Better Bisley Grips???

[FHBrumb]

With the hot stuff, my Bisley 's grip leaves a bit to be desired. I'm in the market for something that will make the more potent loads a little more comfortable.

Any suggestions?

 

[contender]

Many people feel the Bisley shape allows for more comfort in heavy recoiling handguns. Some, do not. Have you tried a set of custom grips to fit YOUR hand?

 

[98Redline]

I have been told that the modified blackhawk grip frame mod done by Jack Huntington works better than the Bisley for controlling the big boomers.

I will tell you in 6 or 7 months when I get my 475 back from him.

 

[MaxP]

I have been told that the modified blackhawk grip frame mod done by Jack Huntington works better than the Bisley for controlling the big boomers.

I will tell you in 6 or 7 months when I get my 475 back from him.

It does for me and I'm a dyed in the wool Bisley guy. All of the benefits of the Bisley with none of the drawbacks.

Factory Bisley grips are one size fits all, and a set of grips that are actually made to fit your hands go a long way to mitigating any unpleasantness.

 

[powder smoke]

You may want to try a padded shooting glove.
The ones i've seen have a jell in the palm, they are actually quite comfortable. ps

 

[s4s4u]

Hogue makes oversize panels for the Bisley that are fatter up top. I use them on my Bisley and run some heavy loads with comfort.

 

[The Blackhawk Kid]

I have a custom set of French walnut grips, and they make the difference. The grips are flush with the receiver and well contoured. Also, I tamed my loads down. I have an accurate, comfortable shooting 44 mag Bisley, with a 3.75 inch barrel. JMHO BHK

 

[Mike Armstrong]

I replaced the factory rosewood grips on my Bisley Flattop .44 Spl. with smooth Hogue African Ebony grips. While I don't usually fire really heavy loads, the few times I fired Buffalo Bore and equivalent handloads with the factory grips, it was tiring and slightly uncomfortable. The smoother, slimmer Hogue grips are more comfortable with both the standard factory hollowpoints and heavier reloads. And they look a little more like the original grips on my "real Bisley," a 4 3/4" Colt .44-40.

Did have to do a little filing/sanding to get the Hogue grips to fit flush to the edges of the grip frame, but it was minor.

 

[CraigC]

The factory grips are terrible. Through a lot of trial and error, I found that I need a grip that is thicker at the top with very little taper and nicely rounded. The Hogue cowboy panels are relatively cheap and will tell you if a thicker grip is right for you.

 

[Rafsob]

I had a hell of a time trying to find a good set of grip panels. I ended up having my stock panels laser engraved:

And I really love these grips now. They also feel good when I shoot it.

 

[Chuckbuster]

BearPAw Grip set from member Gooseman179 did it for me. .45 Colt and .41 Mag as heavy as I care to load either.
Kevin

 

[TomC321]

I have a stainless .45 Bisley and had trouble with the factory grips. I found, through trial and error, that smooth Eagle Gunfighter work well for me particularly when shooting heavy loads.

 

[Boxhead]

A mistake a lot of folks make, IMO, is to go with fatter grips thinking they "spread" the recoil. I go for grips that I can fully wrap my hand around so the gun does not move in my hand, have about zero "flat" areas so well rounded and I am good. They tend to be smaller than most would think my XL hand would require. The best I have for my hand have been made by Alan Harton.

 

[CraigC]

You have to find what works best for you. For me, it IS thicker grips. For they do distribute recoil along more of the hand. Rather than the thin grips that concentrate it all at the backstrap. Grips should fill the hand, any voids left in the palm lead to discomfort under recoil. CLC's Bisley grips work very well for me but perhaps the most comfortable I've ever handled are those by Jack Huntington.

 

[Boxhead]

Which is exactly why I wrote "a lot of folks" and "I".

 

[Short Barrel]

I've worked a lot with grips on heavy recoiling guns and agree with both Craig C and Boxhead.Thickness does distribute impact force but the most impact is at the top of the grip,in the web of the hand.I had a gunsmith friend in the early '70's that convinced me that grips should get smaller toward the bottom so that the two smaller fingers can wrap around better and this helps in control,during recoil.

So,when I build single action grips,they are beefier than factory at the top and slimmer at the bottom.This is a pair I just built for a Bisley.They are about .350 at the top and .410 at the bottom,then gracefully radiuse to the grip frame as Boxhead shows.


I've shown pictures before of the little,packing,.45 I put together with an aluminum,plow handle grip.The gun finished at 35 oz and there are no aluminum,Bisley grip frames available,so I needed the grips to help as much as possible to mitigate some decent bear loads.

I bought some 3/8" thick micarta,drew a centerline down each panel and maintained that 3/8" thickness,top to bottom.From that centerline,I gently radiused them,to the grip frame.I also reduced the flair at front and rear of the lower grip frame and what I got was a grip with plenty of meat at the top but slim enough at the bottom for the smaller fingers to get a good,solid wrap around.

I fired Corbon loads with 300 gr bullets,rated at 1300 fps and could easily tolerate them.There is a dramatic difference in felt recoil between these and factory plow handles.They don't have that nice visual flair when viewed from behind but don't look too much different from the side and they do work.



Oh,and they other thing I've noticed,the prettier the wood,the less pain I feel.

 

[FHBrumb]

Want!

 

[MaxP]

Huntington did these for me and they are quite good.

 

[FHBrumb]

I do appreciate all of the input. I think I like the wider top. I also have fairly small hands, so if I find some with the slimmer bottom, all the better.

When I shoot, I tend to "choke up" on the grip. It's like my hand just wants to slide right up as high as possible. This makes cooking the hammer tricky sometimes. I'm wondering is checkering the grips would help stop that?