Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Ruger 44spl Flattop Bisley's: 4 5/8" vs. 5 1/2"

Just acquired a second Ruger Flattop Bisley in 44spl with a 4 5/8" barrel so I figured I'd shoot it side by side with my 5 1/2" model to see if I noticed any practical differences.

I shot both revolvers at 25 yards with a load consisting of a 240gr Oregon Trail LSWC over 16gr of 2400 powder and a large pistol primer.

After shooting 30 rounds through each, here's my conclusions:

1. Accuracy: The extra barrel length of the 5 1/2" model, though it doesn't look like much when the guns are side by side, does make a difference in sight picture. The front sights are equal in width, and with the 4 5/8" model the front sight fills the rear sight notch completely with a small hair of overlap, which made me miss slightly to the left. Normally when I miss I miss high/low (which is how I missed when I shot the 5 1/2" Bisley) so I'm attributing the windage errors to my failure to center the front sight finely enough with the shorter sight radius.

(A note on "missing": My test targets are 3x5" cards at 25 yards posted in vertical orientation on large cardboad backings. A "miss" is anything off the card when shooting offhand, and partial hits score as misses. I don't shoot groups with my revolvers unless I'm testing loads, and then I do that off a bench).

2. Recoil: Suprisingly, I didn't notice much difference in the recoil between the two guns or much difference in muzzle rise. The fact that both had identical grips and very similar trigger pulls made the shooting feel pretty consistent between the two. The big difference, as noted above, was the sight picture.

3. Handling: Both Bisley's balance beautifully, with the difference being that the 4 5/8" model has a neutral balance whereas the 5 1/2" gun has just a slight forward bias. Not enough to favor one over the other, in my opinion. Both are heavy revolvers, given the amount of extra steel in the Bisley grip compared to standard Flattops.

So, I'm glad I have both but I'm likely going to take the Bisley frame off the 4 5/8" model and have it fitted to my 5 1/2" 45LC/45ACP Flattop and replace it with an alloy grip frame to lighten up the short gun for packing around. With a wider rear sight notch on the 4 5/8" gun I think the practical accuracy difference I experienced would disappear. Might have to look into doing that.

All in all a good day at the range, and there's no substitute for side by side shooting when it comes to making comparisons.

Nice looking pair...I mean handguns.

I love the flattop size frames. I really need one of the 44spls.

Agree with you on the sight picture. I plan to have my rear sight opened up soon. One thing about a sight blade...if you don't like it, you can buy another and start again!

I swap out my sight blades to .100" thick ones and it really helps. Here's the latest one done on an Old Model SBH bisley.

A friend has the blue Bisley and a stainless XR3 Flat Top in .44 Special. He says he likes the feel of the Bisley more but notices that the recoil with the Bisley grip slam his palm more than the XR3 that more rolls in his hand...I have found the same...

As to the sights...just can't understand why the manufacturers think that the same blade thickness can be used for a 4" and a 8 3/8" barrel. Trying to shoot long range especially or under lower than ideal light conditions one either needs a wider rear notch or a slimmer front blade...

Nice guns....Bob

Nice Bisleys! I have a SS XR3 .44 spec reg Blackhawk and have the same problem with the sight picture. Does Ruger sell a wider rear blade or will it have to be custom?

I'm thinking it will have to be a custom job. Or maybe one could thin down the factory front sight with a file and then cold blue it.

At least the .44spl flattops can have the blade replaced because it is pinned.

I have one of the 357 flattops and the blade is part of the base and the base is soldered on. Add the fact that Ruger evidently believes that a front sight blade should have rounded edges and you are looking at a screwed up sight picture that is not easily remedied by replacing a front sight or front sight blade.