Opinions On Bisley Convertible Finish

[QB]

I picked up my Bisley convertible yesterday and upon examination found the machining and finish of the stainless to be disappointing. My dealer is taking it back next week and I'm going to look at three other ones to see if they are the same.

I am going to shoot this but am just picky when it comes to fit and finish. I know it doesn't affect the way the gun will function.

There are little nicks in the finish and some rough cutting. The barrel, on the side where the warning is on some (mine is on the bottom) is polished/rubbed horizontally rather than "around the barrel" like the rest of the barrel is rubbed. Sort of like someone was trying to remove something but rubber the wrong way.

For you guys that have this model, does your look like this? Sorry for my bad photos.........

Oh........my two stainless Single Sixes are beautiful and don't look like this gun at all.

Hard to see in the pictures but the edge is sort of "chewed" up and very sharp. It's machined like this in other places also.

This was difficult to take and doesn't really show the polishing/rubbing going horizontal the length of the barrel but it's there and very noticeable compared to the other side of the barrel.

 

[willyd]

I have several Rugers, including one just like yours. Don't think twice. Send back - something all wrong.

 

[Dale53]

Double post in error.

Dale53

 

[Dale53]

QB;
I suspect that I MAY not be as "picky" as you are, but that particular piece seems sub standard to me. My recently acquired .45 Colt/.45 ACP convertible is finished extremely well. My blued 50th Anniversary Flattop .44 Magnum is not finished as well as the Stainless convertible. The polishing is "not quite correct" under the blue in one area. However, I am keeping it - it shoots so well, that it will NOT be replaced.

I do believe that one (yours) needs to go back.

FWTW
Dale53

 

[G2]

WHY did you pick it up? especially if it was not to your expectations.

I'm not there and yes your pictures really dont show anything that I don't see on Ruger's. What I see is a RUGER that is probably within spec but probably not one of the best examples of cosmetic finish.
The wrong way rub-a-dub, I wished you could see what these guns go thru in the mfg process. There are hundreds of the same thing over and over and then the lunch bell rings, this one was caught in the middle. :roll:
Awww hell I don't know. Give it back to your dealer and buy a smith or a colt they spend way more time getting things right, and one pays the price.
I buy a new Ruger, (especially Stainless Steel) tear it down, de-burr, take off the sharp edges, fit the grips, yadayada and make it mine. BUT that's ME & MY Gun that Ruger built, and I finish/ed.

Give Ruger a call and let them know of your concerns, as of late were hearing some incredible customer service stories & turn around times. I have a feeling your specific gun will get some personal attention and will come back as one of there better examples.

OK Rant off. Please don't take it personal, as it was not intended.

 

[QB]

My dealer is taking it back and letting me look at three others that are coming in Tuesday. I didn't have time to inspect the gun but did so at home (because my dealer said I could).

I don't do any work on my guns (i.e. tear them down, de-burr, fit grips, etc) and don't have the tools/knowledge/time to do so.

I'm well aware that "you get what you pay for" as I do have what I consider high end guns. Even a couple of those were returned to the manufacturer to issues (Colt Special Combat had the slide replaced due to a miscut frame, SIG Sport Stock was completely bead blasted due to finish irregularties).

My only question was to see if I was wasting my time trying to get a better finished gun or if they were all similar to this. I have 6 other Ruger revolvers and 2 Ruger rifles and all of them are considerably better finished than this one so I thought this was probably an anomoly.

I'll certainly swap it out next week assuming any of the other three are better. If not then I'll make a decision on whether to keep this one or get a different Ruger model. I don't want a Colt or S&W revolver, I like the Ruger single actions (and my SP101s).

I don't think my pickiness would be an issue for Ruger so I won't bother them, especially since my dealer doesn't have a problem with swapping the gun or returning it.

I was just curious because this is the first Ruger that I've purchased that isn't up to what I believe the Ruger standards are (or what I thought they were). Just disappointed because I really looked forward to getting this revolver as it's my first Bisley. No big deal.

 

[tguil]

I returned a new Super Blackhawk Bisley Hunter with the same type of flaws that you have. One flaw that you have that you didn't mention is the Blackhawk etc. stamping below the cylinder. Notice that the letters seem to fade away. The stamping on the top of the frame of my gun was quite "messy" . It also had a slightly malformed scope mount and a pretty good scratch on the ejector housing. The counter at the gun shop was crowded when I purchased the gun and really didn't notice the flaws until after I got home.

My dealer ordered me a new Bisley Hunter. I went to pick it up yesterday. It was perfect...except for a two inch scratch on the side of the barrel rib . The salesman said that it must be an oil stain. He tried using a bit of CLP on it. Didn't work so he got out the Flitz polishing compound. The gun ended up having a shiny scratch.

Had the dealer offered to send the gun back to Ruger for a bit of buffing by one of the factory smiths, I would have taken the gun. The offer was not made. I "walked" from it with a full refund

I have four stainless Ruger handguns. The last one was purchased in 1988. None have factory flaws and only the Mark II bull barrel that sees almost daily use has any noticeable scratches or marring made by me and I take care of these with Scotchbrite

QB, I guess there are at least two "picky" guys on this forum :D

Good luck in your search for a "nice" Ruger.

Tom

 

[Hammerdown77]

I'm still amazed that you have four of those convertible Bisleys in the same place! Weren't those discontinued?

 

[QB]

There are more and more showing up on GunBroker. My dealer's distributor doesn't have a problem sending them but I don't know how many they have. Once I ordered mine I was told that they sold 2 more so they ordered three. I am hoping the "extra" one coming in next week will look better. I'm taking one of my SS single six revolvers with me to show the different and what I'm looking for. The dealer will make it right, but I really want that model gun. We'll see what happens next week. There are more sharp unfinished edges and nics that I took pictures of. Just weird actually. All of my other Rugers were just really nicely finished. I guess some guns just slip by without the proper QC.

If searching for these on GunBroker I found that I had to search on both "convertible" and "convertable". Right now there are at least 3-4 for sale. Of course you can ignore the one that is listed for $899. There's also a different one with rosewood grips and the warning on the side of the barrel. I prefer the ones with the warning on the bottom and the black laminate grips.

 

[robctwo]

I had a hankering for one of these a while back. Just couldn't pull the trigger for $899, yes, it was up then as well. Looks like some in around $600 now.

 

[robctwo]

Sent the $ & ffl off today for the one I "won" on GB for $575+.

 

[QB]

Well I returned my convertible today. The others that came in were somewhat better but still not the quality finish I expected based on my other Blackhawks and Single Sixes.

It's not that they were really bad, I'm sure others will be quite happy with them or will smooth them up themselves. If my other Rugers hadn't been so well finished I probably wouldn't have noticed anything.

I particularly like the engraved cylinder however instead of trying to find one that would pass my inspection I ordered a KBN-34 .357mag SS 4 5/8th in barrel. Hopefully it will be OK otherwise I'll give up on the stainless Blackhawks until I can find some that are in stock locally and can be inspected prior to purchase.

I seem to have been bitten by the Ruger SA bug.......still looking for the elusive Bisley but would prefer that it be the 4 5/8th inch barrel. Found a .357mag Bisley but it's asking price is just a bit high.

I pick up my new Ruger next Tuesday and will start a new post about it.

Thanks for all your comments.

 

[ohnomrbillk]

I bought one online not too long ago. I think it was well represented, but I would rate what was factory finish flaws as sub par.

 

[Hammerdown77]

QB, what about a 4 5/8" Bisley flat top .44 Special? Those are a regular production run and the ones I've seen in the shop have been nicely finished.

 

[QB]

Well unfortunately I don't shoot .44 special and really don't want to start stocking another caliber of ammo. Maybe there will be some Bisley 4 5/8" distributor exclusives in the future in .357mag since that now seems to be the caliber that I've decided on. But I'll keep the .44 special in mind. Thanks