenty of Ballistol on the arbor, I can shoot my top Break Smiths with Black Powder cartridges all day long without any binding.






Here is a close up of the horizontal separation of the barrel/cylinder gap and bushing on my New Model Number Three.






Compare that with the horizontal separation on this Uberti Schofield. Yes, the cylinder is not seated all the way, but you can see how much of the bushing was stolen away when Uberti lengthened the cylinder for 45 Colt without lengthening the frame a corresponding amount.






There is nothing new about this idea of horizontal separation of the barrel/cylinder gap from the front of a cylinder. Take a look some time at a Colt, and Uberti Cattlleman, or even a Ruger Vaquero. They all have a sizeable bushing on the front of the cylinder and they can all be made to shoot Black Powder well without binding.

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

It helps if ya volenteers to help clean said church.  There's always a box of stubs to be thrown away.  An at least fer us Catholics, they have to be beeswax.  (Church law says they has to be of "natural" materials)

Perhaps if you was to make friends with some well meaning if naieve church lady . . .

My Orthodox church recycles the beeswax candle stubbs. I don't burn candles, but drop a few extra bucks in the collection plate instead. As a former church treasurer, I know how much we spent on those suckers.

[Blair]

Driftwood Johnson,

Very well done! Thanks.
My best,
Blair

[Tornado]

Great response from Driftwood!

In a nice coincidence, I just got this email from Cimarron:
Continuing our tradition of re-introducing legendary firearms, Cimarron now offers the Model No. 3 American, First Model, made from an original in the Cimarron Collection. It was a long road in development with Uberti due to tooling delays and required changes. We went through a few prototype iterations, turning down some unacceptable attempts, sending Uberti back to the drawing board. No corners were cut in reproducing this Cimarron replica. It's as close to the original as possible, yet it is capable of handling modern factory smokeless ammunition in such popular cowboy rounds as .45 Colt, .44-40, .44 S&W Russian and .44 Special. Cimarron's Model No.3 American features such details as the early 1st Model frame and grip, the correct-style case colored top latch, trigger guard and hammer. Grips are period, two-piece walnut and the sixgun is offered in blued finish or nickel (both with the color cased parts as described). Civilian or military models are available. Military revolvers are martially marked with the U.S. markings, inspector stamps and a grip cartouche. The detail is perfect.  In the end the Uberti crew came through for Cimarron, producing what may be the finest replica produced, ever, by anyone.

[Cholla Hill Tirador]

 Good stuff here guys. I wonder if they'll have any safety features on them?

  CHT

[The Pathfinder]

CHT, they have to to get them into the States. Just remains to be seen what kind. Dang, now I have to consider a military model as well? This just gets more expensive all the time. Oh well, can't have too much of a good thing. Hmmm, military or civilian nickle first? I wonder if the military will have the oil hole on it? 

[willy]

Driftwood Johnson

Thanks for the schooling,,
A  tip of the hat to ya.

[Abilene]

Driftwood always has the best pics.

[Books OToole]

An excellent No. 3 tutorial.

Books

[Dave T]

An excellent No. 3 tutorial.

Books

DITTO!

Dave

[Will Ketchum]

Driftwood, I will add my appreciation. If Books approves then you did an outstanding presentation.

Will Ketchum the foremost lover of the New model No. 3

[The Pathfinder]

  There must be something wrong with me (yeah, I know). I've always preferred the grips on the American and the Schofield to the New Model. Everyone always tells me how comfortable the New Model grip is, but, to me anyway, it's not. And I don't have large hands either. Guess that's why they make the older models, not all of us are the same. 

[Fox Creek Kid]

Driftwood, the myth of the early .44 Russian cartridges having an inside lubed bullet refuses to die even though ammo collectors have stated that they weren't.

In U.S. Cartridges and Their Handguns 1795-1975 by Charles R. Suydam, he states that early .44 Russian factory loads used 275 gr. outside lubed bullets over 23 gr. of black powder. It also states that by about 1888 most factory ammunition had become loaded with inside lubricated bullets of 246 gr. over the same BP load. As well, one can go here & see the early cartridges if you scroll down:

http://www.oldammo.com/september04.htm

The story was that a famous revolver target shooter (W. Bennett or Ira Paine, can't recall offhand) in the 1880's remarked to one of the cartridge cos. about fouling issues with his target .44 and they soon switched over to inside lubed bullets. That was in an early 2000's Handloader magazine history of the cartridge by a renowned collector. I have that issue buried somewhere, but I can't recall the month/year offhand.  

One thing the Russian inspectors at the S&W factory insisted upon, and which Colt "borrowed" for their SAA, was the breech face recoil plate due to peening issues. Smart Russkies.  

FWIW, the first inside lubed metallic ctg. was the .50 Springfield Carbine round, better known today as the 56-50 Spencer and that was in 1865 according to Roy Marcot.

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy Fox Creek Kid

I was pretty careful not to mention where the lube was when I wrote about the 44 Russian cartridge. Probably because you had probably corrected me once before.

I have most of a box of Remington (marked REM-UMC) 44 Russians, and a bag full of WRACo 44 Russians, along with a few other singletons picked up along the way.






Sorry this photo is not so well focused. The WRACo round is on the left, the REM-UMC on the right.

Both appear to me to be inside lubricated.

But I'm sure you're correct about the earlier rounds.

There are a couple of fired cases in the Remington box. They are clearly balloon head rounds.

[Cholla Hill Tirador]

DJ thanks for all the info here, it's interesting and invaluable. I'd hazard a guess that give the way you deal with these subjects and going over ever tiny details of revolvers and cartridges, you must have an engineering background.

  CHT

[Blair]

My understanding is that the Russians requested the ammo change from .44 American (outsized lube bullet) to the inside lube "Russian" style very early within S&W's production for them, and the large number of arms they were ordering from S&W, Smith was happy to comply for the same reason.


S&W's first offering to the US Gov. was in the .44 (Henry) rim fire. These were rejected. The US Army wanted a center fire. So, in hopes of getting a USA contract, Smith devoloped what became known as the .44-100 "American" centerfire. It was believed that centerfire cases would be easier for Armorers to reload and save on cost to the Gov.
US orders never amounted to much, but Smith kept the American chambering available

I can't quot were this "understanding" of mine comes from off hand... but I believe it is disscused in the Neal & Jinks book.

My best,
Blair

[Driftwood Johnson]

DJ thanks for all the info here, it's interesting and invaluable. I'd hazard a guess that give the way you deal with these subjects and going over ever tiny details of revolvers and cartridges, you must have an engineering background.

  CHT

Pretty much. No degree, just lots of work experience.

[willy]

Gave Cimarron a call last week and was told that the only hold up was getting the ok from the ATF to bring them into the country..They figure they will be on the shelves by June starting with the 45colt  models coming out first,,Other calibers will follow sometime around Sept.
Asked about price and was told (around $1100)

[Abilene]

Usually for a new Uberti model, Mike Harvey will send them an original, but I'm pretty darn sure he didn't this time!

[Niederlander]

Always loved that particular revolver!  Cottonwood Springs is right here in Nebraska!