UPDATE!
When I first reviewed the TK Custom
conversion on the Schofield back in February of this year, TK
was not doing the 45 ACP conversion on the 45 Colt cylinder of
Uberti Schofield revolvers. Since then, TK now has the clips and
the program ready, and they are doing the conversion on the
Uberti Schofields. Shown here is the pride of my Schofield
fleet, the Navy Arms Founders Model. The Founders Model is no
longer in production, but was the best-looking Schofield ever
produced, at least in my eyes. The beautiful bright blue
contrasting with the case-hardened frame is stunning, and I had
Eagle grips to make a set of stag grips for me. As I requested,
Eagle made them smooth. I wanted these as bark-free as possible,
and they turned out exactly as I wanted, getting a smooth set of
grips, with the warm colors of stag. Perfect.
When I found out that TK Custom was doing the
moon clip conversion on the Uberti, I sent in my Navy Schofield,
and received it back quickly. It now will shoot either 45 Colt,
45 S&W, or 45 ACP ammunition. The 45 ACP in the moon clips
works perfectly, loading and unloading quickly, with no chance
of a cartridge getting caught under the ejector star while
unloading.
TK Custom has converted my favorite Schofield
revolver into my most versatile Schofield revolver, allowing a
wide choice of ammo selection, cheaper shooting, and faster
loading.
Jeff Quinn
TK Custom specializes in doing moon clip
conversions on Smith & Wesson, Ruger, Taurus and other
revolvers. For many years, moon clips have been a way to shoot
rimless cartridges in a double-action revolver, providing a
convenient and easy way to facilitate extraction of the fired
cases. This is still a good way to go, to allow the firing of 45
ACP cartridges in revolvers that are chambered for the 45 Colt
cartridge. TK Custom does this. However, they also do
conversions that allow the firing of rimmed cartridges in the
revolver, but using moon clips. On the TK conversion, the
revolver can still be loaded singly, just as it was designed to
do, but can also use full moon clips, to load the whole cylinder
all at once. Loaded one-at-a-time, the cartridges still use the
rim to headspace in the cylinder. TK machines the cylinder to
allow clearance for the moon clip, but leaves a rim around the
cylinder’s circumference to headspace the cartridges,
regardless of whether they are loaded with or without the use of
a moon clip. With the TK conversion, cartridges can be loaded
singly, all at once using the moon clip, or by using a speed
loader.
The TK Custom conversion can used for 38
Special, 357 Magnum, 44 magnum, 44 Special, 45 Colt, and other
cartridges, just as the revolver was originally chambered. The
advantage of the TK system is that, if desired, the full
cylinder capacity of the revolver can be loaded all at once,
which is even faster than using a speed loader. A major
advantage is that the moon clip system also increases the
reliability of the weapon. If not done properly every time,
ejecting cartridge cases from a double-action cylinder can leave
an empty cartridge case stuck under the extractor star, which is
aggravating, and most importantly, time-consuming to clear out
the empty case. By ejecting all six at once (or five, seven,
eight, whatever the cylinder capacity), there is no chance of an
empty cartridge case getting stuck under the extractor star.
Being left-handed, I have never made an
attempt to use a speed loader on a double-action revolver. I
have always preferred single-actions, but I also do realize the
advantage of the speed of loading and unloading a traditional
swing-out cylinder double action. One great single-action design
that does eject all six at once is the Smith & Wesson
top-break, my favorite variation of which is the Schofield. I
have an unnatural affection for the S&W Schofield, and the
many replicas thereof. The Schofield is a truly ambidextrous
design, working perfectly well for shooters using either hand.
The top-break design, with simultaneous ejection of all six
cartridge cases is a boon to fast loading, just as it was back
in 1875. A man on horseback could unload the S&W much, much
faster than he could the Colt Single Action Army, and loading
the cylinder was faster as well, as the cylinder did not have to
be indexed for each cartridge to do so. For a Cavalry trooper on
a galloping horse, engaged in a fight, the Schofield could put
double the number of rounds in the fight in the same time as
could the Colt. If the moon clip had been available back in the
late nineteenth century, to greatly speed the loading of the
Schofield in one motion, the Colt SAA might have just been a
footnote in history. However, it would be decades later before
the advent of the half-moon clip, which held three cartridges,
and even later for the development of the full-moon clip, which
holds a cylinder-full of cartridges.
With all the above in mind, I have for a long
time wanted to get my S&W Schofield Model of 2000 machined
to use moon clips for loading 45 ACP into the cylinder. The
S&W is chambered for the 45 S&W cartridge, sometimes
referred to as 45 Schofield. This is basically a 45 Colt
cartridge, using a shorter case. 45 S&W ammo is available,
loaded to relatively low pressure, for Cowboy
Action competition, but the ammo is pretty hard to find.
Empty cases are available for handloading, but 45 ACP is
extremely popular, and available just about anywhere that
ammunition is sold. I was hesitant to alter the Schofield’s
cylinder to shoot 45 ACP ammunition, as doing so would have
eliminated the possibility of ever using 45 S&W ammo again.
However, when I heard of the TK Custom conversion, which allows
the use of either the 45 ACP or the original 45 S&W
ammunition, I had to have it done.
Tom Kilhoffer at TK Custom handles the entire
operation, and even makes and sells his own moon clips, to
assure that everything works perfectly. The turn-around time was
very quick. Tom had my S&W cylinder for less than one week,
and when delivered along with ten of his precision-machined moon
clips, I reinstalled the cylinder into the Schofield, and
realized that I now had the perfect S&W top-break revolver.
This is what the Schofield should have been since its inception.
Loading is smooth and quick, and ejection is absolutely
reliable, with no chance of getting an empty case stuck under
the extractor star.
Anyone who has ever loaded and unloaded
cartridges and empty cases from a moon clip knows that it can be
aggravating. For that reason, there are many tools on the market
to help with that chore. Usually, loading isn’t as hard as is
the unloading. Prying the empty cases from a good, sturdy clip
requires a lot of effort, unless you have a special tool to help
with the process. I happened across a moon clip
loading/unloading tool that makes the clip loading and unloading
as much fun as the shooting. I have tried other methods of
loading and unloading moon clips before, particularly the
unloading part, as the cases are sometimes impossible to remove
from a clip without some sort of tool. This new tool is called
the BMT Mooner, and it is absolutely the best moon clip tool
that I have ever seen. It is very fast, and easy to use,
requiring no effort to load the clips, and very little to
unload. To load, a clip is placed on the tool, the two halves
placed together, the tray loaded with ammo, and then just turn
the crank. The video here will show it much better than can be
explained in this text. Unloading the clip is just as simple.
This is an amazing tool, and I will never again load a moon clip
without the BMT Mooner.
For carrying extra moon clips for most
revolvers, there are pouches made by many of the holster makers,
but for carrying extra loaded clips for this Schofield, I found
that the Rocking K Saddlery holster rig that I reviewed in our
last “Tools of the Trade” video has the cartridge loops
spaced perfectly to accommodate the loaded moon clips. The
Rocking K rig is built upon a nice, flexible money belt design.
I like a good money belt, as they flex better than does a thick,
stiff belt. The holster itself is stiff enough to allow easy
re-holstering, without being overly thick. This is a very
comfortable rig, expertly crafted, and finished in an antique
type light brown, which looks great with the S&W Schofield.
The Rocking K holster rig is comfortable, functional, and
authentic.
Shooting the modified Schofield proved to be
a real pleasure; exactly what I wanted to accomplish. Loading
six 45 ACP cartridges in the TK moon clips is fast and easy, and
ejection is even faster. The Schofield is a design which I would
really like to see make a comeback. It is an excellent revolver.
The lines of a Schofield are elegant and beautiful, to my eyes.
The Smith & Wesson Model of 2000 shown here wears a set of Eagle
American Elk Antler grips, which look great and offer a secure
hold on the weapon.
This review of the S&W Schofield,
modified to perfectly suit my needs and desires, is unlike most
of our reviews. Usually, I am shooting someone else’s gun,
showing something new on the market, and pushing to get the
review posted quickly. The sixgun shown here is mine, modified
to exactly suit my needs, for my own shooting pleasure. This
Schofield will never achieve the rapid firepower of a modern
plastic high-capacity nine millimeter of the twenty-first
century. It is just my idea of a perfect nineteenth century
combat handgun.
