Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Shooting the bisley 45

Today I went back to the range with my 5.5" bisley 45 to make sure I was zeroed nice & tight with this new 2dogs front sight I put on a few days ago. It had shot really good for me off the sandbags after taking the Bowen rear sight off & putting the factory Ruger rear sight back on, I just didn't have enough adjustment with the Bowen.

Today I was in my usual reclining position with my piece of leather between my knees & starting out at 50 yds. We've had a cold front move in & the wind was blowing, rain is expected & snow by Sunday or Monday, it's on! Anyway my first shot went high towards the top of the steel clanger, you can see it in the first photo, and it knocked the steel clanger clear over! My buddy Paul was pretty impressed & so was I, I haven't knocked one down in a long time. The load is 18.5 grs of 2400 & a 260 gr Keith that's powder coated. This load, minus the powder coating has taken a lot of game for me.

I stood the target back up & noticed a rock had chipped the paint a bit on the right side at about 2 o'clock, that's not a hit. You can see the next 4 shots in a nice little cluster & just a tick to the right. 2 clicks windage took care of that & I moved back to 65 yds & shot 5 more rounds. Now I was sitting out in the wind & I knew the first shot was right. I made no correction & ran the next 4 shots, you can see all 5 shots with 4 of them centered.

Now to get my son to install 2 more of 2dogs sights for me if he'll put down his fishing pole long enough. He told me while he was standing in the river last night that about 35 head of elk walked right up on him & one big 6X6 bull was bugling his brains out, he didn't have his bow!!





Dick

Nice shooting!

Nice rig!

Excellent!!!!

Good shootin!

I really like the ability to swap front blades in a SBH. I want to try a few.
Glad it worked out for you, and you had a great day shooting the 45LC.
You are ready for the hunt, good luck this season.

Good shooting!
I recently bought the same revolver, with an extra cylinder in .45 ACP, and I'm just starting to get it up and running.
Did you have to open up the cylinder throats?
Measured or estimated velocity with the 18.5/2400 260 load?

Good shooting! (I love my 5.5" Bisley!)

I need one of those or maybe an SBH. The Bisely looks to be more shootable for me. I used to shoot the plowshare handled Old Army in competition. Lots of fun but the handle change might be better for me. Looks like you have the elk load figured out. That bullet mold is in the basement but I thought the 300 WFN from Veral Smith might be the thing for me. Good luck and Be Well, Rusty

GunDoc7, sorry for the late reply, missed your questions. Yes I had to have the throats opened to .4525" on the bisley & both of my old models, a 7 1/2" & a 4 5/8". The velocity with the bisely & that load clocked 1125 fps.

I've taken 3 elk with the bisley & one with the 7 1/2" OM but a different load on the elk.

Dick

Rusty,

I've had two 45 Bisleys and both doted on that bullet with H110 and LilGun. If it's the same mould I have, its takes up less case capacity than the 255 Keith and the RCBS 270 SAA bullets.
When the deer it tipped over with 13-14 grs. BlueDot died like the 1,300-1,400 fps loads, I decided ringing ears made hitting less fun.
It's a grand bullet in the Smith 25-2.

It also doesn't need hot loads like the 325 WFN to be accurate at 100 yards. One of the better LBT bullets.

I prefer the Bisley to both the Blackhawk and SuperBlackhawk, as the sights set closer to the hand and the grip is all steel.

Dick,

I think you are ready for elk.

Good shooting!

Dick,

Thanks for the reply!

Best,
Gun Doc

What bullet are you using for elk...

Bob

I absolutely love my 5.5" Bisley! Bought it back around early '02. It ain't going anywhere.
Unfortunately, the only animal I've had in front of it was a pig (it died).

I gotta kill sumthin' with it this year...........

Always thought the bisley rugers looked like a lot of fun.

I ever look for something new and different that may well be where I go...

Do the .44s require throat work like the .45s? I like what field grade shows with his .44 special...

It's been my understanding that Ruger's latest offerings have had a more correct throat diameter of around .452 or so.

Once upon time, getting the throats opened up was pretty standard procedure, as the throats ran around .449.

If the .44's in either Special or Magnum ever needed attention, I'm not aware of it.

I love my .45 Colt, but it'd be tough to make a (dimensionally correct) Bisley suck in any caliber.............

I really like my .45 Colt Bisley...

Jim Stroh had worked this one over before I got it, although I fitted the stag grips, installed the Ruger medallions..

I think the Bisley grip configuration is one of the most comfortable to shoot, especially with big boomer rounds.

It's not the same as Elmer's famous #5, but along the same lines.

Below is a picture of the Bisley and Bill Grover's version of Elmer's #5. You can see the grip similarity. The Grover's Longhorn Arms gun has two factory cylinders, one in .45 Colt, the other in .45 Mag. The holster is a Bill Grover design, a high cross draw that carries very well..

DF

Bob, I used a 325 gr LBT with H110 on 3 of the elk & the bisley & I used the old reliable 260 gr Keith & 24 grs of H110 on the other elk (168 yds) lasered by my buddy. The 260 gr bullet is really all you need. I never recover a bullet.

Dick

Penn Bullets 270 gr. Thunderhead is an interesting option for the .45 Colt for maximum meplat.

Google Penn Bullets for more info.

DF