Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Limited Run Blackhawk Bisley 45 Convertible

I have seen a few of these on Gunbroker and can't find any other info on these. Does anyone have any clue who initiated the run on these?

The info I have gathered from Gunbroker is:

Part number: 0472
Cat number: KRNB-455WX
Stainless construction, Bisley grip/hammer, 45 Colt and 45 ACP cylinders provided, 5.5" barrel, black laminate grips.

This thing has got me all kinds of interested but I was wondering if any one new who is distributing them.

Li[psey's did a run of these last year, and they've been hard to get hold of. At least at a decent price...

I appreciate the info. I was just about to delete this topic. I did a little more digging and found that this was a previous run. I know the well is dry so I will see what else I can find--or just pull the trigger on one fo teh Gunbroker offerings.

The nice thing about the Lipsey's guns is that they were built on the 357 Mag frame. This makes it a lighter/handier sixgun than a standard Blackhawk, but it is not capable of handling the pressures generated by the heavy loads listed in the reloading manuals for fullsize 45 Colt Blackhawks.

Just want you to be aware of that before you buy one.

FYI, Brian Pearce wrote a very nice article on handloads for the Lipsey's series 45 convertible guns in Handloader magazine last summer/fall.

I wasn't aware this particular gun wasn't rated for the heavy 45 loads.

My dealer has a line on one of the Williams Bisley .45 Colts that I think I will pursue instead--but you have me wondering if it too is not rated for the heavier loads.

Here is the spec sheet: Williams Bisley .45 Colt

Can anyone here comment on that?

We need to be careful which one we�re talking about.

The BISLEY convertible Blackhawk is stainless only, 5 �� barrel only, is built on the standard Blackhawk frame and therefore is capable of the 30,000 psi loads any other .45 colt Blackhawk can handle.

The convertible FLATTOP Blackhawk .45 Colt has the old XR3 grip and is built on the �mid-size� frame, same as the Anniversary .357,the .44 Specials and all of the New Vaquero models. I forget the pressure the Flattop is able to handle but IIRC it�s around 21 kpsi or 23 kpsi.

The Bisley convertibles are available on gunbroker or were the last time I looked a couple months ago.

This is the only convertible listed on the Ruger site.

http://ruger.com/products/newModelBlackhawkConvertible/models.html

Lipsey's wasn't the only one who did that, but at this exact moment I can't remember who did the stainless ones. The one in the photo looks like it is made on the larger standard New Model Blackhawk frame which can handle the heavier loads.

All I'm sayin' is: the fact that Ruger built 45 Colt/ACP convertible guns on both the fullsize Blackhawk frame and the smaller flattop frame (Lipsey's & possibly others) was/is something that newbs need to be made aware of before they try to shoot 30,000 psi loads in a gun rated for 22,000 psi.

I have one of the Bisley convertibles and I love it. I'm not sure why folks think they are hard to find. I told my non-gun person wife that I wanted one for Christmas and she managed to find one on gunbroker. They are there everyday. I think it was around $550 for the gun, brand new, with two cylinders. Seemed like a reasonable deal to me.

The Bisley Convertible 45 Colt/45 ACP guns were first offered by Acusport. Now Williams offers the same gun without the 45 ACP cylinder. They might be offering convertibles as well, but I haven't seen it listed. These guns are built on the larger "44 Mag" frame size and can handle the 30,000 CUP loads just fine.

The Flattop 45 Convertibles we offer are built on the smaller "357 Old Model" frame size and are not rated for the 30,000 CUP loads. Like it was said above, these guns should be fine for loads up to 45 ACP +P pressures. Brian Pearce did a great article on them in Handloader.

Hope this clears up some of the confusion.

Jason/Lipsey's

I have this pistol and it is on the Standard Bisley Frame

Those were not, and have not yet been, built with the Bisley grip. The only mid-frame Bisley's are those made for Lipsey's in 44spl.

If we're confused now, just think how collectors will feel trying to sort all this out in 50-60 years!

Edited to add: If Lipsey's were to commission a run of Flattop Bisley 45's I know they'd sell at least four I'll take two of each; two blue, two stainless...

Thanks Jason. This is exactly what I needed to know.

Nice looking Bisley.

Thanks, I replaced the cylinder pin with a Keith Belt Mountain and replaced all the springs with a Wolf Kit and fitted the front sight with Red Insert. The pistol has the 45 acp cylinder with it, but i have never installed it.

Them grips are sweet.

I'm not that big on single action revolvers, but I do like the Bisley. Sure would be a good basis for a 5 shot .480

That's why I'm looking for one. Although I'm going to go with a 5-shot 500 Linebaugh.

"Edited to add: If Lipsey's were to commission a run of Flattop Bisley 45's I know they'd sell at least four wink I'll take two of each; two blue, two stainless..."

Oregon45... Wrong again, It would be Five, I would take the stainless version!

Tex... "Sure would be a good basis for a 5 shot .480" Why oh why doesn't Ruger do this? All of the reasons I've heard are bullsh**, if a half dozen or so smith's can do it I am sure Ruger can somehow manage! JEC "JASON" is Lipsey's listening?

Jerry