Dear group,

I was looking at some Schofields a while ago and a question came to me ...

Are there any modern top-break revolvers out there? ... Not modern reproductions, but modern ones with modern ammunition such as .44 Magnum, etc.

Any info is greatly appreciated! :):) Thanks a lot guys!

God bless,
Joshua Smith

Nope, nary a one

Nope, nary a one

He's right.

Detonics showed a prototype top break revolver at one shot show some years back, even had some photos published in various gun rags...but so far as I know, that single prototype is all that became of the idea.

Ah ... I see. :(

Oh well ...

Is there any reason as to why the idea is so rejected? Can top-break mechanics handle the rigors of modern cartridges such as .44 Mag, 454 Casul, etc. ??

Thanks a lot for your help guys! :)

God bless,
Joshua Smith

Ah ... I see. :(

Oh well ...

Is there any reason as to why the idea is so rejected? Can top-break mechanics handle the rigors of modern cartridges such as .44 Mag, 454 Casul, etc. ??

Thanks a lot for your help guys! :)

God bless,
Joshua Smith

Although no one has commercialy done it, belive they could be made to handle the stress. But it would take an added layer of complexity and perhasp a different design than the tradtional top latch to do the trick with today's higher pressure rounds.

Other than the uniquness of a top break magnum, don't see it as a big seller....whole lot of tool up costs and not likely to ever see a return on the investment.

I have a 4" H&R 999 in .22lr. I like it a lot - despite the heavy double action pull.
A friend had a Webley converted from .455 to .45ACP. This was a good handgun - better with full moon clips.

A new H&R handgun in .32 H&R Magnum would be a winner.

HAve a couple of Webly revovlers and my father's old H&R 925,,,along with a couple of old S&W pocket guns.

Messing around, found that the best way to loading it was to break it open (this assumes right handedness) in the normal firing stance with your right hand, letting the REAR of the frame swing down while holding onto the barrel with your left hand (an upward angle of the barrel wouldn't hurt)...which frees your right hand to go for the speed loader, load, and bring that frame back up into lock.

Breaking it open and letting the barrel swing down (1) inreases the chance of a case being caught by the extractor (3) leaves your left hand to do the reloading.

IS it really faster tahn a side swing? Not really..runs on different motions, but doesn't seem to be any faster...doesn't require you to run the ejector rod, but you can do that with your left hand while your right is busy going for the speed loader.

I have and really like an Uberti .44 Russian, but the topbreak won't come back as a modern gun because the basic design was clearly superceded by the side-swing. Less machining and the solid frame is inherently stronger.
True, an "obsolete" design can last forever (why do Ruger single-actions have fixed cylinders and loading gates?), but the topbreak is expensive. An Uberti SAA costs maybe 350, and the Schofield/Russian nearly $800...much more engineering and machining....
I think S&W stopped producing their topbreaks around 1940; H&R and Iver Johnson went on awhile longer.