Stay at home Ruger build 38-40 modern Antique

I have a new project starting, on a 10mm/40 cal Stainless Blackhawk. As the barrel is a .401 bore, the 38-40 will work perfectly with the factory barrel. The goal is to create a SS Bisley in 38-40 to appear as if was a factory offering. Parts are arriving now, and the donor gun arrives today also.
I have always had a thing for antique cartridges, single shots and single actions. This is to be a modern take, on an antique caliber.

I'm assuming you know they sold a blued Blackhawk in those calibers years ago but not with a Bisley frame or stainless? Good luck with your project.

Yes, the Buckeye Special was made with a 38-40 and 10mm in blue with a standard grip frame. I have one and enjoy it, but most of my revolvers are Bisley, that's why I am creating a never made gun as a novelty. It will be a 6 1/2" barrel all Stainless with Bisley grip frame and roll marked Bisley cylinder, belt mountain base pin, front fiber optic green sight and rear bullseye peep sight. A free spinning pawl and action job will finish it off. I have a set of Amboyna Burl grips for it, and I'll lightly round butt the grip frame. I will still have the stock fluted cylinders in 10mm and 40S&W.
I have a reamer for 38-40 and a friend will fit the stock SS .357 Bisley cylinder to the gun. The cylinder is a little long, so it will have great tolerances.

It's a darn good cartridge in rifle, revolver, or Contender. I have a Colt Bisley (1909--just in time for the Mexican Revolution), a 1923 Colt New Service, and an 1896 Winchester Hi-Wall Model 1885 single shot rifle and love 'em all.

Still don't know WHY this cartridge was developed, and especially why they called it a .38-40 instead of a (.40-38 which it really was).

My amateur theories are: 1) the tapered ctg. fed a little better into Winchester repeater magazines than the original .44-40, 2) the tapered cartridge is easier and therefore A BIT quicker to load into a Colt SAA, than the .45 or .44-40 (especially if you are in a REAL hurry), and 3) .40 cal rifles were VERY popular in single shots in that period and Winchester wanted to offer the ".40 lovers" a repeater. All speculation and worth what you paid for it....

I think your finished product will be a dandy. Please let us see it and know how it performs when it's finished!

I have the 10mm/40SW stainless and had the 40SW reamed to 38-40. I enjoy the 38-40 so much that I've yet to shoot the 10mm out of it. Looking forward to seeing yours with the Bisley grip frame. Sounds like a fun project.

Before he got PO'd for me complaining about a 3 year wait, Bobby Tyler made me a Vaquero in 38-40. Native American engraving, Colt barrel, and bighorn grips from Executioner. Matching Bowie and an EPS John Wayne outfit. Also, he re-blued an original '92 Winnie take-down, short-frifle and engraved it. Both firearms are case hardened. Pictures posted on other threads!

mrbumps said:

I have the 10mm/40SW stainless and had the 40SW reamed to 38-40. I enjoy the 38-40 so much that I've yet to shoot the 10mm out of it. Looking forward to seeing yours with the Bisley grip frame. Sounds like a fun project.

Click to expand...

This is the starting firearm. I really like the looks of the nonfluted cylinder, so I'm just putting the 10mm and 40S&W aside, and reaming a SS Bisley cylinder from a .357. It has the Ruger Bisley rollmark on the nonfluted cylinder, which I think will add to the " factory look" I'm attempting to get from it. Might make a few people wonder why they have never seen one like this. The sight won't be factory, but they will help me shoot it, and with my getting old eyes, I'm good with that

BearBio said:

Before he got PO'd for me complaining about a 3 year wait, Bobby Tyler made me a Vaquero in 38-40. Native American engraving, Colt barrel, and bighorn grips from Executioner. Matching Bowie and an EPS John Wayne outfit. Also, he re-blued an original '92 Winnie take-down, short-frifle and engraved it. Both firearms are case hardened. Pictures posted on other threads!

Click to expand...

Can you at least give us a link to those posts?

I'll just re-post. Hope these work!


https://ibb.co/KsnRs4P

https://ibb.co/JCtWjL3

https://ibb.co/kBqx50k

https://ibb.co/cFWx7pw

https://ibb.co/Swd1Yzx

And a couple of my "real" 1901 Colt Bisley from "The Rez".

https://ibb.co/LQRhmrJ

https://ibb.co/4Md7J3b

https://ibb.co/0yPqdZ5

Shipped to Mexico City

Those two revolvers are a treat to see (and probably to shoot)! I don't much like engraved guns, but your Ruger has just enough of the right engraving.

Your "Mexican Beesley" looks just like mine except that mine has the original black hard rubber grips, no engraving and much of its bluing; case colors are gray, tho.

Mine was "purchased" in San Luis Rio Colorado with a used two-tone Colt Frontier Scout and ten boxes of .22 LR in 1961. .22 shells were better than money in Mexico then and a quality revolver that shot them was very desirable. .38-40 shells were unobtainable by any legal means (and hard to get by ANY means) there. Bisleys were called "abrebotellas" (bottle openers), but I never tried it. But I've never seen one with a broken hammer, either.

I've heard about opening bottles with them, before but, like you, have never tried it! The Colt has traces of gold washing in the flutes and a few other places. Did it come from a rancheria that was broken into or from the hand of a dead "Federale"? Quien sabe?

I always wondered why Bisleys were so popular in Mexico compared to the US--there seemed to be more there than here, although the Mexican government's policies seem to have made many of those return to the US in the end.

"That rascal Villa" (as my grandfather, who helped try to catch him--and couldn't--called him) favored one above all other handguns and that may have helped their popularity. But Bisley production was nearly over when he was in play....so they must have been in-country when the Revolution really got going.

Or did Colt's "dump" a bunch of "leftovers" in MX at low prices after the model's production was done?

The rifleman aiming at a "tigre" on the barrel of your Colt is a VERY Mexican touch!

Great pics BearBio, thanx for sharing..........

bearskinner said:

I have a new project starting, on a 10mm/40 cal Stainless Blackhawk. As the barrel is a .401 bore, the 38-40 will work perfectly with the factory barrel. The goal is to create a SS Bisley in 38-40 to appear as if was a factory offering. Parts are arriving now, and the donor gun arrives today also.
I have always had a thing for antique cartridges, single shots and single actions. This is to be a modern take, on an antique caliber.

Click to expand...

What is cylinder length from front to rear face? Do 10mm/40 rounds go into cylinder full length, as in counterbored cylinders for rimmed cartridges?

Mike Armstrong said:

Those two revolvers are a treat to see (and probably to shoot)! I don't much like engraved guns, but your Ruger has just enough of the right engraving.

Your "Mexican Beesley" looks just like mine except that mine has the original black hard rubber grips, no engraving and much of its bluing; case colors are gray, tho.

Mine was "purchased" in San Luis Rio Colorado with a used two-tone Colt Frontier Scout and ten boxes of .22 LR in 1961. .22 shells were better than money in Mexico then and a quality revolver that shot them was very desirable. .38-40 shells were unobtainable by any legal means (and hard to get by ANY means) there. Bisleys were called "abrebotellas" (bottle openers), but I never tried it. But I've never seen one with a broken hammer, either.

Click to expand...

THANK YOU ALL!!!!

I have Cherokee/Chickasaw heritage on my maternal side (My grandmother was registered with both tribes on the Dawes Role and my DNA shows about 17%) Both of these will go to my daughter for her daughters. The Winnie will go to her or to my son-in-law.

Now, back to regularly scheduled programming!

What is cylinder length from front to rear face? Do 10mm/40 rounds go into cylinder full length, as in counterbored cylinders for rimmed cartridges?[/quote]

I measured the buckeye special two cylinders, that came from Ruger in 10mm/38-40. The two cylinders are identical. On the project the two cylinders came factory in 10mm/ 40S&W. They are both identical also. If the extra cylinder cannot be used, I can always use the 40S&W cylinder, ream it to 38-40 and use that as it is unfired and was made with the gun. The Bisley grip frame, hammer and trigger should be a simple change.

I bothered Ruger for years at trade shows and via email suggesting they should make a 10mm/40S&W convertible blackhawk. When they finally did I bought one in each barrel length. Below my shorter one with one of my 357/9mm convertibles.



I could see some of the 40 S&W cylinders being machined out for 10mm mag. Granted only a couple companies sell loaded ammo but Starline sells the brass.

Mike Armstrong said:

Still don't know WHY this cartridge was developed, and especially why they called it a .38-40 instead of a (.40-38 which it really was).

My amateur theories are: 1) the tapered ctg. fed a little better into Winchester repeater magazines than the original .44-40, 2) the tapered cartridge is easier and therefore A BIT quicker to load into a Colt SAA, than the .45 or .44-40 (especially if you are in a REAL hurry), and 3) .40 cal rifles were VERY popular in single shots in that period and Winchester wanted to offer the ".40 lovers" a repeater. All speculation and worth what you paid for it....

Click to expand...

According to historical information, Winchester felt there was a demand for a mid-power range, flatter shooting additional cartridge when the 44-40 was the sole chambering for the '73.

They came up with an excellent .40-38 that fit the need. Then marketing got involved to further insure customers understood it was a mid-power cartridge and changed the designation to .38-40. But of course it was still a .40 cal with 38 grains of black powder cartridge.

That's a great project!

My 1983 vintage NM 357 large frame converted to 38-40 and it's a great shooter.
I've dressed it in steel grip frame with steel ejector housing, wide Montado Vaquero hammer, grooved trigger, and thinned the grips:



I call it a .40 WCF Magnum because of it's great potential with reloads as described here:
http://www.singleactions.com/files/3840WinchesterArticle.pdf

That is nice, Hondo........