Converting to Bisley

[semf]

I have a Ruger Super Blackhawk .44mag that I want to convert to a Bisley grip frame now that they are available in Stainless. Has anyone had this done. From their site it looks like it would be about $100 plus the cost of the frame and grips, but I could not find the frame cost before the site froze up on me.
I also wonder about turn around time

 

[Frohickey]

friend of mine did it on his own.
ordered the grip frame from brownells, and lots of sanding and filing, has a pretty sturdy single action for full-power hot loads and easy-recoil grips.

 

[Majic]

You need the frame, grips, trigger, and hammer. The conversion can be done yourself if you have a little mechanical skill.
Buying the SS frame may be a problem as only a blued frame is listed for Blackhawk Bisleys.

 

[vwfool]

Brownells does list both the blued and stainless grip frames. The part number for the stainless steel kit you want is #078-000-003. It includes the grip frame, trigger, and hammer. The cost is $167.42.

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/st...&title=BISLEY+GRIP+CONVERSION+KIT&s=1541#1541

or 1-800-741-0015

 

[Stainz]

My local dealer still has a new SBH Bisley Hunter, a limited run from earlier this year, for $470-$480. If you check around, they are still available... The $ you spend on another grip-frame, etc, will never be recovered, should you ever sell the revolver. I think they were made for AcuSport distributors. They supposedly added a .45 Colt and .41 Magnum version this year as well.

Stainz

 

[JoeHatley]

I Bisleyised this Blackhawk a few years ago. Fun project, not hard. It's mostly a parts swap with some polishing.




Stainz makes a good point though, the cost of the extra parts probably won't be recovered.

Good Luck...

Joe

 

[Jim March]

But on the other hand:

If you have a gun that already shoots well, then the Bisley conversion won't change that. Ruger does ship lemons now and again and the nastiest to deal with involve cylinder frame dimensions that are "off" in some way. Linebaugh discusses this in detail.

So the real question is first, is the gun you have any good? If it'll group sub-1.5" or 2" from the bench @ 25yds with ammo it likes, cool...are you willing to spend the money for the conversion parts to eliminate any risk that the new combination will shoot worse?

Plus, factory Bisleys don't come in as many barrel lengths. Do you like the tube you have now, and can you even get it in a factory Bisley?

 

[semf]

Thanks for the replies. I thought I would have to send it to Ruger, but fom the Brownells link I should be able to do it myself.
As for the money, I bought it used for $300 last year It looked absolutly new, no timing marks (which I put on it fairly quickly just cocking an uncocking around the house) no carbon or powder residue evident anywhere, absolutly perfect. So an extra $170 or so would not be too bad.

Jim yes the gun shoots well I was worried about the opposite, that the conv. would hurt accuracy. And I like the 4 5/8 SS which I don't think is available in Bisley. I also don't like the Bisley cylinder's artwork.

This is just about my favorite safe sitter. I don't shoot it because it hurts. 10 years ago I had to sell my 7 1/2 in blue Bisley 44 mag and promised my self I would buy another, better one. This is the one I had pictured back then.

I cannot comfortably shoot the standard grip because of a self inflicted deformity in my right hand. In my late teens, during my heavy drinking years a telephone pole got lippy with me and I was forced to defend my honor. After the Doc put the bones back inside my hand where they apparently belonged I had lost a large percentage of the strength in my last two fingers. The shape of the grip forces me to rest the grip frame on my pinky, the recoil forces my finger down and just plain hurts. I can control the recoil I just can't stand the feeling of my finger being ripped off. If I don't rest it on my pinky then my hand is so far up the grip it's under the hammer and I can't control the recoil.
I have moved back to my home town area and the phone pole still taunts me, hence the need for a .44 mag
By the way I got the idea for this gun reading a Taffin article that man has got the neatest guns. I think he is one of the last sixgunners around

 

[semf]

x

 

[maytom]

Semf, here's that pic for ya!!

 

[BlkHawk73]

My local dealer still has a new SBH Bisley Hunter, a limited run from earlier this year, for $470-$480. If you check around, they are still available... The $ you spend on another grip-frame, etc, will never be recovered, should you ever sell the revolver. I think they were made for AcuSport distributors. They supposedly added a .45 Colt and .41 Magnum version this year as well.

The Bisley SBH Hunter is a standard cataloged model not a limited run model. The .45 Hunter and .41 Hunter were made in limited quantites for Acusport and Davidson's respectfully. They were not Bisley models.
The price mentioned isn't that bad a deal. I was intending on adding the .41 and .44 Bisley Hunter to my .45 Hunter but don't really need another of either chambering.

 

[Indigo22]

The stock grips have a tendency to bite my large hands. I ordered a nice pair of Coco Bolo grips from Hogue. The extended grip allowed my pinkie to have something to hold onto. Although I've never shot a Biesley framed SBH The ones I've handled didn't feel as nice as the standard hogleg.

 

[semf]

Thanks maytom I just learned how to do that properly, and forgot to come back to this one. I'll go back and delete mine to save space.

 

[semf]

that was a bad idea

 

[Jim March]

Semf, let's talk accuracy a sec.

First, read this:

http://www.sixgunner.com/linebaugh/accuracy.htm

As you'll see, the really critical areas are the primary frame dimensions and holes...base pin alignment with the barrel mounting location, cylinder (just about everything matters), etc. If those are wrong, the gun's not gonna shoot and it's a royal pain to fix...in some cases, not even possible.

You're not going to be messing with any of that. If it's good now (and it sure sounds like it is) then it still will be.

The worst you could do is screw up the trigger pull a little but if you're careful you can even deal with that yourself and it's not that likely you'll have a problem. The New Model SA action is pretty simple in there. Absolute worst case, any number of gunsmiths can do a $75 trigger job.

Now, while you've got the innards all out, you might consider a $35 freewheel pawl addition, allowing the cylinder to spin both ways with the loading gate open. It's a Power Custom part.

Finally: there's a used-parts-market demand for the bits your gun is wearing now. Not huge, but it would surprise me if you couldn't get $75 for all the used bits coming off...maybe $100 . Or keep 'em all and the resale value of the gun goes up a bit.