Bisleys in 357 Mag?

[pdcrig]

So, new to the forum and figured I'd start out by getting some education. I should have joined years ago but never got around to it until now.
I'm a big fan of Ruger revolvers and have owned many over the years. Due to youthful ignorance and fickleness I'm down to only one Ruger at the moment. I'm a huge fan of the Bisley design and hope to build up my Bisley collection in the future. That said, how rare are the .357 caliber Bisleys? I don't see them very often and when I do, they seem to be asking way too much. They made them for several years correct? There have to be thousands of them. RL Wilson's Mr. Ruger and His Guns only gives production up until about 1993. How many used fluted cylinders versus unfluted?
Thanks in advance for any info/advice.

 

[BPGuy]

If you wouldn't mind a Vaquero, there are plenty of them out there. If you're looking for a plain old fashioned Blackhawk, then yes, they are harder to find. A quick search on Gunbroker revealed this one:

http://www.gunbroker.com/item/671836426

I was chasing one a few years ago, it ended up selling for about $100 more than I was willing to pay. The one above is already $250 or so above what the one I was chasing went for. Pricey!

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Welcome to the forum. If I remember correctly there were both .41mag and .357mag Bisleys made for a few years besides the .44mag's. All were 7.5" with unfluted cylinders. Very early 44mag Bisleys had a fluted cylinder.

I have both a .357mag and a .44mag Bisley that I bought around the same time.
This is my .357mag with a Red Dot scope.

 

[pdcrig]

Thank you gentlemen. I would lean towards the Blackhawk model as it has sights. I did have a 45 LC Bisley Vaquero when the first came out but parted with it because the "color cased" finish was rusting too quickly in the Mississippi woods.

Yes, the example on GB is a little pricey. I guess he thinks the gold inlay makes it more desirable. I'm not sure that's factory. I do like it apart from that though.

 

[2 dogs]

My 357 is the 5 1/2" stainless version. It is quite a good shooter.