Bisley conversion

gabrielguitars

gabrielguitars

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Edmonton
So I recently purchased a used stainless .44 Super Blackhawk from BJSGEAR here on Nutz. As soon as the package arrived, I took it down to the gunshop I deal with, and immediately set to work. I pulled the barrel off, threw it on the lathe, and cut it down to 5", and gave it a deep target-style crown. I then ordered all the parts to convert it to a Bisley from Midway, and had them shipped to a gunshop in Minnesota. A friend has an import/export license and deals with that shop, so he went down there and brought back the parts for me. I just finished installing all the parts, including a 30 oz. Wolff trigger spring. I will continue to post pics as the project continues. I purchased some gorgeous English walnut for the grips (check the pic), and hope to get those done soon. I also plan on beadblasting the gun, possibly with the cylinder left with a high polish, we'll see. I may also change the front sight to a barrel band style, I'll have to make that, though.
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A friend has an import/export license and deals with that shop, so he went down there and brought back the parts for me.
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Beautiful firearm. I bet she will look real nice after the transformation. I noticed you mentioned a friend whom has an import/export license. Could he be OUR new importer for firearm parts into Canada?
 
Great project & a nice choice for grips. you will have a special ruger there when you are finished. I have changed a few things on my rugers that enhance their handling & operating function as well.
Please keep us informed as you move along & we look forward to seeing it when finished. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us....:wave:
 
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I have two 5.5" Ruger Bisley Vaquero's in 45 Colt these are awesome accurate guns the trigger/hammer grip are awesome to use/hold.

You will be very happy when your done.

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Another update!

Well, I've gotten more done on this piece, finally. I had unfortunately installed the front sight a little crooked, so I wanted to fix that. I cut the barrel again down to 4 5/8" and reinstalled the front sight, this time properly. Also, I finally got the grips done. I was going to do them in that really nice piece of English walnut, but it got lost in the mail. So, I made the grips out of Buckeye burl that had been stabilized. I think they turned out really well. I put many coats of lacquer on them, wet-sanded with 600 grit, buffed with rubbing compound, and then polished, all by hand. I had to make the escutcheons on both grips, and I made them out of stainless. The last thing to be done is that I am going to have it professionally bead-blasted, except for the cylinder, trigger, and hammer. What do you think???
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Nice work. That walnut looks like expensive jewellry! It really sets off the gun too. So now all that's missing is the range report on how well it shoots.
 
Nice work. You have an obvious talent, so I have a few suggestions to pass along.

Cosmetically, removing Ruger's graffiti would give the gun more of a custom look. Have you considered any other refinements? I'm thinking in terms of an over-sized base pin, a Taylor Throat, perhaps a lanyard ring, and you should consider swapping out the factory rear sight for a Rough Country rear sight from Bowen Classic Arms.

The over-sized base pin should be installed with attention given to fitting of the base pins and base pin locks. It can be turned down to precisely fit the base pin hole in the frame, or the frame can be drilled to match the diameter of the base pin. The base pin should be locked in place with a set screw that passes right through it and into a recess cut into the underside of the barrel, in addition to the spring loaded cross-bolt, particularly if the gun will see heavy loads. This prevents the base pin from jumping forward under recoil. Chances are you won't be removing the cylinder in the field or at the range anyway.

The Taylor Throat is in effect a free bore 1.5-2 caliber lengths ahead of the forcing cone, which allows the bullet to fully enter the barrel and align with the rifling before it is spun. Thus it enhances accuracy and reduces pressure.

The Rough Country rear sight provides greater strength to the adjustable rear sight. I had a factory rear sight fall to pieces on my SBH, that's when I bought one. Rather than the windage having a spring in the adjustment, the windage is adjusted by two opposing screws, and to move the blade, you back off one screw and advance the other. The sight is strongest when at the bottom of it's elevation adjustment, so I installed mine that way, and regulated the height of the front sight to it.

A black powder cylinder chamfer provides a nice look as well as being less wearing to your holster, and you have the skill to easily accomplish it. This is simply applying a bevelled edge to the forward edge of the cylinder. You can lighten the gun a little without any loss of strength and add a nice custom look by scalloping the rear of the recoil shield as well, if you care for that look.
 
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Bisley Mods

Boomer -

Thanks for the props! To answer your ideas on further customization: a BaseMountain #5 pin will be installed later, I had forgotten about that. I'm not sure about the lanyard ring, it seems a bit too 'Cowboy' for me, and I had no plans of using this in those terms. Also, I never really planned on it going into a holster, but I think I might chamfer the front edge of the cylinder for looks anyway, thanks. The Rough Country rear sight will likely appear on the gun in the future, but the original has held up well so far to loads as hot as I can go. I'm not sure about the longer throat for a couple of reasons: one, I think I would have to pay to have it done, rather than do it myself, and two: the barrel is so short already, I don't relish the idea of losing another 3/4" of rifling. Time will tell on that one. As far as the barrel scripture, I do want to remove that, but am afraid it will leave a flat spot on the barrel, though I may still do it anyway. The idea that makes me scratch my head is the idea of scalloping the recoil shield - I'm just not sure what you mean. Do you have any pics of that, so I could see what you speak of?
 
gabrielguitars said:
The idea that makes me scratch my head is the idea of scalloping the recoil shield - I'm just not sure what you mean. Do you have any pics of that, so I could see what you speak of?
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I'll try and post one later tonight or tomorrow morning. All scalloping means is that you remove material from the rear of the recoil shield, so that it's concave rather than round. The same can be done to the loading gate on the opposite side. It became a fairly common thing for custom pistol smiths to do to single actions when those were still chosen by some as discreet carry guns. I don't care for it myself, but some guys like it a lot.
 
You can loose the barrel script by turning the barrel down just slightly in a lathe so there will be no flat spots. It doesn't take enough from the finished barrel to really notice the change in diameter. After that, you could mask out any lettering you would like on the barrel such as caliber before you have it bead blasted and it looks very nice.
 
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