Need Opinions on Ruger 44 Special

[Wolfgang]

I would like some input from you guys on my next revolver purchase. I am going to get a Ruger 44 Special with a 5 1/2" tube this I am sure of. What I would like the input on is if I should go with the standard grip or the Bisley style. I've used the standard style for years but the Bisley style appeals to me for some reason. I had one a long time ago in 45 Colt but I let it get away from me before I ever got to spend much time with it. Your thoughts/preferences and why you feel the way you do would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Wolfgang

[missionary5155]

Good morning
Have a Ruger Biz in caliber .41 mag. Also have several Blackhawks in the same caliber. Firing the same loads between the two grip styles I like the Biz better.
I am not a large person. 5-9 and slowly shrinking. Might weigh 147 today. Smallish hands. The turned down grip of the Biz style gets the trigger better in line to my trigger finger and the grip angle just feels more natural.
I also have a 1903 SSA Colt Biz in 45 Colt. That one will be with me a long time. That was what got me started on the Biz grip. Was at an Indi Gun Show many years back and there it sat off to the side of the regular grip "oldies". No one was touching it. So the owner was happy to haggle and watch it leave his AO. Me I was near instantly spoiled. Started realizing why Colt made them to start with. Not all hands are the same. Not all wrists bend and twist the same.
Get the Biz. If you do not like it I will be back north in 2016 and sell it to me. I will be looking for a used one about then.
Mike in Peru

[rintinglen]

I, too, root for the Bisley Grip. I have the cowboy grip on mine, which is OK, but I would have preferred the Bisley. However, if yours shoots as well as mine, you will be very happy which ever you choose.

[contender1]

I own many of the SA guns from Ruger. They include the normal "plow handle" & the Bisleys. I find I tend to enjoy shooting and do better with the Bisley grips when shooting the heavier calibers & loads. The plow handle works just fine with many others too.
I own a pair of the Lipsey 44 Spls, from when they first came out. All I did was have some custom grips made to fill my hands better as mine have the infernal,,, I mean,,, the internal locks. The big key here is; "grips to fit my hands!"
I suggest you consider what fits YOUR hands the best. What YOU feel will work. And remember, the 44 spl shines with a 250 grn bullet & 7.5 grns of Unique. Not a heavy load, but a GOOD load!

[Zouave 58]

I agree with contender1, grip fit is really important particularly how your index finger lines up on the trigger. Its good to have a clear path to squeeze straight back. I have the beginnings of arthritis in my hands and because of that I recently sold all my Bisley frames and replaced them with plowshare grips. One thing I've tried over the years to see how a grip/frame combination fits me is to pick a target on the wall and with an unloaded gun bring the gun up from waist hight and sight on the spot on the wall. Do that about 10 times and then close your eyes and do it again. Its amazing to see how differently guns will naturally point. If I try that with a Browning Hi-Power I end looking through the sights in the vicinity of the target point; if I do that with a 1911 I'll be pointing 6-8" low. If I do that with a Bisley I have to choke up high on the grip, with a plowshare I have to hook my little finger on the bottom of the grip. Obviously not a scientific method grip fit measurement but the more naturally the gun points the easier it seems to train to shoot it.

[Lloyd Smale]

bisley isn't needed at recoil levels the 44 spec runs at. Im so used to the bisley grip frame it just feels better in my hand and I shoot it better so id go that route but you should probably just handle both and pick the one that feels better

[opos]

I've got a Lipsey 44 special with a dandy set of Holly grips and man do I like it..it's a standard plow handle and it shoots very well for me...I shoot lighter loads with Trail Boss and it's dead accurate and enjoyable to shoot...I have several other Blackhawks and Vaqueros that are Bisleys and they are in calibers I load up a bit higher for and think the Bisley helps with recoil...love them all!!

[Thumbcocker]

There is not much middle ground on Bisley grips. Love or hate. I am solidly in teh love camp but a handgun is a personal thing and you really need to test feel both before you decide.

[Wolfgang]

Thanks for the replies. From what I can remember of the one I had in 45 Colt I got it because I liked the way it sat in my hand and the fact that the lower swept hammer and the curved trigger were easier to get at with my medium to small hands but that was also the larger frame than what the 44 Special is built on. I am not a stranger to the special as a caliber but the guns I have (or have had) in it were not SA's. Right now the herd is down to just a Bulldog Pug that I got years ago on a lark because I had one of the older model blued Bulldogs as a kid. This gun I still have and is a a constant companion in my truck. I also have one of the old fixed sight Taurus 431's with a 2" tube that was put together back when Taurus cared. Very nicely blued and reminds one of a Smith model 10. Both are good guns but hardly practical for much other than some limited types of uses. The Ruger will see much more time in the daylight as a general use handgun. I have no intention of hotrodding the cartridge as I have several 44 mags and such to take care of that sort of work. From 850-950 fps that old 429421 is hard to keep inside of anything I shoot anyways!

[Silver Jack Hammer]

I shoot single actions more close and fast with lighter loads so how the grip functions with the joint of the thumb in my hand is most important. If I were mostly a long range precision shooter I might favor the Bisley but all my SA's are the standard plow handle. I have large hands.

[white eagle]

I have the handgun you speak of however mine is a 4.5 barrel length
don't load it up heavy but I do like the Bisgrip for a fact

[blackpowder man]

I too have a pair of lipsey's stainless vaqueros in .44 special and that colt style grip has always felt natural to me. I did notice yesterday that bud's guns had the 5 1/2" bisley for a pretty good price in .44 special. Either grip and that will be a nice companion.

[runfiverun]

I have three of these revolvers.
one stainless, one blued, and one bisley.
if you get the standard get a blued one as the stainless guns have great barrels but generally need the cylinder throats opened and evened out in diameter.
they also do much better with a set of Hogue grips.

I swapped out my blued cylinder onto my stainless revolver and put a set of hogues on it, it's now one of my favorite revolvers, shooting the 429241 over 7.2grs of unique.
I like it more than my 41 mag [except the hunter in 41] and my 45 colt/acp, and 357.

having said that I like the bisley grips and always have, I can get my whole hand on one without changing the grips.
the recoil is more straight back and you take it more in the web and on the palm rather than let the revolver roll back in your hand.
it's kinda like shooting an AR grip.

[TCLouis]

Bisley

[W.R.Buchanan]

I'm big on the Bisley grip as well. They spread the recoil out much better. I have a SBH Bisley that I had the barrel shortened to 5" and a SH Bisley from Lipsey's 4 5/8" love both the guns.

Randy

[MT Gianni]

Everyone has different hands. Use the grip that fits yours best.

[hpdrifter]

I just got a Bis 44 Mag Hunter. I like the Bis grip!! I'm changing my 45 Colt RBH to a Bisley grip frame. Just about got the frame fitted up. Gonna use the BH hammer and trigger for a while, till after the first of the year anyway, until I can spring for the change. Be aware; to me it puts the trigger closer to your grip.i.e it shortens the trigger pull length and cocking the hammer is a little different to me also. It requires more of a stroke to me, meaning the hammer requires a "lower" thumb stroke, gets real close to grip hand.

[EDK]

XR-3 red isn't good for me. Loved the DRAGOON (Super Blackhawk) for years. Resisted the BISLEY, but got a bunch of them now. The HUNTER with a Super Blackhawk hammer is my current favorite.

[Wolfgang]

Thanks for all the replies fellas. I think I will see if my pal at the LGS would mind ordering two of them in, one of each style. I think having them both in my hand would reveal the truth about what feels best for me. I am really leaning toward the Bisley though. I do seem to fair better with double action sixguns when shooting them as opposed to the single actions. Not that I do all that poorly with the single actions but I just have to think about what I am doing more than I do with the double actions.

[lbaize3]

Wolfgang, that sounds like the best idea. I was shooting the standard grip in cowboy action competition and wanted the bisley model guns. As soon as I had two bisley 45 colts, I found that with my style of shooting, the regular handle was much faster. I had to slow down to manipulate the bisley. So I sold the bisley revolvers and went back to the regular handle.

[9.3X62AL]

I have BHs with both the plow-handle and the Bisley grip frames. The Bisleys tend to stay, while the plow handles tend to go down the road or get upgraded with better stock sets. The Ruger Bisley grip conformation is one of few that I leave in OEM condition, and that goes for both single- and double-action wheelguns. New stocks/grips are among the first orders of business.

[TCLouis]

Short version

Bisley

[ejcrist]

That's a tough question. I think I'd go with the Bisley first and then get the standard plough second.

Gene

[smorin2]

I'm probably in the minority here but i like the plow handle much more than the bisley grip. I also like the blackhawk hammer much more than the bisley or super blackhawk hammers.I have 10 single actions with 8 being plow handle gripped including the Ruger flattop .44 special which is my favorite cartridge and firearm.