Ruger Bisley 45 Colt can't be fitted with a 45 ACP cylinder???

I spoke with Ruger customer service and they said they cannot fit a 45 acp cylinder into a Ruger Bisley 45 Colt. I thought the Bisley was just a Blackhawk with a modified grip frame.

Is there a logical reason for this, or is it just more Ruger customer service BS?

I think they should have said, "will not" rather then "cannot."

You are right in thinking that the frames are the same, so there is no reason a .45 ACP cylinder couldn't be fitted. However Ruger, as a matter of policy, won't fit a different cylinder into a revolver that didn't come with that option in the first place. They don't sell the cylinders either, as factory fitting is required.

Some have gone about this in another way. They buy a standard .45 Blackhawk convertable and then switch out the hammer, trigger, and backstrap/triggerguard assembly. The parts are available from Brownells. (www.brownells.com).

Also the Bisleys use non fluted cyl, the convertable Blackhawks are all fluted.

Gary Reeder and other gunsmiths will sell you a second cylinder in whatever caliber is sane for that barrel. For example, if your gun is a 357 he'll do a cylinder in 9mm, 9x21, 9x23, 356GNR, whatever.

Old Fuff is right on target: Ruger WILL NOT retrofit the gun in that direction but we can't even guess why not; practically and engineering-wise, there's no problem at all.

who is gary reeder? is he on this board?

is a custom gunsmith in flagstaff az,,does great
work with ruger S/A revolvers.

The other option is to hit ebay and buy a .45acp cylinder and then have your smith check/adjust the timing to make sure it'll work with your revolver.

--usp_fan

http://www.reedercustomguns.com/

Ruger will not alter any of thier firearms into a configuration that was not a cataloged model. Since there have been no cataloged convertable Bisley's, adding a 45 ACP cylinder would make a non-cataloged variant. They did produce a stainless Bisleys as a 45 caliber convertable (Acusport model).

I have a blue 45 acp cylinder that works just fine in a sst 45 colt blackhawk. it didn't require any fitting at all

I have a blue 45 acp cylinder that works just fine in a sst 45 colt blackhawk. it didn't require any fitting at all

How did you get it? Ruger will not sell one to me

a friend of mine didn't want it so I bought it from him for $40. try looking at gunshows or maybe a gunshop that does a lot of gun work. I looked a little bit into what Gary Reeder does and from all accounts his work is very good but not very affordable when you only make $8 an hour

Is the www.brownells.com conversion easy to do for those of us without gunsmithing skills???

If you can find a cylinder be sure to get it fitted. It's not just a drop in and go deal. If it's out of line/timing it could hurt you or damage the gun.

A local smith should be able to do the work for you though and it not cost too much.

For the extra $ though Reeder or a more known custom guy is also a good option.

I love Ruger, but that type of work gets into custom stuff and it doesn't seem that any of the makers do much of it anymore. Wish they would (ie barrel lengths on ordered guns) but it's not happening for now.

I have fitted two 9mm cylinders to one OM Blackhawk and one 357 Vaquero. The Blackhawk was almost a drop in, but the Vaquero took a little fittng to operate properly. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to fit one, just hahe some knowledge of what you'e doing. Never worked on a Bisley, but as far as I'm concerned it's just an ugly Vaquero and could be fitted with a 9mm cylinder also..