Ruger's Bisley 5.5" .45 Colt

[Rick R]

Has anyone got the chance to shoot one of the Williams Shooter's Supply distributor exclusive Ruger Blackhawk revolvers with the 5.5" barrel and Bisley grip in .45 Colt?

80412

For some reason it's speaking to me...

I may be in trouble (again). :D

[9.3X62AL]

Not here, Rick--but I surely adore my Bishawk x 45 Colt with 7.5" barrel. The 5.5" looks better-balanced than the 7.5" version, though my revo handles well just the same. Your attraction to the piece is easy to understand.

[Lloyd Smale]

ive owned two of them in the past. Both were good shooting guns. Both got traded off along with a 44 mag just like them. Just to many 45s and 44s allready in the safe and something else at the time was wanted more. Great guns though and short of a custom rig you wont find a better hunting gun.

[Lefty SRH]

I had one (actually the convertable) and enjoyed it greatly. What do you want to know about them?

[Bucking the Tiger]

Had one in .45 Colt with the reddish grips. Balanced a lot better than 7 1/2" barrel. It was heavy( compared to S&W's) but would handle hot loads with a smile. I find myself wanting another one again....I would really like it with an SDM fiber patridge front sight and a Bowen rough country rear sight. It was very accurate and liked 300 grain lead bullets.

[ncbearman]

This one spoke to me yesterday. It's the 45 Colt/45acp convertible. The grips are off my 1972 Ruger 22. They fit perfect 40 years later. Gonna shoot later today.

80434

[RobS]

Mine is a Williams Shooter's and the more common issues associated with Ruger 45 Colts existed but was by no means a deal breaker. I opened up the cylinder throats to .4525 and it also had a barrel/frame constriction in the barrel that was firelapped. It's a great firearm that I enjoy shooting. I also custom worked my grips too so they fit my hand better which made a difference for me.

[Rick R]

Gents,
Thanks for the input. I really, really like the look of this pistol. Not too long to carry but not too short to shoot easily. I've also recently gotten a new respect for the .45 Colt cartridge lobbing some 330gr HP boolits out of my Redhawk.

I feel a sale coming up to create a parking spot in the safe. :D

[Thumbcocker]

I have one that is a convertible. Total turd. Have had cylinders reamed, forcing cine recut, and barrel reinstalled to get rid of choke. Also sent back to factory once. Still a turd. Shoots ok with acp cylinder. Have same gun in .44 mag. and it is a joy to shoot and has made a pile of meat. My advice is get a .44 magnum or special.

[crawfobj]

I have a convertible too. Had the .45 colt cylinder opened up to .4525 by Cylindersmith and have had no problems. Love this gun. Look for some of Dale53's posts on .45 colt with his. I learned a lot from his posts on his experiences and loads. Mine loves Miha's version of the 45-270SAA over fairly stout loads. Also fun to shoot with the .45ACP cylinder with the pile of plinking ammo that I loaded with the lee 230 TC.

[Deep Six]

I bought the convertible version (has the same green laminate grips) last summer. Cylinder throats are right at 0.452" for both cylinders. Bore is about 0.4515" with some choke in the thread area, although this doesn't seem to affect its accuracy. The 45 ACP is a blast for plinking and it seems to be my best revolver for gong ringing at 100 yards. The only issue I've had is that when the tight throat in the ACP cylinder gets a little dirty it becomes difficult to seat fresh rounds in all the way. I haven't worked with "Ruger only" 45 Colt loads much yet, although a couple +P loads are showing some promise. 9.5 Unique under a cast 230 RN or 255 RNFP is a joy to shoot and feels just about perfect in this gun.

[30calpal]

I have that gun. Read all about the need to firelap the choke. Did that. Had the throats opened up by CylinderSmith. They still looked a little rough to me so I fashioned an empty case to protect the chamber walls and proceeded to use a Flexhone to smooth the throats. They are .453 now. The gun has weight and balances good to me. I just got on the GB for 325gr mould from NOE. Can hardly wait. That bullet at 1000+ should shoot slap through a horse!!

[white eagle]

I have had two sold one and bought back another -convertible- I have no issues with mine the throats are small .451
but once I quit sizing my boolits big it shoots real good

[Art in Colorado]

Have had one for several years. Have a friend who slugged the barrel and opened the cylinder throats to match the barrel properly. He did an amazing action job and also recut the forcing cone. I put on a Millet rear sight and it is one shooting machine. I find it easier to hit with off hand then my Freedom Arms Model 83. I don't think you can go wrong.

[C. Latch]

I haven't shot big-bore handguns much in many years but a few months ago I bought a 5.5" Bisley blackhawk in .45 colt. I had the throats opened to .4525 before I ever shot it, I did a trigger job on it, and after shooting a bit had a local gunsmith make a new front sight that didn't have the glare issue that the factory sight has.

I love the thing. It has shown great accuracy with one bullet (Lee 452-255-rf) and this weekend I'll be testing it with a custom 300-grain flat point. I still need to get a good chest holster for it before deer season, and have considered new grips but haven't had time to think too much on that issue.

Next on my agenda is to fire-lap the thing; the bore isn't terribly smooth and even a handful of jacketed bullets will turn it orange. Leading hasn't really been an issue, but I suspect that accuracy could be better, as the whole bore is grossly undersized, especially at the throat end.

I worried that a 5.5" barrel would be too short for easy offhand shooting at longe ranges. I shouldn't have worried. If I was having the gun built up from scratch it'd probably wear a 6" tube, or 6.5", but the 5.5" has thus far been no hindrance at all to good shooting.

[warboar_21]

I don't have a Williams but I do have the 5.5" Bisley. It sure does balance nicely. I do need to send my cylinder into cylindersmith and have him open them up a bit. With jacketed it shoots really nice though.

[contender1]

I bought mine a few years back to go along with the several other 45 Rugers I have. I got the convertible one, and I love it.

[shorty500M]

mine began life as a new vaquero ,have made a few modifications

[Rick R]

Nice pistols Shorty500M! I appreciate all the input gentlemen, I'm probably going to pull the trigger on this deal this week. :)

[Crash_Corrigan]

I have the Lipsey's special in .44 Special with the 5.5" bbl. I love it. I had to firelap the barrel constriction at the frame but after that it shoots like a house afire. Very comfortable to shoot even with handloaded heavy boolits and healthy charge of 2400 powder.

Perfect balance and a great looking revolter.

[FThera]

I too have that gun (stainless). Opened up both cylinders right out of the box. It's a great shooter and I love the grip. Shoots 45 acp like a champ.

[Cold Trigger Finger]

I stumbled upon the 5 1/2" convertible stainless on Ruger's web sight . And I too am smitten something powerful !!
I Need to work on my handgun shooting a lot and figure the 45 ACP cylinder will get most of the wear .
My problem tho is I REALLY like the 480 version also . However my need to improve my hit ability is probably most important at this time. So I think the 5 1/2" stainless convertible is my next revolver.

[warboar_21]

I bought a 5.5" stainless Bisley back in 2004-2005 timeframe. Once I opened up the cylinder it stopped leading and the group's stopped looking like shotgun patterns. It is heavier than my 7.5" Blackhawk and the 4.75" but that helps when shooting the heavy loads.

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