Anyone have any experience with single action revolvers like Uberti with a bird's head grip? Is this type of grip difficult to get used to and does it give up any grip control while shooting? Does it lend itself better to say a 3.5 inch barrel vs 4.75 inch barrel for balance and shoot-ability. Obviously the design was intended for concealed carry which the 3.5 inch would better serve. But this would be both a range toy and occasional carry.

If you're wrapping your finger under the grip to manage recoil, you have less room to do that. It changes the recoil sensation a little bit since you're missing that corner to distribute the energy. If you buy the eagle grips, get the smooth or checkered grips that have been buffed down if you plan to shoot heavier loads.

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This≠DodgeCity&You≠BillHickok

I have a Ruger Vaquero in .44 magnum with the birds head grip. It actually handles quite well and the grip distributes recoil well for me.

I have a Thunderer 3.5" 45 Colt that with SD loads (Winchester 45 Colt STHP) it will roll in the hand! The first shot has always been fantastic. There is no quick aimed second shot!

Ivan

I believe you'd be best served to find someone that has one and try it.

Now, I have never shot an Uberti birdshead grip (that would be their Pinkerton revolver, I believe). I have, however, shot these.

The Classic Arms Ace.

When I shoot it it rotates in my hand until it is pointing straight up in the air. Since it's a single shot, that don't matter. The lack of a trigger guard may help the rotation, as does the smallness of the grip.

The Pedersoli Kentucky Pistol.

It does not rotate up like the Ace does. Larger grip? Trigger guard? Longer, heavier barrel? I don't know what keeps it down, but it doesn't rotate.

Then there's the Uberti Cimarron Thunderer.

There's a nice bulge in the middle of the grip - it's fat, easy to hang on to. And the shoulder at the top helps prevent rollup.


But the Pinkerton, while it appears to have the bulge, doesn't have the shoulder.

This has made me leery of rollup, so I've never tried one.

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I always take precautions

I’m actually looking for one.
Probably a 22 or 38-357.
The ones I see for sale all seem to be 45LC.

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

Love my Ruger in 45 acp and so does everyone who tries it. No trouble with 230 grain mid range reloads. I probably would not enjoy the same gun in 44 magnum.

Ed

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I much prefer the "plow-handle" grip for looks, but for shooting, (Ruger), the B H feels just fine. Only .45 Colt and .45 ACP so far.
I have a .44 mag S/A but with the traditional western style grip.

I think the B H grip on barrels longer than 3 3/4" look un-balanced.

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wanna do right-- not right now

Let me remind you that there are two types of bird's-head grips. The original style are what were seen on Colt Lightnings and Thunderers - see posts 7 and 5 above. With the "shoulder". I find them to be very unattractive. Also in post 5 you see the prettier style of bird's-head grips. No shoulder. Let me refer you to this recent thread for a better picture of those grips:

Single action revolvers- Any fans?

The thing about those grips on the Uberti Pinkerton is that they were invented by Hollywood (see that thread for my comments). I had one of those guns, although my home research shows it was not a Uberti it was an Armi San Marco (.45 Colt caliber) that I possessed but that is not relevant or important.

At Cowboy Action Shooting velocities of 600 fps recoil is of no concern; there is none to speak of. Shooting that Armi San Marco was no problem with the bird's-head grips (the trigger was a different issue for me).

I expect that you cannot find any bird's-head stocked Old West single actions in the "pretty" version these days and the ones you do find will almost always be .45 Colt or .357 Magnum. However, Cimarron does make four calibers in the "single action Lightning-style". That's right - they turned the double action Lightning into a single action revolver in order to get them into the cowboy action shooting game.

They can be found in .22 Long Rifle, .38 Special, .41 Colt, and 32-20/.32 H&R (it's a dual cylinder) - if that's what you want you can find them on Cimarron's website or some auction websites.

Don't ask me about the .41 Colt caliber - I have no clue why they make them in .41 Colt, where you get ammunition from, or anything else!