For years I wanted an old Model Ruger .44 shooter so I could have it chopped to 4 5/8". I got this and a little cash in a trade for a 1911 parts gun with an orig. Colt slide. That's the Redhawk that belonged to my dad. It's a little too much gun, but the SBH is just fine, weightwise. I'll probably leave the barrel long on the single action. We'll see. The SBH is unconverted. I just tried it in this holster I made for a Colt 25 years ago and it fits perfect.

wow you did great, I like the old single actions, nothing screams cowboy like an old single action revolver

That SBH is a nice gun; you will enjoy it.

Charlie

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SWCA # 2294

Even THINKING about cutting down the barrel on an Old Model SBH is a crime of Bubbaization and a Cardinal Sin.

Since I was thinking about it, that means I'm forever damned to the bowels of HELL!. So I might as well do it anyway.
Or I can make a tooled Lawrence style holster with laced edge, and matching belt as a sort of "Tribute to Elmer and Skeeter". Yeah. I think I'll do that and redeam myself for my evil thoughts. Will that work, Blackhawknj?

Yes, the holster and belt are an excellent way of redeeming yourself. And we look forward to the pictures.

Dang if them ain't some fancy stocks.

I shot my Ruger Bisley 44spl today and the laminated stocks look like junk after seeing yours.

Mine is a 4 5/8 brl and I shot a few vaquero loads and then some of the 200gn Blazer flying ashtrays.

They were kinda spunky, relatively speaking.

Nice rig you snagged, thanks for sharing...

I really like the stocks also!

Congratulations. .44 single actions are the real deal.

You have a Ruger Bisley in .44 Special? They make the new .44 Special with the smaller frame in Bisley form like the new flat tops?

I am not a big fan of Rugers but the old SBH are a sweet single action! Love the feel of them and the unfulted cylinder.

That'd be perfect to wear while watching Gunsmoke and Bonanza.

Just make sure it's unloaded when you want to practice your draw against the character on the screen.

Yes, the same frame, but naturally different grip frame.

The Bisley grip frame & wood stocks add weight and my 4 5/8 Bisley felt heavier than my new model 5 1/2 flat top 44spl from day one.

I'm not saying it weighs a ton, yet you'll notice the heft over the std grip frame 44spl w/plastic stocks.

The cylinders will interchange(I tried & they cycled). As far as that goes everything will exchange coz they're both 44spl, New Model Blackhawk frames.

I have short, stubby fingers and love the Bisley hammer.

There's also more room between the trigger guard and trigger.

I never pulled the cylinder plastic off the 5.5 from last year, but I knew when I felt the Bisley that it would become a shooter for me.

500 clams, tax included...
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Also, the Bisley laminated grips are wider and have more of a taper towards the butt. A bell shape type; it's more pronounced than the std grips/grip frame and it extends farther down in length.

If you held the std grip frame and had a problem maintaining three fingers on the frontstrap then you may have plenty of room on the Bisley.

On the std frame my pinky is squeezed as there's only enough room for 1/2 a finger so I place my pinky under the grip.

From there I can pull the hmr back w/thumb and my grip isn't crowded.

On the Bisley there's a little exrta left over on the frontstrap w/pinky, due to the extra length, and if I move my pinky under the grip frame it's uncomfortable and I can't cock the lower Bisley hmr w/thumb.

That places my hand too low in the frame.

The wide, bell shape Bisley however allows my hand to ride high naturally and feels a lot better.

Well, OK, maybe, but it sure makes for a nice packin' pistol, as John Taffin says. I got this old SBH a few years ago. It was in pretty rough shape so I figured I would turn it into just what Wyatt has proposed here. I never liked the SBH gripframe so I changed it out for the frame on one of Ruger's blackpowder revolvers, bobbed and crowned the barrel, added a Belt Mountain base pin and a new steel ejector rod shroud. Had David Clements set the front sight from Bowen and refinish it. I think it turned out pretty well, especially for the low cost and it's a heck of a lot more pleasant to carry around in the desert. Here's a picture of my sinful act:

Wyatt....tread lightly...

My first Ruger was a similiar SBH...and that led me down the road to ruin.....

Mostly because I enjoy casting and handloading...and the Rugers allowed me to pursue the ultimate in my guns and building loads for them. Then, to top it off...there were a myriad of grip frames available to match the gun, loading, and recoil....

I'm a Bisley fan....for most folks it's a love/hate thing. Your on one side of the equation or the other.

The frame on your gun was one that Elmer Keith worked with Bill Ruger on. Many would call it a Dragoon frame and that is how Elmer called it out. Fortune would have it that I'm able to handle that gripframe....many others are not able to shoot it with comfort. Elmer had small hands, and they were severly burned in a house fire when he was a youngin'... His fingers were literally fused together. He spent a part of his life seeking revenge on the arsonist that set that blaze.

Single Actions....yeah they get under your skin. There is so much history that comes with them.

Ever hear the story of old Elmer on the 4th of July blowin up a .44 Special Colt? Or how that ties to the story of old Bill Ruger building your gun?

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Non gratum anus rodentum

Having just aquired this fine chunky piece of artillary, I read Keith's supplement chapter from "Sixguns". That was last night. He says the SBH is (was) the best single action he ever had. Since he owned the classic Number 5, this is some praise. But the main reason he said that is it was a .44 Magnum. Like you said, it had a bunch of features he suggested. I like the name "Dragoon" better, too.
The countersunk chambers are a class act on this gun. If I make a holster for it specifically, I'll never have it chopped. And Wyo might have reserved me a place in hell for showing his belicose belly blaster.

Great looking sixgun, grips, and great holster as well.

I have recently been wondering if I want the same pistol.

I have S&W .44 magnums but with a Ruger you can load it full-tilt and it will never, ever fail...if the loads are safe.

Plus the handles allow the SBH to roll in the hand and dampen recoil.

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Have guns...will shoot'em.

That is a beautiful six-shooter. Good looking leather, too. I gave my local dealer $100 for this .45 and a box of "shells" in 1973. It remains unaltered. There weren't a whole lot of .45 old models, as the change to the New Model happened just a few months after the .45 was intro'd. I carry it in a Bianchi threepersons style holster. I have since outgrown the Bianchi "River Belt" I carried it on then. A 255 grain wadcutter over 10 grains of Unique will hole a 160 lb Georgia whitetail through and through.

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Georgia On My Mind

That's a stout load, but you got the gun to handle it. Those .45's are classic, alright. There was one listed out here for $450 last month. If I wasn't already tied up in stuff I'd of grabbed it. Every time I see on in an ad first thing I do is count the frame screws.

Ruger Bisley Blackhawk in .44 Special, limited edition from Lipseys.

I have a 4-5/8" to go with this one but haven't snapped any pics yet. I much prefer the Bisley grip.

If you want one, better hurry.

That's one New Model Ruger ( transfer bar, I mean) that I really like. Is the gun light enough to appreciate, compared to the Bisley .44 Magnum? I read two people say it's heavier than it looks.

Very Nice Wyatt,

Keep looking those already cut 44 Shorties are out there. Ive had my share of them.

Dan

Oh, man!! Is that bottom flat top one of those you told me about before?!

Wyatt,

I told you about it, I think, It was one of the prettiest 44 Flattop I've ever owned. I showed it off to a friend down in Texas and he harrassed me till I sold it to him. Real Ivory and all.

Dan

Wyatt, By my guesstamation a new mod 44 spl, 5.5" brl and three 240 gn Winchester vaquero loads weighs real close to an empty Bisley w/4 5/8" brl.

Maybe a tad over, yet noticably shy w/only two rnds.

I can't relate that to a 44 mag...

Wyatt,

Took me a while to find the picture but here is the 1st Super Blackhawk I ever owned. She was a beauty. Our friend over in Marysville talked me out of this one. Thats a standard Dragoon Gripframe that the flat was taken out of and curved. She was a masterpiece.

Dan

You're very cruel to show me these amputated .44's. Very cruel indeed. Why Bill Ruger never made his Flat Top and O.M. SBH 4 5/8" is a real mystery. I don't know how you managed to let these go. Especially that ivory handled flat top. Talk to you later, Dan.
Now where did I put that hacksaw...

Wyatt, nice piece.

Dan M. wow that shorty flat top is the shiznet ! thats the gun ruger should ghave made !

i have a 4.5/8 .45 BH and a 5.1/2 44 BH. the short one balances so much better. too bad is stainless and has pachmyrs on it. but it shoots so well. if i could find a blue one at a good price id snap it up.