OT - Beretta Laramie versus Uberti Schofield

[patrick_ford]

Gentlemen,

I have a great desire to own and shoot a top break style revolver. I have been able to narrow down my choices between the Beretta Laramie and the Uberti Schofield. I am about 80% sure I want the 5" barrel length and I will definitely go with the .45 colt caliber as authentic calibers such as the .45 Schofield or .44 Russian are not available.

I have been able to handle both a 5" and 7" Schofield and definitely think it is a worthwhile design. As for the new model #3 design, I've been able to hold an original which I loved the balance of, but I've never even seen a Beretta version in person. Are they similar at all other than by appearance?

Is there anyone here that has any experience with either or both of these revolvers that could give me their advice/opinion? How do they shoot? Is there any major difference between the two?

I would appreciate anything you all could offer,

Patrick

[Hagler]

Patrick,

Originwise, aren't they coming off of the same assembly line: Uberti?

Detailwise, I cannot say more.

Shawn

[Bruce Scott]

I'm also keen about these and have been looking for info on them.
Here's some discussion:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=340395

http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=289488

[KirkD]

I've owned an original Schofield and an original New Model #3 and well as an original 2nd Model American. I really like these top breaks. With regard to authentic calibers, both the 45 Schofield and the 44 Russian are a piece of cake to reload. Starline makes brass for both. As for bullets, I used 250 grain 45 Colt bullets in the Schofield and 246 grain 44 Mag bullets in the 44 Russian. Nothing wrong with the 45 Colt, that's for sure, but if you do want authentic calibers, there's no problem at all to reload your own.

[junkbug]

I bought a Uberti Wells Fargo model in 2000, before there were any other newly made top break options. Part of the purchase price was paid by trading in a Webly Mk IV that had been converted to .45 ACP. I wanted to get rid of that revolver because it would sometimes bind (not often), none of the gunsmiths I talked to wanted to touch it, and reloading the .45 ACP in that revolver was a chancy proposition with anything but starting loads.

Because I also owned an original heavy frame .45 Colt Vaquero at the time, I did not want the possibility of shooting warm loads for that revolver to exist with the top break. So I got one in 44-40 WCF. So far, I have not been dissapointed. The Uberti 44-40 chambers .429" cast bullets just fine, so bullets are not a problem.

Most reloading info out there for a 44-40 is based on the Colt SAA for a revolver, or a Winchester '73 for a rifle, so most of the info out there is just fine for my revolver. There are some hot Winchester '92 loads out there, but I have been able to quickly identify them as such and stay away from them.

The Schofield sight system which is copied pretty faithfully on the Uberti takes getting used to. It was made for quick snap shooting, more than for target accuracy. However, with practice, it can be used just as well as most other fixed sights. Just hold the front sight HIGH in the rear sight, and try to mentally figure out how to hold it the same for every shot.

I used Pyrodex ONCE in this revolver, and it went poorly. Terrible soot fouling and leading. At the time, however, I was using factory cast bullets, with the hard smokeless lube. Perhaps one day I will try my own cast bullets, lubes with SPG, or 50/50 beeswax/olive oil. And I will use Goex Cartridge grade, not Pyrodex.

Now I no longer have the Vaquero. Perhaps if I was to do it again, I would seriously consider the Laramie. I like the rear sight. However, I sill prefer the 44-40 to the .45 Colt in a top break.

For now, the question is moot, for me. It seems that the Uberti is more "authentic", while the Laramie has more modern sights. By the way, the Uberti I have does incorporate a hammer block of some sort. I still do not depend on it in any way, and only load six when I know I will immediately fire the revolver. My usual range does not allow holstering a loaded handgun, and firing after a "draw", so the hammer safety issue is not a concern.

Good luck with your choice.

Sean

[Hobie]

I thouhgt somebody was selling No. 3s in .44 Russian. Were these not a recent product?

[kaschi]

I don't know if this is true or not but I believe I read somewhere that the ones in 45 Colt do not eject all empty cases reliably due to the lack of "rim". Not due to the fact that the 45 Colt does not have a rim, but it's not a pronounced one like on the 45 Schofield (or 44-40 for that matter) and the rod that pushes the cases out supposedly sometimes slip over the case head. Can this be true? Personally, if I were getting one I would LOVE a Uberti one in 45 Colt with the shortest barrel length (I think 3"). It has a very unique look with that short barrel.

[Noah Zark]

About a month ago I bought a 5" Wells Fargo Stoeger/Uberti Schofield in 45 Colt and I'm very pleased with it. I handled a 7" and 5" side by side at the dealer and hands down the 5" was better balanced for me. Schofields are HEAVY guns, and fool you -- they seem heavier in the hand than they appear to the eye. I'd like to get one in 3.5", but I have to recover from spending $800 on the 5".

I also handled a 5" Laramie in 38 Special, but the "3rd Model" grip with its hump was just enough different that I seemed to prefer the plow handle grip of the 2nd Model Schofield and went with the Uberti. The Laramie grip reminds me of that on the early round-butt S&W hand ejectors, and that seems a tad small, even in my medium-sized mitts.

One thing I did to my Uberti Schofield that made all the difference was removal of the barrel latch and sideplate and a light lubing with Tetra Grease. It made a substantial difference in smoothness of the action and reduced trigger pull by two pounds, as measured with my Lyman gauge.

I keep the gas seal area at the front of the cylinder well greased with Tetra Grease, too. That substantially reduces powder and lead fouling and I can now shoot 100+ smoky/sooty cowboy loads without the cylinder locking up. When I first got the Uberti, 25 Winchester factory Cowboy rounds locked up the cylinder due to schmutz between the cylinder, basepin, and receiver. Keeping a thin bead of grease there eliminates the schmutz buildup and lockup issue. Using a clean-burning powder does the same, of course.

My Uberti Schofield shown above a USFA Rodeo Storekeeper:



Noah

[Andrew]

Dixie Gun Works has a few 44/40, 45lc and 44s&w russian.

[patrick_ford]

Thanks guys,

I know that Uberti makes both versions. The differences I was trying to get an answer on was more to do with their handling/grip shape differences and their latch characteristics.





Sean, I've heard good things about APP with standard hard lubes. It supposedly is almost like shooting standard smokeless loads with much less fouling. Have you ever tried that?

Noah, are you in the camp that only loads cowboy loads in your wells fargo or do you shoot standard loads at 800-850 fps too? If so, how was the recoil?

Hobie, there is a .44 Russian model, but I hate the way the grip is shaped and the spur built off of the trigger guard.

Thanks again!

[Noah Zark]

Noah, are you in the camp that only loads cowboy loads in your wells fargo or do you shoot standard loads at 800-850 fps too? If so, how was the recoil?

I'm an 850 FPS sort of guy when it comes to 45 Colt and 45 ACP. My Uberti Schofield is hefty enough to handle 230 gr (plated LRN for 45 ACP) at 850-870 FPM, and 255 gr at 830-850 fpm. No problems. Best of all, those two loads shoot POI at POA at 25 yds, my usual and customary handgun shooting distance.

Like junkbug, I hold the front sight tip level across the rear sight and it's spot-on.

Noah

[patrick_ford]

Noah,

Thank you so much! It has been a difficult ordeal to actually get information, real working information from anyone about this gun. Everything is hearsay from “others” but with no personal experience.

Given the price difference and the lack of representation in my area with the Laramie, I'm thinking the Schofield is in my near future...

Now if I can just nail down whether or not to get the 5" or 7" model.

Thanks again!

Patrick

[Bill in Oregon]

Patrick: I'm with the others on going with one in .44 Russian or .45 Schofield. Good brass and dies are available at reasonable prices. The Smiths surely are a pretty gun.

[junkbug]

Patrick;

I have not tried APP. If it works with standard lubes, perhaps its worth the price of a pound.

Just for what its worth, I have no idea how fast my bullets are going, since I don't own a chronograph. But I believe the revolver was built for 40 grain black powder equivelent loads, so thats what I shoot in it. It is very close to point of aim with these loads, right out of the reloading manuals.

Recently, I re-read one of the magazine test articles, using Remington 200gr jacketed factory loads out of a 5" barrel. I have fired these out of mine and they feel "vigorous" . According to the articles, these loads were a few fps shy of 800fps, out of the test gun. I thought it was doing faster, but oh-well. I know its not a magnum.

Sean