Meet my Ruger Flattop Bisley 4 5/8 inch 44 Special. It is a dealer special that Ruger put together a few years ago. It represents Ruger's approximation of the most famous revolver ever built (my opinion, obviously), Elmer's custom Colt 44. The instant I learned about it I had my dealer order one.

Like most new revolvers it came with its share of "warts". The trigger pull was heavy and gritty. After I very carefully polished the sear with a sapphire stone and installed an after market spring kit the trigger pull morphed into a perfectly crisp 2.5 pounds. Characteristically, the cylinder throats were too small to successfully shoot cast bullets. A cautious application of a super fine sandpaper wrapped wooden dowel eventually got them all up to where I wanted them. Finally, even with the rear sight screwed down to its lowest level my 44 shot way to high with 250 grain bullets. (200 grains were fine.) But, heck, If you're going to shoot an Elmer Keith gun, you've got to shoot Elmer Keith bullets (Lyman #429421), right? So I filed the rear sight blade down.

I have read that some folks love the Bisley grip and some don't care for it at all. I have a 357 Blackhawk that is about the duplicate of my 44, the differences being the flattop and the grip. I find that I far prefer the hand filling Bisley grip. However, to me at least, the curved Bisley trigger is an even more important improvement than the grip.

So does it shoot? You bet! This is a 15 yard target fired last week off hand by a very wobbly nearly blind old man (me) using bullets cast of soft range reclaimed lead. The load is a mild…sorry Elmer…charge of Unique powder. My Flattop is easily my favorite non-Smith revolver and the Smiths better stay on their toes.

Ed

Nice. I picked up the same model in the 5.5" barrel a couple of months back. Have not shot it yet.
Not pleased with the trigger and action as a whole. My last BH was a .41 from the 70's. A WHOLE lot of difference between the two.
Hope to shoot t a bit soon and then do what I can with the action.

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Ret'd LEO
SWCA #2275

The Bisley grip shape is superior to the older Colt SA grip shape for any purpose. It just looks a little strange as compared to the typical Colt SAA grip profile.

I just sold my 5.5" yesterday. I just couldn't get comfortable with the grip.

Nice photo of a nice gun! And some good shooting, too.

If this gun was stainless, I'd lust after one, if I handloaded. If in .44 Magnum, it'd be even better.

The lower hammer, the curved trigger, and the Bisley grip make this one of the fastest single actions to use.

And the sculpted trigger is art as well as function. It just looks better than the modern Blackhawk trigger.
My only Ruger SA was a stainless Super B., with the usual 7.5-inch barrel. It was fantastic in both pointed and aimed fire. Very accurate and with tolerable recoil. It shot as well as my M-29, and that's saying something!

Oh: have you chronographed that load? I think a .44 Special ought to throw a hard Keith bullet at some 900 FPS, but realize that you wanted softer target loads. Should still be good for small game and snakes.

I have that same style Ruger.
I like it very much.
The standard Blackhawk grip never felt right to me, but the Bisley does.
I'm sure glade Ruger made this pistol.

I have it's twin brother. The Bisley grip seems to polarize folks. Some love it, others hate it. Personally, I love it. Can't deal with the typical Ruger single action grip. Getting my hands on a Bisley was great. I shoot 6.5 gr of Unique or 12.0 gr of 2400 under a 240 gr LSWC. Had it out yesterday and while the gun is nicely accurate, I didn't do so well. The gun teased me my printing small groups now and then. Then it had the nerve to put bullets exactly where I told it to.

It's a great gun. I had no real issues with the trigger, except it was a bit heavy. So I put a Wolf kit in it and I'm happy.

I bought a 5&1/2 barreled one several years ago. Even with the rear sight screwed all the way down, it still shot high. I called Ruger and they told me to send it back. They replaced the front sight and paid shipping both ways. I am very happy with it. I have several Ruger Single Action revolvers. That is the only Bisley I have. It is also the only Ruger Single Action I have shot since I got it. I love the grip.

They are amazing shooters, I have one too.
This was a box of win cowboy loads at the local BE range, 25yrds.