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A .44 is reborn.....again
A .44 is reborn.....again by Craig Copeland
My very first big bore revolver was a Ruger Redhawk .44 Magnum. At 16 I was shooting in the local bowing pin matches with the big Ruger and with that sixgun began a lifelong passion for revolvers chambered in cartridges whose caliber begins with a four (or five!). Some guns come and go and that Redhawk went down the road long ago. This story is about one that stayed. It was born as a 4 5/8” stainless New Model Super Blackhawk, purchased nearly 20yrs ago in 1998. No doubt chosen in the spirit of John Taffin’s notion of the “Perfect Packin’ Pistol”. Unlike the original Old Model and subsequent New Model Super Blackhawks, Ruger chose to equip the 4 5/8” and 5½” models with the standard Blackhawk grip frame, in lieu of the square backed Dragoon style grip frame. Great for fast handling and moderate loads but not quite so comfortable with fire-breathing heavy loads. I had always heard that for handling heavy recoil, there is none better than the Ruger Bisley. I’d never tried one but decided to take the chance and so a stainless conversion kit was procured from Brownells, along with a set of cowboy grip panels from Hogue. Soon the package came and I spent a couple afternoons with files and sanding blocks. Before I knew it, I had a Bisley and a configuration never offered by Ruger. It wasn’t perfect but it was mine and I was ready for action!
I knew I had something special on the very first shot. The difference was night and day. I almost couldn’t believe how much more comfortable it was to shoot and thus began my love affair with the Ruger Bisley. Although I must attribute much of that shooting comfort to the rounded shape and broader thickness of the Hogue cowboy grips. I carried this sixgun in an El Paso Austin rig for several years and hunted with it extensively until it became an extension of my hand.
I knew I had something special on the very first shot. The difference was night and day. I almost couldn’t believe how much more comfortable it was to shoot and thus began my love affair with the Ruger Bisley. Although I must attribute much of that shooting comfort to the rounded shape and broader thickness of the Hogue cowboy grips. I carried this sixgun in an El Paso Austin rig for several years and hunted with it extensively until it became an extension of my hand.
A few years later, I decided to take it up a notch and have this favorite sixgun finished off properly. I had already pulled the barrel and sent it off to David Clements to remove the warning label but this time the whole sixgun went to the Clements shop for some spiffing up. It was fitted with a Belt Mountain #5 basepin, custom front sight, the action tuned, the grip frame refitted and round butted. The grip frame was sent off to Cary Chapman for grips of American holly. A favorite sixgun had become a treasure and it stayed that way for over 10yrs.
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