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

Hard to say. When they built the .454 and then the .480 in the Super Redhawk, they went to the super-strong Carpenter Custom 465 stainless steel, which has that dark gray color to it. I'm guessing they felt the gun was marginal for the .480, otherwise.

I think my SRH cylinder could be reamed out to accept the .475 Linebaugh. Then I could have a Ruger Revo and rifle (#1S) in the same butt-whooping caliber. I know I could shoot .480's in the longer chamber of the existing #1 rifles, but accuracy could suffer.

On his website Bowen suggests he does not want to try machining the Carpenter Custom 465. Don't know if someone else could try it.

The 480 Bisley has come up several times in talks with Ruger. There is more to it than most think. We do have some cool projects in the works. Hopefully 2013 we will be a good year for single action exclusives.

As a public service:

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

Just scroll over the revolvers available from Lipsey's.

Jason,

Thanks for the reply.

The reasons I dismiss are "the difficulty of making it a 5 shot" Huh! and "the frame is not strong enough"... never mind the custom 475's that seem to be doing fine.

But what a tease you are; " Hopefully 2013 we will be a good year for single action exclusives."

I can wait through 2014 for my 480 Bisley... If I'm shooting my 'Lipsey's Special' Stainless Bisley .45 Colt/.45 ACP convertable on the 'New Vaquero' sized frame (Personally prefer the 'sight guard' on the full sized blackhawk vs. the flat top's lack of one).

Thanks,

Jerry

Yep.

Ruger oughta have a a revo & rifle combo in either .475 or .480. The .475 is certainly a good caliber in the Number One, but I wish they'd done a .480 instead - or offered the SRH in .475 as well A five shot Bisley in .480 would also be okay

Heck, I might even buy a bolt action .480, but I could see the magazine getting complicated Puma/Rossi of course imported some Win 92 clones in .480, which occasionally turn up used, but I really don't want to buy an import.

Bea,

How big of a pain in the azz was the red insert? I'm longing for something similar on my Bisley.

George

Not really all that hard some needle files and red insert kit that you mix hardener and color powder . I cut the slot and mix sight material, fill the little dovetail and fast dry with hair dryer and then file to shape , maybe 30 to 40 min job taking your time.

Not to hijack, but I really like the look of the gray stainless.

Thanks! That may be the solution to my quest for a "
better" front sight.

George

I actually have a NIB SS Ruger Bisley Blackhawk convertible in 45LC/45ACP with the 5.5" barrel and grey/black laminated grip that I haven't listed in the classifieds yet. If you're interested, shoot me a PM.....

No problem George

Oh that's tempting...

And you can have at it.

Good grief those arms are ugly!

FWIW I would deal with Nebraska in a heartbeat, were I in the market for one.

bea175... dude, I respect you and all, but please take that skank's picture out of your sig line... it cracked my monitor this morning when I opened this thread and read your post...

I cannot imagine how anyone would find that skag even remotely attractive... I wouldn't f**k her with Obama's dick...

you know you have this photo taped to your Chitter Wall

And I very well might - if I didn't just buy a gun safe this morning Really nice safe. Really didn't want to, but had to.

Thanks EE and back at ya. BTW - did I mention that I have an easy payment plan for new safe owners???

Plenty on Gunbroker for around $550.

I did a lot of looking around for just the right revolver. Looked at lot's of Rugers, then customized Rugers... Finally went with a Freedom Arms. Ya, I know it's a lot of $, but in the end I figured why mess with a factory gun and spend more $ trying to make it a custom, and hoping it will shoot that accurately.
I don't need an extra cylinder, I handload.

'cuz no factory makes these and accuracy is never a worry if one selects the right builder.

Freedoms are pretty awesome. Both of mine shoot very accurate. Better than most can shoot. Going the custom route really wont improve that because its already there. The looks of a custom, everything is hand fitted and made for that particular gun. Thats the kind of stuff that sets them apart. I love both of my freedoms. I kept my 475 and sold the 454 to help fund a custom build on a bisley. The 454 has an action job and its pretty close in feel to a full on custom. You cant go wrong either way. Here is my linebaugh.

Is that a Bowen? She's absolutely beautiful.

I thought that would get a rise. (grin)
I actually looked hard at several customs, but always wanted an FA. EDM, that IS a fine looking revolver, but I would like to hear about that fine rifle in the background.
I am currently shooting a couple of custom rifles, and have commissioned over a half-dozen of them. I'm just not enough of a pistolero to justify a full custom. My 1911 is a S&W performance center gun, and hunting revolver is the FA. I want really accurate hand guns that function flawlessly, but am satisfied with custom shop factory guns.

That is a gorgeous piece!

If you didn't have the $$ for a full custom, what might be the first couple "improvements" you'd make to a standard Bisley to improve performance/accuracy?

Two things which will likely improve any Ruger big bore single action are to make sure the throats are correct and firelap out the constriction where the barrel threads into the frame.

Ruger 44. Magnums IME have great throats but the .45 Colts can be iffy. If they are tight a trip to cylindersmith.com will get them a perfect .4525" for cast. There are a couple of firelapping kits available to open up the constriction common to Ruger big bores, I've use the LBT kit in the past or just Wheeler 320 grit recently.

Results can be "better" to spectacular depending on how bad the measurements were off to begin with. I don't know how much cylindersmith charges these days to open throats but it's real reasonable (you only mail in the cylinder) and firelapping is very cheap.

A trigger job never hurts but that can apply to just about any Ruger revolver.

These were shot with a 5 1/2" stainless Bisley .45 Colt after the above remedies. All groups over bags at 25 yards.

Lee 255 RF, 10.0 Unique. 6 shots into 1".



RCBS 270 SAA, again 10.0 Unique. 6 shots in 1 1/8". This is a warmish load recoil-wise but easy enough to shoot in the Bisley.



Back to the Lee 255 RF with 8.0 231 - 9 good shots with an "oops!". Those 9 (this is really two five shots groups on top of each other) went into 1 5/8". Got the load of 8.0 231 from a Dave Scovill article and it has been a great load in every .45 Colt I've used it in.



You can add doodads like a Belt Mountain cylinder pin, I have one and just went back to the factory pin since I couldn't see any difference in accuracy and I didn't need to carry a hex wrench with me to remove the cylinder.

New sights are nice but I've never really needed those either. The real improvement I can see from a new rear sight is more positive windage clicks, Ruger rear sights are horribly mushy in that regard and windage clicks are a real sometime thing.

Thanks Jim. I'll keep that load for down the road too.....