Bisley Blackhawk 4-5/8” .44SPL

Hankus · May 29, 2026

I ran across this one for $550 at a LGS this morning, including two boxes of ammo and a nice holster. It dates to 2010. I’m sorely tempted but am probably passing on it. I have a SBH Bisley 7-1/2” in .44 Magnum already, and a half dozen or so Blackhawks and Vaqueros in .45 Colt so I don’t see the need for this. Talk me out of this decision, or if you’re interested I’ll pass on the shop’s information.

BULL'S-EYE · May 29, 2026

GO BACK AND BUY IT NOW...DO IT...DO IT NOW!!!

41Dude · May 29, 2026

BULL'S-EYE said:
GO BACK AND BUY IT NOW...DO IT...DO IT NOW!!! View attachment 104877

100%

agree

T.A. WORKMAN · May 29, 2026

First look at the serial number if it starts with a D520-xxxxx BUY IT! There were only 31 made by mistake.
If its not a D gun you should still buy it, why? because its a Bisley .44 Special and every pistolero should have one.

Still on the fence? The deal is worth the money and you will have good trade fodder for a gun show!!

Hope this helps.

Terry

BULL'S-EYE · May 29, 2026

$550 for all that is a fantastic price! And, those Lipsey's .44 Special Flattop's are some of the nicest New Models fit and finish wise that Ruger has ever produced.
I have a blued 4-5/8" "plowhandle" and a 5.5" Bisley...Both are excellent!

seasterl · May 29, 2026

I got away from shooting “specials” in my magnum revolvers to keep it simple. I can see getting it if you didn’t already have any 44Mag.

Gator89 · May 29, 2026

Buy it, that is a good deal.

Johnnu2 · May 29, 2026

I see no reason NOT to buy all those goodies for $550 (this is coming form a guy who doesn't collect anything and religiously tries to maintain DISCIPLINED purchasing).
My recommendation: BUY IT BUSTER.

J.

gnappi · May 30, 2026

I have several .44 magnums and a few .44 specials. Other than having a few pieces of brass, re-setting or having two sets of dies that flat top is a worthy one to have.

Terry Morgan · May 30, 2026

T.A. WORKMAN said:
First look at the serial number if it starts with a D520-xxxxx BUY IT! There were only 31 made by mistake.
If its not a D gun you should still buy it, why? because its a Bisley .44 Special and every pistolero should have one.
Still on the fence? The deal is worth the money and you will have good trade fodder for a gun show!!
Hope this helps.
Terry

Can you 'learn me' more about the D520 'only 31 made' by mistake, please. Sounds pretty interesting. Thanks

contender · May 30, 2026

I always consider the .44 Spl to be in the came category as the .41 mag, the .30 Carbine, and the .32 mag. Kinda unappreciated by so many unless you actually shoot them.
Skeeter Skelton praised the .44 Spl enough to where I always wanted one,,, but couldn't afford a custom.
When I got to actually shoot one many years after Skeeter passed,, I understood what he meant.
Then when Ruger offered the .44 Spl Blackhawks,, I couldn't wait to get one.

As for the "D" marked guns. The "D" stands for "Duplicate" serial number. Rare collectable ones for sure!

rammerjammer · May 30, 2026

All the reasons above are sound. Most of all that is a great price for an awesome gun.

T.A. WORKMAN · May 30, 2026

Terry Morgan said:
Terry Morgan said:

Can you 'learn me' more about the D520 'only 31 made' by mistake, please. Sounds pretty interesting. Thanks

Click to expand...

Ruger made a mistake on the serial number of 31 consecutive guns, #D520-22027 through #D520-22057. The mates to the D guns are the TALO SS KNVB .44 Specials.
Ruger also made a serial number mistake on 31 consecutive of the TALO KNVB-444-SP revolvers. They used the Vaquero pre-fix #510- instead of the correct prefix of #520-.
Rather than scrapping the 31 revolvers Ruger added a T to the prefix, as... T510-91043 - #520-91066.
Both variations are very rare. I have two of the D guns #D520-22036 - D520-22048, and have had no luck yet in pairing mine up.

I need #520-22036 & #520-22048, these are the TALO SS .44 SPC guns. If you have one of these numbers I would like to talk to you.
Terry

GYJ44 · May 30, 2026

You need to read more Taffin, then we won't have to explain it.

peachhead · May 30, 2026

Tell me where it is, I will call them and get it shipped to me. That will solve your problem.

Hankus · May 30, 2026

What a bunch of enablers you lot are… so I gave the shop a call as they opened this morning and told them to pull it from the case and put it behind the counter for me. That was a wise decision. After mowing and other chores I headed down that way. As I was going in the door a guy walked out carrying an H&R .22 I had been looking at too. When I went in they pulled the Blackhawk out for me, and told me the guy that had bought the H&R had come in for the Blackhawk, but they told him I had dibs.

. It came with 48 rounds of HSM 240 grain LSWC, 28 rounds of oddball 240 grain FMJ, and a very nice Galco holster. I don’t expect the ammo to last very long. Having said that, I now have nice trade fodder towards a Bisley SSM or Single Seven!

Hostageamos · May 30, 2026

peachhead said:
Tell me where it is, I will call them and get it shipped to me. That will solve your problem.

Me too! Those are selling for $800-$1100 on GB, WHEN you can find them.

ADP3 · May 30, 2026

You made the right decision. If I was limited to only one revolver cartridge it would be .44 Special. It’s an excellent pairing of power and accuracy. You’re going to truly enjoy it and when age and/or infirmities catch up to you, you’ll still be able to enjoy it.
Best Regards,
ADP3

Hondo44 · May 30, 2026

I too caught the Skeeter bug BIG TIME, and took a couple of decades to catch up.

44 Specials:

1 American Derringer
2 Colt SAAs and 3 USFA SAAs in 44 Special and Two Cimarron Open Tops
6 S&Ws
5 Rugers:
1 Vaquero Sheriffs Model WITH A STANDARD LENGTH HAMMER SPUR!

2 of these New model Ruger flattops

2 Old Model 44 conversions

With Hunter SBH grip frame

lll

jimbo1096 · May 30, 2026

I’m glad you bought it. Save me the headache of getting the gun shop phone number from you so I can call and have it shipped.

BULL'S-EYE · May 30, 2026

Hankus said:
What a bunch of enablers you lot are…

You're quite welcome!

That was an absolute sapphire deal.

Before you commit to it being simply "trade fodder" I'd recommend getting to know the. 44 Special first.
DON'T judge that fine old cartridge from the two samples of factory ammo that came with the gun. Sure, they'll go BANG, but will leave a great deal to be desired performance wise.
Where the .44 Special truly shines, is with cast bullet handloads.

At any rate...YOU DID GOOD!

LDB · May 30, 2026

I absolutely want it. If only I'd ever walk into a deal like that. I got as good on my .41M Blackhawk, probably a bit better, other than the caliber. Congrats.

Hankus · May 30, 2026

BULL'S-EYE said:
You're quite welcome!
That was an absolute sapphire deal.
Before you commit to it being simply "trade fodder" I'd recommend getting to know the. 44 Special first.
DON'T judge that fine old cartridge from the two samples of factory ammo that came with the gun. Sure, they'll go BANG, but will leave a great deal to be desired performance wise.
Where the .44 Special truly shines, is with cast bullet handloads.
At any rate...YOU DID GOOD!

Yep, I have hard-cast bullets to load for my .44 Magnum, and .45 Colts… I’m thinking about it though. Is this mid frame okay for Tier 2 loads like my Flattop .45?

gnappi · May 30, 2026

ADP3 said:
You made the right decision. If I was limited to only one revolver cartridge it would be .44 Special. It’s an excellent pairing of power and accuracy. You’re going to truly enjoy it and when age and/or infirmities catch up to you, you’ll still be able to enjoy it.
Best Regards,
ADP3

Hey, hang on there! I'm "mature" and still enjoy shootin' my magnums... but those .44 specials sure do bring a smile to my face.

BULL'S-EYE · May 30, 2026

Hankus said:
Yep, I have hard-cast bullets to load for my .44 Magnum, and .45 Colts… I’m thinking about it though. Is this mid frame okay for Tier 2 loads like my Flattop .45?

YES!

Think about it...There's even more steel in .44 caliber chamber walls than in a .45 Colt cylinder.

Rclark · May 30, 2026

I got away from shooting “specials” in my magnum revolvers to keep it simple. I can see getting it if you didn’t already have any 44Mag.

I went the other way. Once the .44 Special flattops were introduced, my .44 Magnums have been pretty much safe queens. And yes, I did load down the .44 Magnums to .44 Special velocities.

Glad you bought it. The medium frame flattops are my goto revolvers, .357, .44 Special, and of course the ultimate .45 Colt. Mine are all blued 5 1/2" barreled and plow handled as that is my favorite length and grip frame for a six-gun. I've found my perfect set of pack'n pistols. But I do have a .44 Special Bisley 5 1/2" that will be put to use if I wear out my goto revolver

ha!

Oh, my favorite load for .44 Special is the Skeeter load. I did shoot a few Keith loads for testing, but the Skeeter load does everything I need to do in the .44 caliber (special or magnum). Need more, I can go up to the .45 Colt

...

One more thing... Where it seemed I had to search for good loads in other cartridges, it was the opposite with the .44 Special. Seemed it was hard to find a 'bad' load. Don't know why, but that was my experience when I had the 'test a bunch of different powders' bug. Maybe it was just a very good test gun

.

Ok, only one more thing! When the .44 Special flattops were introduced, John Taffin wrote an article on them with the title of 'Victory at Last!' . You see, back when the .357 was introduced in the '50s, Ruger had plans to also chamber the gun in .44 Special and .45 Colt. But those plans were shelved when the .44 Magnum was introduced in '56. Anyway, we are glad for the 50th Anniversary .357s that brought the medium frame back into production (as New Models of course), so that we could get our beloved .44 Special and .45 Colt chambered on the same frame from the factory thanks to Lipseys. Victory at last!

jimbo1096 · May 30, 2026

I’m a slacker, I don’t have a Bisley grip frame in all of the stuff I’ve got and that sure would’ve made a good addition.
And 44spl is a sweetheart caliber

Terry Morgan · May 30, 2026

When entering a gun store, always remember 'you're never too old to be immature.' Also applies to guitar stores.

deac45 · May 30, 2026

Hankus said:
Yep, I have hard-cast bullets to load for my .44 Magnum, and .45 Colts… I’m thinking about it though. Is this mid frame okay for Tier 2 loads like my Flattop .45?

Hankus, locate you a copy of the February 2018 issue of Handloader magazine. Brian Pearce's Pet Loads column is on 44 Special +P loads. Great write up on the loadings and guns.
Great deal on that 44!

GrumpyOldMan · May 30, 2026

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Bisley Blackhawk 4-5/8” .44SPL

Buckeye

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Guns? What guns?

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