Don Lovel
Hunter
I inquired about the feasability of building an 8 shot Blackhawk into a birdshead grip frame and cut down barrel model
Here is an example of one of Mr Bowen's real fine 45 Colts done Birdshead
http://www.bowenclassicarms.com/workshop.html#Sedgley45Vaquero
here is his reply in case you guys ever wondered about the cost involed with having him do a build for you.
Dear Sir:
Thanks for your inquiry.
Whether or not we could provide the work you contemplate depends on whether or not we can get the necessary two-piece grip frame in stainless from Power Custom. they do show it but until I hear from them won't know if they have them in stock or not. If not, it could be quite while until they run more as this is a low-demand item for them.
In the mean time, here is the course of action with catalog numbers we would recommend to produce your job. We do everything here in packaged form with added options:
1.) Cat. no. RS01 'Standard Issue' pkg....$375; this would provide tuning, a high-quality rear sight and an oversize base pin.
2.) Cat. no. B301 Shorten barrel to 4 inches...$275, including shortening the ejector housing/rod/spring and base pin head and drilling/tapping the new ejector rod screw hole. and re-installing the front sight. You may want to consider a better or more flexible front sight such as the Weigand Combat DX base with provision for interchangable blades per cat. no. B313.
3.) Cat. no. B440 Bisley-spur hammer installation...$95; at this writing, we cannot get stainless factory Bisley hammers so would have to use a blue one brushed out to resemble stainless--can't tell them apart. As long as it get a little oil on it once in a great while, it won't rust or tarninsh. Blue hammers traditionally have polished sides.
4.) Cat. no. B402/403 Provide/install Power Custom 2-pic. grip frame...from $550; price also depends on whether you need the straps ground and detailed for one-piece grips which add $100. According to the Power Custom website, stainless adds about $50 to the cost of their parts. In the alternative, if you are not a slave to one-piece grips, Ruger has made a birdshead grip frame in the past. Whether it is available now as parts remains to be seen--last time I tried to get them (a year ago), they were out of stock and had no plans to produce more. I would have to check with them to see if anything has changed.
5.) Cat. no. B250 Shoot for regulation...$75; necessary any time we remove a barrel or front sight.
As for grips, I would suggest you contact Roy Fishpaw at (434) 993-3470 and get on his waiting list. My guess is he is 8-12 mos. these days but his grips are worth the wait. You can deal directly with him.
Hope this will help; let me know if you have any questions. Thanks very much for your interest and kindly remarks about our handiwork.
Sincerely yours,
Hamilton S. Bowen
Bowen Classic Arms Corp.
From what he says here, I may have to give up on the Birdshead grip. My jeweler buddy did a recontour of a Vaquero grip frame that was really pretty, I may look into having him do one of those for me instead.
Here is an example of one of Mr Bowen's real fine 45 Colts done Birdshead
http://www.bowenclassicarms.com/workshop.html#Sedgley45Vaquero
here is his reply in case you guys ever wondered about the cost involed with having him do a build for you.
Dear Sir:
Thanks for your inquiry.
Whether or not we could provide the work you contemplate depends on whether or not we can get the necessary two-piece grip frame in stainless from Power Custom. they do show it but until I hear from them won't know if they have them in stock or not. If not, it could be quite while until they run more as this is a low-demand item for them.
In the mean time, here is the course of action with catalog numbers we would recommend to produce your job. We do everything here in packaged form with added options:
1.) Cat. no. RS01 'Standard Issue' pkg....$375; this would provide tuning, a high-quality rear sight and an oversize base pin.
2.) Cat. no. B301 Shorten barrel to 4 inches...$275, including shortening the ejector housing/rod/spring and base pin head and drilling/tapping the new ejector rod screw hole. and re-installing the front sight. You may want to consider a better or more flexible front sight such as the Weigand Combat DX base with provision for interchangable blades per cat. no. B313.
3.) Cat. no. B440 Bisley-spur hammer installation...$95; at this writing, we cannot get stainless factory Bisley hammers so would have to use a blue one brushed out to resemble stainless--can't tell them apart. As long as it get a little oil on it once in a great while, it won't rust or tarninsh. Blue hammers traditionally have polished sides.
4.) Cat. no. B402/403 Provide/install Power Custom 2-pic. grip frame...from $550; price also depends on whether you need the straps ground and detailed for one-piece grips which add $100. According to the Power Custom website, stainless adds about $50 to the cost of their parts. In the alternative, if you are not a slave to one-piece grips, Ruger has made a birdshead grip frame in the past. Whether it is available now as parts remains to be seen--last time I tried to get them (a year ago), they were out of stock and had no plans to produce more. I would have to check with them to see if anything has changed.
5.) Cat. no. B250 Shoot for regulation...$75; necessary any time we remove a barrel or front sight.
As for grips, I would suggest you contact Roy Fishpaw at (434) 993-3470 and get on his waiting list. My guess is he is 8-12 mos. these days but his grips are worth the wait. You can deal directly with him.
Hope this will help; let me know if you have any questions. Thanks very much for your interest and kindly remarks about our handiwork.
Sincerely yours,
Hamilton S. Bowen
Bowen Classic Arms Corp.
From what he says here, I may have to give up on the Birdshead grip. My jeweler buddy did a recontour of a Vaquero grip frame that was really pretty, I may look into having him do one of those for me instead.
