Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Ruger Blackhawk Grip Styles: Maybe this will Help Someone

Yet another testament to see and handle guns in person:

I want the treestand option of handgun hunting, so I went on an internet pursuit! Decided on a 45 Colt Blackhawk Flattop 4, 5/8" barrel shown below. Looks smooth and sexy!



I finally made it to a few stores to hold my "internet" selected model in hand. Boy am I glad I did! I was set to buy the gun off the net with the XR-3 grip, but discovered in store it was not going to work for me unless I wanted to abuse my middle finger! Also found out real quick the 4, 5/8" barrel was too short. 5.5" is where its at for me, for killing deer! (I could very easily see myself getting this Lipseys model for toying around and concealed carry)

The XR-3 felt cramped and just uncomfortable. Its too bad because a lot of shorter barrel models sport this XR-3 grip from Ruger. My hand size is that which fits a Glock 21 good, if your hands our this size then this info is of great use.

The XR-3 RED was not as cramped as bad, but it was pale in comparison to the Super Blackhawk grip.

The Super Blackhawk Grip gave me the perfect amount of real estate and moved my finger away from the back of the trigger guard. However, I felt the top of the grip to be a tad narrow and I had to reposition a few times on each hand hold as I layed it down and picked it up to test.

Then there was the Bisley grip Could I get away with that Super Blackhawk grip? Yeah, I could make it work, but...The show was over after I handled the Bisley Grip! Why Ruger doesn't offer this grip as an option to the shorter barrel guns out of the factory is beyond me! You can find them in "Distributor Exclusives" models, but then you have to wait for the distributors to piece together something that is going to work for you.

Other points of note:
The bluing jobs on the Blackhawks. I wanted a blued and wood Blackhawk. I've known Ruger to have some great bluing on thier rifles and older handguns, however, the bluing on the newer Blackhawks just plain sucks. They would be better off just giving them a matte finish in my opinion.

Why the 45 Colt? I can reload the "Ruger Only Loads" that match the 44 Magnum, and its bigger, and well, its a 45 COLT!

So, what does all this newfound information do for me? Well, it all drives me to select the Williams Shooters Supply distributor exclusive 5.5" stainless and laminated wood Bisley frame! This thing is like sex in your mouth!



BTW: I know where these are to be had. PM me if you want to buy either of these models!

Look on www.gunbroker.com, search for "ruger bisley" or maybe "ruger 45".

These particular models are at their lowest prices in years. 2-3 years ago you couldn't hardly find one under $600 and now I've seen them below $500 occasionally, and that's for NIB. The convertible models with a spare .45 ACP cylinder are only a little more.

Sorry, edited my post to be clear.

Thanks for the report.


ddj

That looks like it will meet your needs perfectly.

From shooting one or two heavy loads I can say that the Bisley frame works much better for me than the other styles from Ruger.

I think you will be pleased with your choice.