It helps to be able to see the two different latches in person.
People tend to lump all of the Uberti breaktops together under the "Schofield" name & try to make it a generic term, which it isn't.
The No. 3 Smith originally had its latch hinged on the topstrap, which required one hand to pull the latch up with the off-hand thumb & forefinger to disengage it from the frame to open the action, while holding the grip with the other hand.
Schofield was an Army officer who liked the Smith breaktop over the Colt because it could be reloaded much faster, but found that two-hand latch cumbersome while on horseback in battle. He designed an alternative latch that pivoted on the frame instead of the topstrap, constructed to allow the shooting thumb to pull the latch backward to disengage it, and further to open the gun up by leveraging the barrel against a leg or saddle to eject the empties, all one-handed while the other worked the reins.
He sold the idea to S&W and the Army for use by cavalry troops, and roughly 7000 Schofield model revolvers were produced before the Army noticed they had a logistical problem on their hands because the Smith used shorter .45 cartridges than the Colt, and maintaining two different sidearm ammunition inventories wasn't particularly efficient.
Some outposts received Colt rounds that wouldn't fit their Smiths, and so on.
The Smiths were eventually surplused out because of the ammunition situation & their more intricate actions, some ended up as Wells Fargo property.
If you look closely at the photo Raven posted above, you can see the vertical latch pivots at the bottom and in the frame. The regular No. 3 latch is horizontal and pivots in its forward end in the topstrap.
I prefer the Schofield version, easier & quicker to use.
Make sure if you order a repro that you clarify which gun you want.
Long answer to a short question.
Sunray,
The recent Smith re-engineered breaktops have not been made for several years now. They were limited Performance Center offerings.
Denis
