Ruger Bisleys

I bought the Blackhawk 45 Convertible. I was in love with the convertible part of the gun. I am still having fun with every part of this firearm butt if I had it to do over again knowing what I know today I probably would have went with the 45 Colt Bisley. After reading John Lindbaugh's articles how could you not wany a Bisley. My Convertible will be passed down to future generations of McKinney's but there may also be a Bisley that gets passed down.

Have a great day!
James
 
Maybe this will help a bit...

I shoot a Ruger NewVaq with the standard XR3 grip frame (very similar to a Colt SAA) in 357. With very, very stout recoil loads (very high end 125s, up past 700ft/lbs energy) the gun feels controllable one-handed - but only barely. Even then I shaved off a lot of the grip checkering to make that combination work.

Two-handed, no problem. But a handgun should be controllable one-handed - it's not preferred in my book but it's necessary in a pinch.

The ergonomics of my gun were designed for about 400ft/lbs energy max and with slow-burn powder (holy black) for less of a sudden blast effect. The design is excellent and can be pushed to about double that horsepower with no problems, at least in my hands.

But at some point past that, the ergonomics do need to be updated. The Ruger Bisley seems a reasonable approach to doing so :).
 
I've grown to mentally block out recoil for the most part, although shooting guns that are painful WILL eventually get to me (or anyone tht is honest about it). I have owned and shot Ruger Bisley's in .45 Colt and .44 Mag, and fired a .500 Linebaugh with 440gr bullets made by John himself, and the Bisley grip is superior for control and "pain reduction". True, a .41 won't be as bad as some of the heavier calibers and loadings, but the Bisley can be translated as "half roll, half push", not a rolling recoiling gun like the standard single action grip, yet not as "web wacking" as DA revolver with stiff recoil, like a S&W 29 with the old S&W target grips, or Redhawk with small wood grips, etc. I just like the LOOKS of the old SAA style grip, so I currently shoot a Ruger Flattop .44 Mag with the grip similar to the Colt SAA, It wangs me with full loads, but if I wanted to just go with practical instead of looks, I'd definitely recommend the Bisley grip for more control, faster recovery, and less pain with heavy loads.
 
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Thanks to all for the valuable real-life experience. I imagine I will look for the Bisley Blackhawk.. but won't feel terribly mistreated if all I can manage is the regular Blackhawk. :D
 
Hornet...My 44 mag bisley is very accurate and comfortable to shoot....I used to have a super Blackhawk...I prefer the bisley...
Were'nt Colt bisley's target guns?
 
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On a side note.... I got to hold a 4" Redhawk last night.... I think I'm in love...
Click to expand...

Hmm. I think this is a gun which feels good in the store, but is way too much steel for any packing or good pointing for me.

I like the SA Ruger's. Recoil is obviously better handled by the Bisley, but in a 41 mag, this wouldn't be my primary concern. I think I would spend some time in the gun shop figuring out which grip frame/barrel length gets the sights on target best for me.
 
I've owned two Rugers with the Bisley grip frame. One was a SBH Bisley 44 Mag 7 1/2" barrel and the other was a Vaquero 44 Mag 4 5/8" barrel. While I could load and shoot both of these guns and get a good group I would reload and shoot the gun again with a good group in a different location. I have rather small hands and I just cant get a good registration on the grip to repeat. I have and shoot a SBH 44 Mag with a 4 5/8" barrel that came with the standard XR3 RED grip frame and it works out just fine for me. I shoot with the pinky under the butt. I agree that the Bisley grip frame is very comfortable to shoot and helps absorb alot of recoil but it does seem to have a strange twist to the right for me. I have thought about getting one of the New Model Vaqueros with the Bisley grip frame and shortening the butt to the same length as the XR3 trying to imulate the NO.5 grip frame.
 
I've been doing some research, and am surprised to find that the 4" Redhawk is only a couple ounces heavier than the 5.5" Bisley. I held both in the store, and couldn't tell any difference in the perceived weight in hand.


I've also almost come to the conclusion that I might just go back with a .45 instead of the .41, for a couple of reasons. One, I already have dies, bullets, and bullet molds for the .45. I would have to buy all that for the .41, PLUS it seems that there are no gas-checks made for the .41, but supposedly you can use the .416 size checks if you want to.

So I need to decide if I want to spend extra to have the convenience(?) of double action, or just stay with the single action.
 
Hey Elro try the PAST shooting gloves. They have saved my middle finger from that nasty old trigger guard. When I shoot the heavier loads in my ruger bisley 45 colt that big baby will roll right on up. I prefer what I call medium loads which are above standard and just getting into heavy loads.
 
Hornetguy- I've got a 5.5" Bisley BH in .41Mag. 18.2gr of 2400 under a 215gr Keith averages 1350fps out of 'er, 'n is comfortable to shoot all day long.

Rimrock bullets has GC .41 bullets at 230 & 265gr. Unless yer pushing crazy velocity, I don't think you really need gas-checks. The Dardas 215gr Keiths I use are BH16 & I get no leading from them with the aforementioned load.

Now, if yer already set with .45Colt dies, etc., you could run some monster loads out of a .45Colt Ruger Bisley. 260gr WFNs at 1270fps were fun out of my bud's Blackhawk with the standard grip frame. Can only imagine a Bisley would let you comfortably push the limit, if yer so inclined.
 
Yeah, I shot some pretty warm loads out of my old 7.5" Blackhawk, but I'm not sure I need (or want) to go back there.. it's comforting to know I CAN, if I wish, but my loads will more likely be 260-ish cast bullets around 1100fps or so. Maybe a little warmer, but not much.
 
A few years back I built up some Ruger single actions in .45 Colt. I had a 7 1/2" and 4 5/8" barrel length in each configuration, Blackhawk, Super Blackhawk, and Bisley. I fired off a bunch of different .45 Colt handloads from fast 185 gr. JHP to heavy cast 350gr. slugs at right smart velocities. The Bisley kicked my middle finger harder than any others, while the Blackhawk often hurt the web of my hand when the sharp corners of the frame dug into it. Of them all, I preferred the Super Blackhawk grip frame. The Blackhawk was fine for one-hand rapid fire work. All of my Bisleys are now Super Blackhawk or Blackhawk gripped.


Here in Bisley dress:

103_09661.jpg


And back as a Blackhawk:

000_13201.jpg



And, just the way I like 'em:

Two.jpg



Bob Wright
 
The guns were worked over by Dave Clements, the case color work by Doug Turnbull.

And it was put back to Blackhawk configuration by Keith Warner. Keith is a local Memphis gunsmith who apprenticed under Bob Mason, of Ed Mason & Sons. Local gunsmiths save about $70 in shipping charges.

Bob Wright
 
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