I put a bisley grip frame on my new model .357 blackhawk. i also installed the power custom free spin pawl. the pawl need some filing on the lower step to work correctly but fits just right now. I shot it for the first time yesterday. .38 specials barely seemed to move the revolver even with a light grip with all concentration on trigger pull. magnums moved the revolver a bit but a definite improvement over the xr3 style grip frame, felt like i could shoot it all day, if i could afford to feed it that long. 6.5 inch barrel.
ruger new model blackhawk .357 with bisley grip frame
- Thread starter west.22
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Good mods! I love the freespin pawl, evrytime I shoot a Ruger without one I just think to myself - why? If I ever get another SA Ruger to go along with my SS 6.5 357 Blackhawk I will be ordering another free spin pawl from Power Custom.
shiftyer1
Member
I'm also curious what the disadvantage is in the standard version? Yes I know it doesn't free spin 
But why is free spin better?
But why is free spin better?the most useful part of the free spin pawl is that if you advance the cylinder a little to far to either eject or load a cartridge, you can just back the cylinder up, or load in a counterclockwise direction if you want. is it worth 35 bucks, maybe not, but it was a good learning experience putting it in and fitting it. and now that it is in, i am glad it is there.
shiftyer1
Member
So lets say you have 5 rounds solids and 1 round snake shot you can just back it up to make it the next round? That would be handy! What are the disadvantages of this mod? If any.
Nice Bisley! I bought the new 5.5" .44 spl Bisley. Took mine to the 'smith for a trigger job, hope to pick it up today.
The free spin pawl is nice, but I like the new indexing pawl better. It aligns the cylinder without any effort, you don't even have to look, and you can go a long ways past the click and still come back to the stop. It's light years ahead of the standard Blackhawk.
The free spin pawl is nice, but I like the new indexing pawl better. It aligns the cylinder without any effort, you don't even have to look, and you can go a long ways past the click and still come back to the stop. It's light years ahead of the standard Blackhawk.
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CraigC
Sixgun Nut
Count me as one who loves the Ruger Bisley.
The advantage to the freespin pawl is two-fold. Mainly, it corrects the issue with unmodified New Models in that when loading and unloading, if you go past the click, you have gone too far. You must hold the cylinder against slight spring pressure to keep the chamber inline with the loading port. Not a big deal if you're taking your time but this is the definition of frustration when trying to run one fast. The second advantage is that you can spin the cylinder in both directions so that if you have a bullet jump crimp, you are better prepared to remove the offending cartridge.
There are no disadvantages. I have had this done to three of my guns and it works wonderfully. However, I would still rather have a half cock notch but that's a much more expensive option, $30 vs $200.
The "reverse indexing pawl" of the New Vaquero and all the late model flat-tops is also a wonderful addition. It is essentially a freespin pawl with a spring loaded plunger added to engage the ratchet teeth on the cylinder to correctly align the chambers for loading.
The advantage to the freespin pawl is two-fold. Mainly, it corrects the issue with unmodified New Models in that when loading and unloading, if you go past the click, you have gone too far. You must hold the cylinder against slight spring pressure to keep the chamber inline with the loading port. Not a big deal if you're taking your time but this is the definition of frustration when trying to run one fast. The second advantage is that you can spin the cylinder in both directions so that if you have a bullet jump crimp, you are better prepared to remove the offending cartridge.
There are no disadvantages. I have had this done to three of my guns and it works wonderfully. However, I would still rather have a half cock notch but that's a much more expensive option, $30 vs $200.
The "reverse indexing pawl" of the New Vaquero and all the late model flat-tops is also a wonderful addition. It is essentially a freespin pawl with a spring loaded plunger added to engage the ratchet teeth on the cylinder to correctly align the chambers for loading.
highlander 5
Member
I have a Blackhawk and a Super Blackhawk that I had the Bisley grip frame,trigger and hammer put in and the grip does make a big difference in handling. The SBH is a 4 5/8 " barreled 44 mag and with the addition of MagNaPorting makes it a ball to shoot.
whalerman:
The new model blackhawk came with the xr3 grip frame (i think), the gun store had a blued bisley grip frame laying around somewhere in the back so i paid them to fit it to my .45 convertible blackhawk with a 4 5/8 barrel. i later decided to see if it would fit on the .357 blackhawk (pictured) it did so i left it on there, i thought it looked better on the 6.5 barrel anyway. the grip frames are a different piece than the cylinder frames. take out the 5 grip frame screws and the grip frame comes off. (along with other steps)
The new model blackhawk came with the xr3 grip frame (i think), the gun store had a blued bisley grip frame laying around somewhere in the back so i paid them to fit it to my .45 convertible blackhawk with a 4 5/8 barrel. i later decided to see if it would fit on the .357 blackhawk (pictured) it did so i left it on there, i thought it looked better on the 6.5 barrel anyway. the grip frames are a different piece than the cylinder frames. take out the 5 grip frame screws and the grip frame comes off. (along with other steps)
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ppcgm
Member
It makes a nice conversion. I wanted Pachmayr decellerator grips on my .41 Bisley to help with the recoil of the 200 yard load that was loosening my fillings. Unfortunately, it wasn't made at the time for the Bisley. But, I also have a .44 Super Blackhawk so just swapped the triggers, hammers and gripframes between the two guns and now have too much more interesting guns since the Bisley is of course blued and the SB is stainless.
You will have to do that entire swap, hammer, trigger and gripframe to make it work. But it is that simple.
I went with a custom done half cock Super Blackhawk hammer as part of the hammer swap/action job. TWO benefits from the half cock. One is that the chambers line up right for loading and unloading. Two is that if you flub the hammer, the half cock catches the hammer, and keeps you from having to go all the way back around to fire that chamber.
Yeah, it wasn't cheap, but was worth it to me.
A third benefit for me anyway, is that now the Big Ruger has the same procedure to load and unload as my .22 Colt Frontier Scout.
I did consider the free spin pawl instead, but decided to go the other route. The factory set up was really unacceptable IMO.
Thanks
Just a standard, XR3-Red grip frame that came on it new last year. (2010 in .45 Colt)
EDIT TO ADD: It could look a bit different because the grips are a good bit thicker at the top than the factory ones. Really fill the hand up nicely, vs the factory plastic.
Saving my pennies to do something different with the front sight.
I have a few other things I'd like to do to it too should I find some extra cash somewhere.
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yeah the bisley hammer is nice, since the bisley grip frame doesn't roll, the low spur hammer is right there for a quick follow up shot. if you cock the hammer with your shooting hand, which i do. but with a superblackhawk hammer on an xr3, when it rolls, the hammer isn't to low for a natural grab, and it isn't to high for a normal thumb cock without moving the rest of the hand that is holding the grip ready to fire. Like having the best of both.
Yup, the Bisley hammer is a big winner in my book. No more stretching the thumb to find the hammer, it's right there.
The Bisley grip lives up to it's name sake for being a great target grip. Maybe not a great CAS grip, but for us paper punchers, it's fantastic.
The Bisley grip lives up to it's name sake for being a great target grip. Maybe not a great CAS grip, but for us paper punchers, it's fantastic.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
Except for the late model flat-tops, all New Model Blackhawks have been equipped with the XR3-RED pattern grip frame. Not the XR3. A steel version of the XR3 has been on the New Model flat-tops and New Vaqueros since 2005.
On midwayusa.com I found a pachmayr presentation grips that say they are for a new model blackhawk, but it says they will not fit the xr3, ?? will they fit the xr3 red??
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=297021
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=297021
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