A couple weeks ago, we took a look at Rudukai13’s “Apache Pug” knuckleduster revolver. Well, he was also been working on a modernized Schofield revolver design that he’s now completed and agreed to share with us on TFB’s Wheelgun Wednesday. I should note that Rudukai based this project around his reproduction Schofield top break revolver, a Uberti Hardin, which is based on Smith & Wesson’s Model 3. Despite not being an original Schofield, the Uberti Hardin reproduction commands its own special price of $1,699, so Rudukai’s desire to modernize, or desecrate it, should show his dedication to making his firearms work the way he wants them to. He also admits that he’s willing to rustle the feathers of purists at the same time. Let’s see how far the desecration of his top-broke revolver goes.

Wheelgun Wednesdays @ TFB:

• Uberti 1875 Top Break Review
• Wild Bill Hickok’s Smith & Wesson Model No. 2 Old Army Revolver
• The Pros & Cons Of Speed Strips
• That’s not a Squirt Gun – The Decker Pocket Revolver
• Slow Motion S&W 500 – Mind The Gap

DESECRATING A SCHOFIELD REVOLVER?

Rudukai13 describes his motivations for desecrating his Schofield revolver below:

Now before I go any further, I would like to acknowledge – I know this gun will be fairly polarizing. Hell, I personally call it an Abomination. There will be many purists and appreciators of fine historical firearms that are very unhappy with what I’ve done to this gun (even though it’s a reproduction and not an original). To those people I just want to say, truly – Your hate makes me strong.

Now that that’s out of the way, we can talk about the gun itself. The entire impetus for this project sprang from a three message conversation with another shooter on Instagram. It went roughly like this:

Me: “I kind of want to buy a Schofield and put a red dot and flashlight on it.”
Them: “Based.”
Me: “I’m gonna do it.”

And so I did.

The project is based on a limited-edition “Hardin” variant of the Uberti Schofield reproduction revolver, with a 7” barrel and six-round .45 Colt capacity. This gun was chosen mostly for the unique top-break action construction, and this variant in particular due to the gorgeous color case hardened frame and charcoal blued cylinder and barrel.

Image credit: Uberti

Rudukai’s original mockup of what he was hoping for.

And that’s about where the “standard” modifications done to this gun end. Inspired by the Space Force revolver builds done by a man ironically named  Uncle Fudd, I went out to find a suitable M-LOK handguard that would match the diameter of the cylinder and could be converted to a barrel shroud for the revolver. I settled on the Midwest Industries MI-MCXVSP13.5 handguard originally intended for a SIG MCX with nested suppressor.

Because I am most certainly NOT a talented or incredible gunsmith, I took it to someone I know who is – Bart Miller and team of Legacy Gunsmithing. I showed up one day with the Schofield, the handguard, and several pictures and asked Bart to figure out how to put them together. It took him all of 30 seconds to determine the solution.

The stock Schofield has a thin rib running across the top of the entire barrel, scalloped out on both sides. Normally this rib is fairly fragile, but Bart quickly figured out he could strengthen it by sandwiching the rib on either side with metal dowels of appropriate diameter and drilling them together. This gave him more material to work with and a much more solid mounting point to attach the barrel shroud to. Bart’s solution is so elegant that the only permanent modifications made to the base Schofield are three screw holes drilled through the rib along the top of the barrel – everything else is completely removable should I ever want to return the Schofield to normal (not that I ever will).”

Note the wooden dowels for a quick proof of concept.

“Using creativity and artistic license Bart shaped the MCX handguard into a perfect and rock-solid barrel shroud for the Schofield. He then sent off the handguard and new hardware for Cerakote where it was coated in Midnight Blue for that old-school worn blued finish look.

The hard part done, I went about finishing the gun with the appropriate optic and accessories. I originally got a Holosun 506 tube-style red dot for the gun, but didn’t like the overall look so changed it out for a Holosun HE512T-GR holographic sight, which fit the overall look of the revolver much better. I also aped a bit of cool from the recent tactical lever action rifle trend and studded the side of the shroud with a cylinder’s worth of Hoptic USA mini quiver ammo carriers.”

Note the final rods hugging the barrel rib.

“The Abomination in current configuration (I did determine the Hornady polymer-tipped FTX Leverevolution rounds are just slightly too long for the Schofield and cause the cylinder to bind up when attempting to cock the hammer, so the ammo carriers are full of American Eagle JSP loads now).

The gun in final configuration weighs slightly more than a Mk XIX Desert Eagle at 70.5 oz. When combined with already soft-recoiling standard .45 Colt loads, recoil is hardly noticeable when behind the gun. It’s also an incredible accurate firearm, because the optic is essentially hard-mounted to the bore – no matter where the barrel is pointing, the optic is pointing the same direction.”

Rudukai’s desecrated Schofield next to his Apache Pug revolver.

Gunsmith Bart Miller displays his group out of the futuristic Uberti Hardin.

Thanks to Rudukai13 for letting us share his project here on TFB’s Wheelgun Wednesday. His original AR15.com thread can be read HERE, and shows the evolution of his Schofield Revolver project. He can also be followed on Instagram @Rudukai13, where he also has video footage of the Uberti being fired.

What do you think of the Uberti Hardin Schofield revolver being transformed into a space gun? Has it indeed been desecrated, or has new life been breathed into this old top break design?