Ruger Limited Edition Bisley 7 1/2" 44 Special

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JimP

Bearcat
Joined
Nov 27, 2012
Messages
62
I just purchased a gorgeous Ruger Bisely with 7 1/2" barrels and chambered for 44 Special cartridges. Sometimes referred to as the "mistake" shootists gun I am sure many of you are aware of them. For those who are not the following is a quick summary.
John Tiffin and several of his sixgun friends formed an exclusive club of sixgun enthusiasts. In, I believe, 2010, as a celebration of their 25th anniversary they had 100 Ruger Bisley's made with 7 1/2" barrels, chambered for 44 Special with special serial numbers and engravings. Ruger had 94 made when they realized they had not used the special serial numbers agreed to but had instead had used the regular Ruger Bisley serial numbers. This was just before engraving had begun. They had 94 guns completed and ready to be engraved. Once they realized their error/"mistake" they began again and made 100 of the Rugers with the special serial numbers and engravings. The 94 original guns were sold as limited editions. They are called the Shootists "mistake" guns because of the mistaken serial numbers. They have no engravings and, except for the serial numbers, are otherwise identical to the Shootists 25th Anniversary guns. In addition they are the only Ruger 7 1/2" Bisleys chambered for 44 Special ever offered to the public. When put up for sale they all sold in 3 days!

Now, do I shoot it or just put it away?

best,

JimP
 

T.A. WORKMAN

Hunter
Joined
Mar 24, 2006
Messages
4,266
Location
MANSFIELD, OHIO USA
Jimp,
Welcome to the forum!!
Congradulations on your new gun also, :wink: .

You ask so I'll give you my opinion,, You have a very scarce gun that already draws instant attention right now!! Down the road "Crisp" unfired packages will demand even more of a premium,,so if your looking for a good canidate for a New Model "Safe Queen" you would be hard pressed to find a better one.
There are only 94 of these guns and as a New Model Collector I personaly would like to see as many remain N.I.B. as possible. The guns that are fired and well taken care will still be sought after,and command a small premium. :wink:

If you want a shooter, look for one of the Bisley Hunter model in SS, or a .44 Mag Bisley and shoot .44 Spcls. Bottom line it is your gun and you alone can decide what you want to do with it.

Terry
 

JCW64

Single-Sixer
Joined
Aug 4, 2005
Messages
467
Location
Louisiana
It's yours to do as you wish. If you paid top dollar for one you probably would not shoot it and keep it for a collectors piece. If you bought one when they first came out at regular price it may be easier to shoot it. I had 2 and still have one and they are very nicely done revolvers. BTW, I think you meant to type "John Taffin".
 

JimP

Bearcat
Joined
Nov 27, 2012
Messages
62
Whoops! Yes, you are correct. I meant John Taffin.

Difficult decision. It is even more rare than the Shootists engraved guns as there are 100 of them and only 94 of these. On the other hand, I think a 7 1/2" barreled 44 Special woul be a sweet gun to shoot! And, I'll bet the QC on these guns was very good.

best,

JimP
 

wdr2

Bearcat
Joined
Nov 24, 2009
Messages
54
Location
IdahoFalls, ID
These are fine revolvers. I have had Sixshot's in my hands but Dick didn't want to part with it! Difficult choice but most of the time when I see NIB guns put away, only the next owner benefits. So, I suggest you sell it now at current collector value, purchase a readily available 5.5in model, and have it customized to make a fine shooter, could even have a 7.5 in barrel installed. The idea of purchasing the 44 mag version is also a good one. I have one in 357 - great gun. They are a larger frame and somewhat heavier.

Ruger should make a few more of these long barreled 44 Specials plus one in 327 Mag.

Best of luck with this.
 

Rclark

Hunter
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
3,533
Location
Butte, MT
Not difficult at all.... Shoot it. Let the next owner 'worry' about collect ability after you are gone. Enjoy shooting it while you can!
 

lark63

Single-Sixer
Joined
Dec 25, 2006
Messages
436
Location
Ohio
If it is NIB and you want a good return down the road why not buy a 44mag Bisley and shoot 44 specials out of it?
 

WARD

Single-Sixer
Joined
May 28, 2008
Messages
146
Location
MINNIESODA
Didn't I hear that they made all 100 of them but some were sold in the factory so only 94 went to the distributor???

ward
 

xtpshooter

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jul 11, 2010
Messages
100
Location
Houston, TX
I know how you feel, I have one of these also and to date it remains unfired and NIB. I did not know it was collectible when I purchased it as I was only looking for another 44 special to go with the other three I had already purchased. Later on i found one of the shootist 44 specials at the same gun store and purchased it as well. So now I have two 7.5 Bisley 44 specials that I am not shooting. I guess the 4 5/8 and 5.5 inch Bisleys will do for now. The stainless 44 special aint'd bad either.
 

ruggedruger

Single-Sixer
Joined
Oct 24, 2009
Messages
462
see below, and then..

Seriously, would like to see some photos, maybe some of the 'mistake' gun and some of the 'intended' guns.

worthless.jpg
 

ruggedruger

Single-Sixer
Joined
Oct 24, 2009
Messages
462
But I also know how to google.. :)

This image below comes from this link: http://www.lipseysguns.com/post/Ruger-Bisley-Flattop-44-Special-Shootists-25th-Anniversary.aspx

Additionally, the first hit was from an auction on this site.

shootist1.jpg
 

JCW64

Single-Sixer
Joined
Aug 4, 2005
Messages
467
Location
Louisiana
There were a few (15 or 20) that shipped with the black laminate grips that are normally found on the stainless guns.

Ruger7544splBisley.jpg
 

JimP

Bearcat
Joined
Nov 27, 2012
Messages
62
Here is a link to another site with close up pics of the Shootists Bisleys. They refer to 92 "extras" while I have read in a number of places 94.

http://singleactions.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=gallery&action=display&thread=4032#
 

JimP

Bearcat
Joined
Nov 27, 2012
Messages
62
And, from Jason at Lipsey's:

"Since this seems to be clear as mud, I will try to explain exactly what happened since I was in charge of the project. 94 standard blue 7.5" Bisley 44 Specials were sent from Ruger to Baron Technology to be engraved and high polish blued. I don't know why they only sent 94 instead of the 100 that were on order, but that doesn't really matter now. I was sent a copy of the packing slip from Ruger to Baron and noticed these guns did not have the correct serial #'s. They were regular numbers that were in the sequence of our 4-5/8" and 5-1/2" Bisley 44 Specials. Luckily, these guns had not been worked on by Baron yet and were returned to Ruger. After consulting with Ruger, our only option was to take those 94 guns and sell them as a "Distributor Exclusive" and make up another batch of 7.5" guns to fufill the 100 gun Shootist order. These 94 guns have been coined "The Shootist's Mistake" guns by collectors, but as some have pointed out, it was no mistake of The Shootist's. Here is a link to more info on these guns: http://www.lipseysguns.com/post/Ruger-B ... e-Gun.aspx

_________________
LipseysGuns.com - Online Community Dedicated to Lipsey's Exclusive Firearms
http://www.lipseysguns.com/"

best,

JimP
 

princeout

Blackhawk
Joined
Jun 12, 2009
Messages
946
Location
Oklahoma
Here's a picture of my "Ruger's Mistake" 44 Special, by way of the Northern Alabama Gun Vortex - one that got away.

image.jpg


Still a safe queen. Will be headed down the road someday to help finance the upcoming .500 Max.

Tim
 

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