Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns My Bowen Nimrod arrived last week

Finally got some free time to get pictures of my Bowen Nimrod that arrived last week. I sent in my gun to Bowen on September 4, 2014, so the wait was really short by custom revolver standards.

Base gun was a Ruger stainless Bisley 45 Colt. Bowen converted it to a 6-shot 45 Colt Nimrod; line-bored factory diameter cylinder, new barrel with integral front sight, action job, etc. The front sight has three gold bars for long-range plinking, and the rear sight is a Bowen target model.

Cary Chapman made the grips from merino ram's horn and they are fantastic. The translucence, reflectivity and variety of colors in the horn make them a treat to look at in all different kinds of light. They're also a challenge to photograph and I can guarantee they look better in person. I had Bowen deck the grip frame before he sent it to Cary for grips and the grip-to-frame fit is awesome.

I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet (going out tomorrow) but I have no doubt it'll be a shooter. I chose to go with a 6-shot .45 Colt because I felt it provided the best balance of power, portability, and controllability. I also went with a 6-shot cylinder to save some weight compared to a 5-shot 45 Colt. As can be seen below, my Nimrod is only an ounce or so heavier than my Dad's Accusport Stainless Bisley 45 Colt. The grips on that gun were also made by Cary Chapman and are ivory micarta. I've had them since 2006 and they've worked great for both my Dad and I.

All in all I'm very pleased. The freewheeling cylinder is absolutely silent in rotation and locks up like a bank vault. The trigger pull is crisp and the gun balances well in the hand with only a slight forward bias. Just enough to take the sting out of muzzle whip, I suspect, but I'll know more tomorrow after I shoot it.

I've wanted a Bowen Nimrod for ten years, since I was in graduate school and barely had two nickels to rub together. The one thing I could afford on Bowen's website was his book "The Custom Revolver," which at the time sold for the princely sum of $40 if I recall correctly. I bought that book and have nearly read it to pieces over the years. I've got the Kindle version now and my hard copy is getting deserved rest next to my first edition of Keith's Sixguns. This revolver may not be the "best" or "perfect," but it's exactly what I want. It was expensive, but I sold a bunch of guns I hadn't shot in years and I don't miss a single one of them. My plan for this Nimrod is to load up the 1,000 Starline cases I've got sitting on the shelf with 285gr bullets over HS-6 and start practicing. If I can get good enough by October, I'm taking it Elk hunting.




Front sight, just like the picture in Bowen's book. When I ordered it I just asked him to make it look like the book, and he delivered:



Rear sight, I went with the target model because I like the serrated rear blade:



Cary's work on these grips is just gorgeous:







Weight compared with a standard stainless Bisley 45 Colt:

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Hard to beat a Bisley in 45 Colt!

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