OT - Bisley grip or Std. SA grip ??????

[Boreman]

I have a chance to purchase a nice Ruger Vaquero in 45LC (which I have been looking for quite a while) . I have 5 other Ruger SA all with the traditional SA grip. I like the feel of the Bisley and wondered what the forum members think of them,good or bad.Mainley how do they react to recoil control for follow up shots in CAS ? Any comments. Thanks.

[jengel]

I like the Bisley grip much better than the regular grip frame on my Rugers. I think that the Bisley is more controllable upon recoil and they point easier for me. I also have large hands and I don't get rapped on the nuckles with the Bisley grips.

[Old Ironsights]

Bisley. Makes heavy loads much easier IMO.

[Old Savage]

I like the standard though I don't doubt the Bisley is better for some hands. Personal preference to a large degree.

[reo]

I prefer the New Model Blackhawk grip for the way it looks. I spent the time working up to full power loads and have no problem with the original wood grips. The Bisley I had was more controllable and not prone to biting your hand like the Blackhawk. The key I found was to start with low power and move up. That was me and my hand. I also liked the lower hammer on the Bisley.

[shooter]

I have no experience with CAS, so I can't speak for that aspect of the question. I personally prefer the Bisley grip over the standard SA grip. It feels better in my hand, points easier, and handles recoil better. Of course that's just for me and my taste. Some people prefer the standard grips. My hands are a little too big for them, and I either have to bunch my hand up, or let my pinky curl under the bottom. Neither one of these are a problem for up to .357 level recoil, but when I start shooting full .44 mags, or hot .45's, I like to have a bigger grip to hang on to.

[Pete44ru]

The Bisley was originally designed as a change to the SAA grip frame into target gun grip, meant to handle heavy recoil, accurately - and not as a fast-action/handling grip, for which the standard SAA gripframe shape did just fine, Thank you.

The Bisley grip, and it's "nearly-the-same clones, like the Ruger Bisley, are better for slow fire.

The SAA grip excels at a more rapid pace, since it promotes the upward rotation of the gun, which places the hammer conveniently under the shooting hand's thumb, facilitating speedy cocking of ensuing shot(s).

As with most things new to you, one should be at least handled, before buying, at your peril.

[Griff]

IMNSHO; get the Bisley if you're gonna stand up and shoot one-handed, get the plowshare if you're gonna "squaw-grip" and shoot fast.

[Bullard4075]

Figger I might regret this but....... what is the "squaw-grip"?

[greasy dan]

I watch people. Seems to me that people who are comfortable with a S&W nearly always choose a Bisley over the "traditional" grip. Just an observation...

[brucew44guns]

I have a Blackhawk .357 Bisely that I usually shoot one handed. I hit the target far more often than I do with any number of other Rugers I own with the standard SA grip. I like the looks of the Bisely more as well. A Ruger .44 Bisely that I own is far more pleasant to shoot big numbers of rounds through than a standard grip, to me at least.

[Pete44ru]

[what is the "squaw-grip"?]

I'm not touchin' thet one with a ten foot pole....NoSiree !

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

I prefer the standard 'plow handle' grip on all my single action revolvers. When I first started shooting cowboy action I was using a pair of 'original model' Vaqueros chambered for 45 Colt. When I decided to change over to Black Powder I was convinced I needed the bisley grip to handle the heavier recoil of Black Powder. I bought a 5 1/2" Bisley Vaquero in 45 Colt, but only shot it in one match before returning to my standard gripped Vaqueros. Eventually I sold the Bisley.

I now shoot Colts with full house Black Powder 45 Colt loads, and always shoot them Duelist style (one handed). I always curl my pinkey under the grip, I never try to cram my entire hand onto the grip. There are two reasons I shoot them this way. First of all, the pinky curled under the grip helps limit recoil. The plow handle grip tends to naturally rotate in the hand in recoil. The pinky limits the amount of roatation to about 45 degrees with a heavy recoiling 45 Colt load. More important, by not trying to cram my entire hand onto the grip I am able to maintain about 1/4" of space between the rear of the trigger guard and the knuckle of my middle finger. That 1/4" keeps the trigger guard from ever rapping my knuckles. If anybody is getting their knuckles whacked in recoil I suggest you try this. I can shoot my Colts all day long with heavy Black Powder loads and never get my knuckles rapped.

Granted, this technique is completely counter to what most 1911 shooters are taught about gripping the gun as high as possible to counter recoil. But it works, I always grab all my revolvers this way, including my S&W N frames, with my pinky curled under the grip.

Squaw-Grip is a derogatory term for shooting pistols with two hands.

[Rusty]

Dan is right in his observation on the S&W vs the Bisley. For myself I can't seem to shoot a standard SA grip accurately no mater how hard I try. They just don't seem to fit. A Bisley seems to work fine for me.

[Old Ironsights]

The Bisley was originally designed as a change to the SAA grip frame into target gun grip, meant to handle heavy recoil, accurately - and not as a fast-action/handling grip, for which the standard SAA gripframe shape did just fine, Thank you.

The Bisley grip, and it's "nearly-the-same clones, like the Ruger Bisley, are better for slow fire.

The SAA grip excels at a more rapid pace, since it promotes the upward rotation of the gun, which places the hammer conveniently under the shooting hand's thumb, facilitating speedy cocking of ensuing shot(s).

As with most things new to you, one should be at least handled, before buying, at your peril.

Odd... That is exactly how the Bisley on my FA .454 acted... at least with my whompum-stompers. Let me unload 5 350gr/1700fps boolets into a pie plate at 25ft from the draw in just over 5 seconds - which ain't "fast" but good enough for Grizzley Bears... which is why I had the thing.

[J Miller]

I am quite comfortable shooting S&W's but I do not care for the Bisley grip frame.

I've fired both the Colt style ( Uberti replica, .45 Colt x 5.5" ) and a Ruger Accusport Bisley ( .45 Colt x 5.5" ) and although the Ruger was the better of the two I wasn't impressed enough to trade off my Old Models with their XR3 grip frames.

Possibly with more experience I might learn to appreciate the Ruger version, but it's not something I'm going to go out and spend money on.

Squaw-Grip ....... I thought we were supposed to be polite and nice here.

Joe

[Gun Smith]

The "Bisley" grip was originally designed so that the Colt SAA could be used as a target revolver. It is named for the Bisley tournament shooting matches held for many years in Bisley, England.