I am a Ruger Bisley grip fan. I really prefer them. I respect those who don’t, it’s a personal preference.
I used to have a lovely .45 LC stainless Hunter Blackhawk with Bisley grip. I used to load that thing with “Ruger Only” loads which for all intents and purposes is indistinguishable from .44 Magnum. I sold it as my father gave me his Bowen Bisley Blackhawk in .44 Magnum. I recently acquired a Bisley Single Six in .32 H&R- sometimes they come out of the factory “just right” and this one is a real gem.
As for .454 Casull... I approve! My experience is with a Freedom Arms Premier grade 7 1/2 inch barrel. For the hand cannon, go with the 7 1/2 inch barrel to tame the impressive recoil. And a shooting glove. The FA grip is something between the Ruger “plow handle” and Bisley- the pistol rolls in your hand a bit- a good thing to absorb recoil. Too much roll and you must reposition before the follow up shot. After enjoying considerably the hammer of the gods, by the next summer I was shooting stout Ruger Only .45 LC loads from the Casull... and decided that Autumn that for white tail deer there was no point in hitting them with elk, bear or Cape buffalo level loads or getting by beautiful, huge and heavy FA wet in rain or snow or scratched up in the thickets. Eventually, I even toned down my .45 LC loads and as we were shooting deer on ag permits for population reduction, many a deer went down just as fast with a good sturdy .45LC load as the far more powerful.
Oh, I shoot with one hand- even full House Casull loads. This might make a difference. The pistol rolls, my arm rotates up from my shoulder, my body rocks back from the shove. Weight of the pistol is bad for carrying all day in the field, good for Felt recoil reduction. Pistol weight, rotation, arm and body motion all slow down the time that the recoil is transferred to you- the momentum is one thing, the IMPULSE is another.
My hips are placed so that my arm naturally rotates back on to target. For me, the rounder grip sometimes rotated in my hand a bit too much, while the Bisley grip doesn’t. That amount is the result of grip shape, load, hand, shooting style and preference.
As for .454 Casull Blackhawk- it’s fun to know you could one day hunt Alaska or Africa with it. It’s fun to see what the “hand cannon” thing is all about. It’s practical because you already have the dies, brass, components and data to load as far down in power as you please. There is nothing wrong with shooting cowboy
level amounts of W231 under a soft .45 bullet out of a Casull. I would not call cowboy .45 LC a “mild” load but “everything from mild to wild” has a nice ring to it. You’ll have that capability.
Go for it.
