This 1900 vintage Colt Bisley .32-20 had a bulged 5 1/2" barrel so I had it changed to .44 special since a friend gave me the 7 1/2" barrel and I already had a pre war cylinder. The original parts are wrapped and well marked so they'll hopefully always stay with the gun. Pictured with a 1958 Colt SAA .44 Special.

Nice pair of Colts. I have a 1903 Bisley in 38 WCF. Love my Colt SAA's.

nice one!

I have a 1903(?) Colt SAA in 32-20 also with a bulge in the 5 1/2
bbl..plus the bbl I believe was cut back from 7 1/2.
It's what $200 bought back in '92!

A good candidate for a conversion like this. Though it makes noise like it is, it's only guaranteed to hit the ground somewhere out there as the bore is terrible on top of that. I'm not that thrilled with the 32-20 anyway in a SAA.

I have an exact twin to your Bisley .44 Special that also came from a .32-20 with the same bulged barrel problem. I fitted a new 7.5" 2nd gen and found a spare .44-40 cylinder. It pairs nicely with my 7.5" target Triple Lock that I also found a spare cylinder for.

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Chris
SWCA #2243 SWHF #292

You should post those guns here. I read that bulged barrels were common in .32-20s. You and "2152hq" and me verify that.
And 2152hq. You have a perfect candidate for a rebarrel in that one. There's tons of barrels on Ebay and reboring cylinders is pretty inexpensive.

I've got a cigar box full of SAA bbls and some cylinders. Just haven't ever gotten around to matching up a pair in any one caliber and doing the switch.

My 44-40 Bisley already has an Italian repro cylinder fitted. The cyl that came on it was not a Colt,,maybe an early Spanish copy. Didn't chamber 44-40 either!.
Needed to turn the OD of the Ital. mfg cylinder down a few .000 to fit the Colt window, but other than that was the same. Extra deep bolt cuts so I didn't loose anything there taking some off the surface.
The orig bbl is a rough road bore, shoots kind-of-OK,,but it's also a candidate for a new one. I'd like to keep the orig w/it's scruffy looks and all like the rest of the gun.
I might do a sleeve w/a N/S Target 44 bbl I have that someone destroyed the outside to. Bore and threads are perfect on it so good use could be made to make the bore sleeve for the SAA. Threads on the two are the same on the two guns. Slight dif in the threaded length but nothing that can't be made to work at those specs.
I can always change the cylinder again to another caliber if I find something better I like.
FWIW, 3rd Gen Cylinders can be fitted to 1st and 2nd Gen guns as long as you also use the 3rd Gen hand to go along with them.

More work to do on another $200 gun!
Why am I working on a Ruger...

"I'm not that thrilled with the 32-20 anyway in a SAA."

Why? Did it feel too heavy for you? I had a 4 3/4" Uberti in .32-20 and it was a good shooter. Had to sell it a few years back.

I do still have a Uberti/Cimmaron Model P Jr in .32-20/.32 H&R Magnum. It is a 7/8 scale SAA. It groups well also.

I remember Skeeter Skelton writing about his .38-40 Bisley making a good bottle opener. I see by your picture that he was correct.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

I have no doubt they can be good shooters,,accurate and all that. I certainly don't judge the cartridge abilities on my rough/ringed bored Colt!
But for me the SAA just handles better in the larger calibers so perhaps it is a weight issue,

I bet those .44's point and shoot like a laser. I was amazed at how well the Ruger Super Blackhawk and the Colt SAA .45 pointed for me.

It was almost hard NOT to get killing zone hits on silhouette targets at 15 yards. And I was using full .44 Magnum ammo in the Ruger.

Thank you for the Story and Pictures.

The Graceful Bisley is my all time favorite
Revolver.

Attached Images

	USFA Bisley Flt Top.jpg (4.3 KB, 109 views)
	Uberti Bisley 44Spl.jpg (3.6 KB, 109 views)

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SD social distanc'n since 1889