My brand new Ruger Bisley Blackhawk stainless in .45 Colt

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Fanner50

Bearcat
Joined
Jun 8, 2008
Messages
71
Location
NW Florida
Got it today, May 11, 2022. It is not on Ruger's website. 5&1/2" bbl, engraved cylinder. It is a beauty. First Blackhawk I've seen in ages. I walked in to the LGS and there she was. Now she's mine. I'm thinking its a Lipsey's special edition.
 

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contender

Ruger Guru
Joined
Sep 18, 2002
Messages
25,145
Location
Lake Lure NC USA
From what little I can see of the pictures,, it MAY be a "Williams Distributor" exclusive. Not a Lipsey's. They haven't been offered in several years.
Now,, if it's a newly produced gun,, it may still be a distributor exclusive,, so it won't show up on the Ruger website.
 

JimA

Bearcat
Joined
Feb 17, 2008
Messages
47
Location
SE Michigan
Looks like mine too. Mine also needed the throats opened up. Shown with its little brother the flattop . Both .45 convertables.
 

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akbluz

Blackhawk
Joined
Oct 9, 2006
Messages
522
Location
Wasilla, Alaska
That's a great revolver you've got there. I got one in 2001 made for Acusport. Mine's a model #
KRBN-455W chambered in .45Colt. It has rosewood grips - and it's a great shooter. It'll be passed down to one of my "grandboys".
 

dwayne

Single-Sixer
Joined
Sep 22, 2013
Messages
285
Location
Eastern Virginia
It does indeed look like yours. What sights did you replace the factory ones with?
The rear is a Bowen Target sight. The front started life as a rough blank and I shaped and blued it to my liking. My eyes are too old for the ramp front sights that Ruger uses … they "wash out" on me in direct sunlight.
 

vlavalle

Single-Sixer
Joined
Apr 10, 2022
Messages
261
Location
Chandler, AZ
What does "...Opening the cylinder throats..." mean? I also have a Ruger .45 convertible, only mine is a Blackhawk. Mine is SS a.so, and with a 5 1/2" barrel. What length is yours? I have not done anything to mine, except change the grips to pearl.
 

Rclark

Hunter
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
3,533
Location
Butte, MT
What does "...Opening the cylinder throats..." mean?

In a cylinder there is the chamber (where the cartridge sits) which tapers into the throat. So the throat is the front part of each cylinder hole.

A lot of Ruger .45 SAs come with undersized throats. In one of mine for example it was .449 . To fix, you take a .452 reamer and 'open the cylinder throats' to .4525. After that is completed, the throats are all the same, round, and perfectly sized. Most people find that the revolver shoots much better. In my extreme case, my group size on target was cut in half. To test if you have the problem: Take a .452 bullet and see if will enter the throat of each hole. It should pass with just finger pressure. If you think it would have to be pounded through then they are undersized. The exact test is to get a set of pin gauges and see which will pass through the throats. Anyway, that is it in a nut shell.

Why .452? Well Ruger .45 Colt bores are set to .451. So .001 over the bore size for a good bullet to bore seal is optimal. Ie. the throats should 'always' be at least .001 over the bore size.

{edited}
One other rule of thumb: The bullet should always be sized for the throat. So if throats happen to be large, .454 for example, that is what size you should be using for the bullet... The bullet will always gets squeezed down to fit the bore. I have not run into that situation with my Rugers as my revolver throats have all been undersize or very close to optimal. I've reamed them all.
 
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vlavalle

Single-Sixer
Joined
Apr 10, 2022
Messages
261
Location
Chandler, AZ
In a cylinder there is the chamber (where the cartridge sits) which tapers into the throat. So the throat is the front part of each cylinder hole.

A lot of Ruger .45 SAs come with undersized throats. In one of mine for example it was .449 . To fix, you take a .452 reamer and 'open the cylinder throats' to .4525. After that is completed, the throats are all the same, round, and perfectly sized. Most people find that the revolver shoots much better. In my extreme case, my group size on target was cut in half. To test if you have the problem: Take a .452 bullet and see if will enter the throat of each hole. It should pass with just finger pressure. If you think it would have to be pounded through then they are undersized. The exact test is to get a set of pin gauges and see which will pass through the throats. Anyway, that is it in a nut shell.

Why .452? Well Ruger .45 Colt bores are set to .451. So .001 over the bore size for a good bullet to bore seal is optiRclarkm
 

vlavalle

Single-Sixer
Joined
Apr 10, 2022
Messages
261
Location
Chandler, AZ
Rclark, thanks so much for the explanation on 'opening the cylinder throats'! My .45 Ruger Convertible Blackhawk did not need any 'opening' in either cylinder, and rach handles all .45LC and all .45APC ammo in their respective cylinders. Here is the story on the actual bore sizes, right from my ballistics file: "Note16: The modern .45 ammo bores vary as follows: the .45 ACP's and the .45 GAP's bores are both .451, the .45 Auto Rim is .452, and the .45 LC comes in two bores: .452 for jacketed bullets, and .454 for all lead bullets." I hope this sheds some light on the bore variance.
 

Snake Pleskin

Banned
Joined
Mar 26, 2022
Messages
2,179
Location
Aiken, South Carolina
Revolver tuning for decades has included miking and making cylinder throats consistent, opening/chamfering forcing cone if needed so their is smooth entry of the bullet from cylinder to barrel. (IMHO)
 
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