Problems with Schofield.

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Well i got the schofield back a couple days ago, i was very pleased with the customer service. This schofield is different from my other one, this one will not let the firing pin rest all the way forward. It seems to be a new safety on this new one that i got back. My other schofield will let the firing pin rest all the way in. It looks like a new saftey feature to prevent the firing pin from resting on a loaded chamber. I think is a rather nice feature instead of leaving a chamber unloaded to rest your hammer on, this new safety lets you load all 6 chambers with out the worry of the firing pin resting on a primer. Anywho, i went out to shoot it and it shot rather well, i put half a box of ammo through it. The accuracey was great and everything worked well beside one thing. After i got done shooting and ejected my empty shells i noticed one of the shells were not shot. I shrugged my shoulders and thought it to be a dud and picked it up but the firing pin didnt even strike it. I didnt really think anything of it, After a few more cylinders of firing it happened once agian. I was concerned with it happening agian so i quickly loaded it up once agian and began firing. All 6 rounds fired just fine. Im rather puzzeled. I put almost 30rnds through it and it seem to jump a chamber 2 times while doing it but as soon as i noticed the problem, it began to shoot just fine. I think it might of been operator error because of it was mechanical it would of kept repeating itself and also i think i may have not been cocking it properly. Other then that, i have no complaints. It works rather well, ill be going out tommorow to shoot to see if the problem occurs agian. I certainly hope you guys can also keep me up to date on how your schofields are working as well and i do greatly appreciate all the help that has been given. Thanks a bunch and keep your powder dry :D
 
It sounds like you may not be done yet. Having had three Uberti Schofields in the last four months has made somewhat of a cynic.

My last one did what you are describing with the firing pin. The hammer would not fall all the way to firing position unless the trigger was pulled from full cock and it was allowed to fall under spring pressure. Releasing the hammer from half cock by drawing it back and pulling the trigger while easing the hammer down would cause it to rest at a quarter cock position. Same went for full cock, if you eased it down to resting position it would stop at quarter cock. This is not normal.

The safe position for the gun is with the firing pin rested "between" the cartridge heads all the way down. My first one (Russian) and my last one (No. 3 - 2nd Model) both rest the hammer all the way down. The Russian was replaced because there was not enough room between the cylinder and the recoil shield to allow it to index the cylinder when it was loaded.

Look closely at the firing pin. You are looking for galling or rub marks against the frame. It's possible that the firing pin is hitting the firing pin orifice off center and not going through it or loosing so much energy when it strikes off center that it won't detonate a primer. I have noted on my last one that it has a rub mark from hitting the side of that orifice just slightly off center. Mine does not miss fire and the hammer will rest all the way down. I will probably dress the firing pin with a jewelers file and smooth it out when I get back home.

Also, check to make sure that the locating pin on the star ejector is flush with the ejector. It should not be protruding up between the ratchets. If it is, use a drift/punch to drive it down flush or eventually the hardness of the hand hitting just the top of the ratchet will round off the ratchet and it will fail to index on that cylinder properly. This has nothing to do with the hammer falling, it's just one of those quality control issues that Uberti has.

Operator error is probably in your head (no offense intended). If you pull that hammer back to full cock and then pull the trigger, a properly functioning gun will go bang. I just don't think that there is a way to get it to full cock "sort of". From full cock you should also be able to ease the hammer to rest with the firing pin through that orifice.
 
Hmmm thats rather intresting. I compared my schofields last night and their firing pins and one of them did have rub marks and wasent exactly centered. Earlier that day i went out agian and took the new one out to shoot to see if the misfires would continue. My first cylinder through it misfired, i examined it and i noticed that the safety block (that new safety feature i was talking about before) activated and stopped my firing pin from striking the round. I placed the unfired round back into the gun and began to fire once agian misfire but this this time it actaully struck the primer but no bang. The 3rd time was a charm, after that i put a box 50 rnds through the schofield with out a problem and it shot great. What would you suggest i do? Should i send it back to the company?, Ignore it?, or is their anything personally i can do to fix it? Im honestly content with the gun, i fear if i send it back that i will get something back thats alot worse but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. FotoJoe? How have your schofields been worken for ya lately? and thanks for all your help these pass weeks. :D (darn i was hoping it was operator error, thats alot easier and cheaper to fix lol) :D
 
FotoJoe you were right....I took the new schofields trigger and firing mechanism apart and noticed that the safety block was malfunctioning. I compared it to my other schofield that works great and i immediately noticed the internal problem. With the safety block malfunctioning the gun misfires constantly. I am through with uberti!!!!:mad: I cant believe they would send me another broken gun! Im taking it to a gunsmith and having them fix it...i do not dare send it back to uberti because ill probably get another gun returned to me with more problems then the last. For the price we pay for these guns i am disgusted with them. Hopefully this safetl block mechanism problem will be fixed with ease but until then its back to the drawing board:(:mad::(
 
If the GS can fix the gun, go for it. Keep in mind though that if he can't, you might own it. I don't know how good of an inspection Uberti does when they receive one back, but if they find that someone tinkered with it, the warranty is void.

Now here's an interesting question, you say you dis-assembled the trigger mechanism. How scary is it in there? I took my second one to the gunshop and asked them to break the screws loose so I could take it apart for cleaning. I didn't want to risk dinging up the screws as some giant with an impact put the things in there at the factory.

The guy at the gunshop told me that he wouldn't loosen the screws and that I didn't want to take it apart, period. I was told that it was much to complicated for me (a mere mortal). I have no fear of pulling a Colt's pattern gun down to the frame other than having a screw roll off into nowhere, they're simple. It would be my assumption that Schofield's being made in the same time period were also manufactured so that they could easily be dis-assembled by the user for cleaning.

It appears that the cover on the side of the frame is machined with extremely tight clearances, does this thing pop off when you pull the screws. I was also told that the trigger mechanism is held in by a "through-pin" that is pressed in. If you could shoot a video of taking one apart, I promise you it would be the only one on YouTube and I'm betting I'm not the only one out there that is interested.

As far as how mine is running, I haven't fired it again yet. I just got 100 44-40 Starline brass in from MidwayUSA on Saturday and my press is set up on the picnic table outside the 5th Wheel as of yesterday. The brass I was using was mixed head stamp and a pain to load because of a few thousands difference in length, but they were shorter than my case gauge so they wouldn't trim. I've got a couple hundred 9mm to load before I change the powder dispenser over for 44-40's.
 
Hi folks. Sorry to hear about your gun problems. Here is what I have started doing to deal with customer service issues:

In today's corporate environment, you are wasting your time working your way from the bottom up. If you work from the bottom up, you will be starting out with the lowest-paid, lowest-motivated employees at the company. These people are nothing but functionaries - all they can do is follow a script, and they never have any authority to actually help a customer except with the most trivial of problems.

You will end up simply working your way up the chain of command, having to tell your same story to a new person each time you are transferred. And even then, you will likely come across the brick wall of "sorry, we can't help you".

Instead, for all customer service issues of serious nature, I now work from the top down. For whatever company you are dealing with, do a Google search on the company name plus the word "CEO" or "President" or "Owner". Find out who the top person is in the company. If you are lucky, you will find their email address. If not, start guessing at it. The usual convention for email addresses is first.last@example.com, or first-initial_last@example.com.

Write a very polite, very short letter to this person, explaining your problem. Apologize for contacting him directly, but explain that the customer service people are not empowered to help customers and ask if they could forward your email on to someone with the authority to help you. Concisely explain what your problem is and what resolution you want to see.

It is important to be polite, professional, and short and to-the-point.

I have yet to not receive satisfaction when going this route.

The last time I did this was for my mother. She had switched from DSL internet from her phone company to cable internet from her cable-TV provider. Because she had requested service on her DSL some several months before, apparently she was on a "promotional program" for her DSL service. So they wanted to charge her $600 for canceling her DSL service. $400 for something and $200 for early-termination. Now bear in mind my mother was a 21-year customer of this phone company.

After my mother got nothing but stonewalling through the usual customer service phone numbers, I emailed the CEO, and she got me to regional VP who canceled all the fees.

Always start at the top.
 
I agree with what you've said above, unfortunately it isn't relevant to this thread because customer service has been great for both of us. The problem has been the product sucks. CS is more than happy to send us as many crappy guns as they've got on the shelf.

No complaints here about Uberti Customer Service at all. It's just that their Schofield guns are from my experience about 67% paperweights.
 
I agree with what you've said above, unfortunately it isn't relevant to this thread because customer service has been great for both of us. The problem has been the product sucks. CS is more than happy to send us as many crappy guns as they've got on the shelf.
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If their "great customer service" has been for some shipping clerk to box up another "crappy" firearm and send it to you, I'd say that wasn't very great.

What I'd want is for someone to send me not just a replacement, but an exceptional replacement. You aren't going to get that by "going through channels", as you have found out.

Steve
 
I havent completely stripped it down, i took it apart and looked inside to see what was not doing what it should but before you take the side cover off you have to take the top break release latch off, this will allow you to take the side cover off but that top break release latch on the top of the gun has a leaf spring which latches it, it wont fly out or anything so dont worry about that but its a pain to put back in, the spring sits all the way inside the gun and just a small part of it pokes out and goes into a small little groove on the right side of the top break release latch. If you look you will see what i am talking about, after that take the side screws off the side cover. Its pretty stiff so you might have to do some light taping on it to get it off but after that comes off you will be able to look inside it. Ill be honest it doesnt look terribly complicated. Theres some little parts that my big clumsy hands didnt want to loose. I sent it to a gunsmith to fix it because i dont feel like dealing with uberti agian. He said its a timing problem that im having, so i hope to the Good Lord that it will be a simple fix or its back to the factory it goes.:( I called that company and gave them a piece of my mind and also told them how alot of other people are having these problems too. I certainly hope they take that into consideration. The schofield is a fair design, its not fair that people will loose faith in it because crappy craftsmanship.
 
I agree the customer service is good but i am rather upset that they send another broken gun back. Ive lost faith in uberti :( When i dropped off my schofields for repair, i saw a very pretty lever action yellowboy in 45 LC. I really need one for cowboy action shooting and i picked it up, and fell in love with it. It felt great, mechanically smooth and they let me put some dummy rounds through it to see how it would function and it worked great. I was seriously considering buying it, i looked at the price and it wasnt too bad and then i looked at the maker.......uberti:(....i just put it back up on the shelf and walked away from it. I already have enough pot iron from them giving me problems, i dont need anymore. I think ill put my money in a marlin 1894 cowboy.
 
SAA GunSlinger said:
You have to take the top break release latch off, this will allow you to take the side cover off but that top break release latch on the top of the gun has a leaf spring which latches it, it wont fly out or anything so dont worry about that but its a pain to put back in.
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For no other reason that to see what was inside, I pulled the side plate on my Schofield. SAA GunSlinger did warn me about that spring, but I'm not bright enough to heed each and every warning someone gives me, unfortunately.

I spent the better part of an hour getting that stupid latch back on, all the while mentally kicking myself for having to look inside!!! Granted, I now know how to get it back together reasonably easily, but I had my doubts for a while.

For some idiotic reason the 100+ year old design that S&W came up with for this gun was far ahead of its time in complexity. You would think that S&W would have designed a gun that was much more user servicable back then. Maybe that's why Colt's captured the market. You can fully dis-assemble the things with one screwdriver and a stick to clean out the hand channel!!

I shall now finish my rant but striking the "Submit Reply" button and go have an adult beverage to calm my nerves.;)
 
I have some really bad news:( The Gunsmiths could not fix the schofield so i have to send it back to the company for now what would be my third replacement from them. I called them up and told them how much trouble i was having and they agreed to send me a brand new schofield with in 2 days time! I was very impressed by this but i certainly hope that this 3rd one will finally work. Im so tired of this, i just want a working schofield!!!!. Sorry to hear that the Schofield gave ya some trouble when ya took it apart Fotojoe. Ill keep yall updated on what happens.
 
SAA Gunslinger: Just browsed thru this Uberti problem you're having and I'm surprised to read about all the problems you're having. I've never owned an Uberti cartridge pistol, but the Rems and '51&'60 Colts I've had were all Timex watches. But, I've had them for a number of years, too, so maybe their craftmanship and/or quality control has gone downhill dramatically. You have my sympathies.

Being sent to Fort Riley and leading a good life is an oxymoron if there ever was one. Fort Riley may not be the end of the world, but it's just down the road if you take a right at Custer Hill! Welcome to Kanz-azz!

Always Remember: Rebels-0 Yankees-1 Halftime
 
I would have to agree with you poppa59hd, i have owned a 1858 new army, 1851 colt navy, 3rd model dragoon, and a colt walker all produced by uberti. I bought those all almost 6 years ago and they were fantastic. I figured buying a really high end gun from them would be flawless but as i can see quality has gone down a bit since i last bought firearms from them. I must say there customer service was great. The manager that i was connected too was doing everything in her power to make sure i was a happy customer. When calling them they said they would have me a new replacement in 2 days time and also are sending me some uberti, hats, t-shirts and gifts for all that i had to deal with. I was extremely impressed by this. The very next day they called me bright and early and wanted to insure me that they had a new gun that had been properly inspected and tested and on its way to me. This also impressed me. This show of great customer service has made me put some faith back into the uberti name. I also told them that other people were having these problems with their firearms and that alot of cowboy action shooters were not pleased with malfunctioning schofields. They took what i said into consideration. There customer service is fantastic, if the craftsmanship on there products improve they will still have my buisness.
 
There is still hope....

With any luck you'll get a working model in the next couple of days. So far I've run just over 100 rounds of 44-40 smokeless through mine. I've only pushed a half dozen Black Powder rounds through it though. I'm hoping to get it sort of "Broken In" before trying to put more than one cylinder of the good stuff down the barrel.

I've heard and experienced that modern Schofields DO NOT like Black Powder very much. If nothing else, I'd like to have it loaded with Black Powder for up in the mountains when I'm part of the food chain. The ballistics I've seen for smokeless 44-40 versus Black Powder aren't very complimentary of the smokeless rounds.
 
Thats very intresting and i never new that blackpower could out perform smokeless. Wish me luck i pick it up tommorow and hopefully they dont make me do another 3 day waiting period. Ill keep ya updated! I have my fingers crossed;)
 
No, black powder does not out perform smokless loads. But a case full of BP will out perform reduced power cowboy action type smokless loads.
 
I'm hoping to get it sort of "Broken In" before trying to put more than one cylinder of the good stuff down the barrel.
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Don't waste your time, use smokeless. The problem is the Schofield clones have longer cylinders so they can use the same frames for cartridges longer than the original .45 S&W. To do that they eliminated the gas ring that helped prevent powder fouling from seizing the cylinder.
 
Hawg Haggen said:
Don't waste your time, use smokeless. The problem is the Schofield clones have longer cylinders so they can use the same frames for cartridges longer than the original .45 S&W. To do that they eliminated the gas ring that helped prevent powder fouling from seizing the cylinder.
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And don't I know it!!

Typically, this gun won't be used for more than one cylinder of the real stuff, unfortunately. It's a shame really that the repro's can't fire the appropriate ammunition. My original quest when I got the Schofield bug was to have one in 45 Schofield, good luck with that unless you find an original. I settled for a Russian in the appropriate caliber but unfortunately it was junk from the production line, it was a nice gun though, it just wouldn't fire. It's for that reason that I switched over to 44-40 since it was one of the original chamberings for Schofield and Uberti didn't have any more Russians on hand.

This thing would be a hoot with the right ammo and once I get tired of shooting smokeless out of it, she'll go on the For Sale list. Interestingly enough, I took my late 1970's SAA Clone out for some exercise the other day. Normally I will pull the cylinder pin about every three loads, wipe the pin and put a little Ballistol on it before putting it back in. This time, I had forgotten my oil can so the pin was not pulled to wipe down or oil. I fired just over 80 45 Colt Gallery Loads with no maintenance. She did drag a couple of times but never failed to index. When I got home the pin was a little stubborn but came out without too much effort.

There's a LOT to be said for that "blast ring", it's there for a VERY good reason.
 
The lack of a gas ring was the reason that I sold my Schofield a few years back. It was a very nice piece, and it shot very well with smokeless, but I prefer black powder and my pistol just fouled up too much using .45 Schofield BP rounds.
 
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