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eplica, with the Schofield Model.
These Top-Breaks hearken to 1875
when the originals were chambered in
.45 S&W, a shorter cartridge than the
.45 Colt. Today’s versions are mostly
chambered in .45 Colt, however .45
S&W/Schofield ammunition is available
from Black Hills, and Starline offers
brass to allow more authentic shooting
of this excellent sixgun. My pair is
fitted with Buffalo Brothers grips.
The Schofield was the beginning
S&W replica. Next came the New Model
Russian chambered in, what else, but the
historic and magnificent .44 Russian.
The Navy Arms New Model Russian
— or Model 3 Russian — is a faithful
copy of the original, finished overall in
a deep blue-black finish set off with a
case-colored hammer, trigger guard and
locking latch. Factory stocks are smooth
European walnut, however while quite
comfortable do not add anything to the
appearance of this fine replica sixgun.
This was however quite easily corrected
with a pair of Eagle’s UltraIvory grips
which, when combined with the dark
finish of the .44 Russian, provides an
appearance which is quite striking.
All original .44 Russian brass is of the
folded head, or balloon style originally
used with black powder. I believe the
manufacture of this brass stopped either
just prior to or shortly after World War II.
Now 60-plus years later, Starline offers
solid head .44 Russian brass for ammunition
companies as well as reloaders.
Black Hills was the first to offer modern
.44 Russian ammunition, with a 210-gr.
load clocking right at 750 fps.
Changes
Cartridge-firing, big-bore sixguns
arrived shortly after the end of the Civil
War. First came the Smith & Wesson
American Model #3 in 1870. Colt followed
with the 1871-72 Open-Top and
then the Single Action Army in 1873.
Remington followed with the Model
1875 two years later, with a large contract
of 10,000 pieces for the Egyptian
government. The 71/2" 1st Model 1875s
were chambered in .44 Remington, however
it was joined by both the .45 Colt
and .44-40 in 1878 and both of the latter
are available today in replica form.
The Remington Single Action Model
1875 looks much like a Colt but there
are differences. The grip frame of the
Remington is part of the main frame,
resulting in a more solid and possibly
stronger sixgun. The triggerguard is
brass, separate from the main frame,
and it does not form part of the front
grip strap as on the Colt. The Remington
achieves its unique appearance from a
web under the barrel running from the
end of ejector housing to the front of the
frame, and the cylinder pin also runs all
the way to the end of the ejector tube.
Navy Arms was the first to offer the
1875 replica and I acquired a pair of
71/2" nickel-plated versions more than a
quarter-century back. These were chambered
in .45 Colt and .44-40. I had both
of them fitted with rifle style front sights
with a gold bead and used the latter for
spotlighting jack rabbits when it was
still possible to get a permit to hunt our
southern desert.
In later years I have added a third
.45 Colt 71/2" Remington 1875 from
EMF, another excellent shooting sixgun
which has been fitted with Texas Star
checkered faux ivory grips from Buffalo
Brothers. We not only have replica
1875 Remingtons available but
we also can enjoy shooting the 1890s
version which has a more streamlined
web under the barrel. A pair of these in
.45 Colt with 53/4" barrels and Buffalo
Brothers antique-looking, faux ivory
grips, complete with age cracks, are
most attractive and good shooting pair
of single actions.
Enjoy today’s excellent classic
sixgun copies and don’t let the fact
they’re not “real” stop you. They’re
very real — and any old-west cowboy
would have been proud to
own one.
For more info: www.americanhandgunner.
com/product-index and click on a company
name.
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