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Post by frank1 on Jun 12, 2012 14:12:38 GMT -5
Why is the Bisley grip preferred for hard recoiling magnum revolvers? Looking at the natural stance of a man, when you grip the revolver, the hands are perfectly positioned for the plow handle. Remember, the hunter gatherer was also an agrarian! Likewise, we modern day peasants do prefer a plow shape for the modern day pitchfork.
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Post by bigboredad on Jun 12, 2012 14:28:48 GMT -5
In my experience with the real hard kicking rounds for me it was a 340gr. bullet poking a long at 1250fps. .45 out of 5.5in bisley and a 5.5 inch blackhawk the bisley was easier to not only hang on to but also control. Your hand size grip strength shooting experience and grip will all be different to you since we all aren't made the same. to really know first hand you will have to try it.
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Post by whitworth on Jun 12, 2012 14:30:40 GMT -5
Frank, first off, welcome to the forum. The plow handle was also designed to pivot up, a potentially hazardous situation when shooting a large caliber with heavy recoil. The recoil dynamic is considerably different with the Bisley, coming back in the hand more than a plow handle, allowing for better control. Plow handles are fine when the revolver in question doesn't kick much, but when you start moving into the big calibers, you may be better served with a Bisley. Most custom gunsmiths retrofit their revolver conversions with Bisley grip frames. Hamiliton Bowen won't build you a .475 Linebaugh on up, without a Bisley grip. This photo will highlight the differences. The stainless grip frame is the Bisley.
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Post by Lee Martin on Jun 12, 2012 14:50:19 GMT -5
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Post by AxeHandle on Jun 12, 2012 14:59:16 GMT -5
Worthwhile to note that when it comes to grip frames there are no absolutes. The non Bisley pictured is a Super Blackhawk. There are lots of single action revolver shooters that prefer it over the Bisley. A version of it with a round trigger guard shows up on the Hunter Ruger Blackhawks and makes another set of shooters happy. The original Ruger XR3 and the redesigned XR3-Red are other options that most of us agree do not work well on a heavy kicker but you will find a small handful that like them. Ran into a character my last run down to John Gallagher's place who had a birdshead gripped 475L.
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Post by ohnomrbillk on Jun 12, 2012 15:38:51 GMT -5
Looking at the natural stance of a man, when you grip the revolver, the hands are perfectly positioned for the plow handle. Fair warning. I'm taking a study break...on musculoskeletal review for my upcoming exam. This is likely to be long winded and overly technical. Bail out now if you are already bored Perfectly positioned is a relative term. I agree with you, than nothing points as nice as a plow handle. As mentioned above, it doesn't handle recoil well. Here's a pic of some ugly guy with a plow handled 458 express. It really wants to roll in your wrist area. If you look at Olympic target pistols, it moves you in the opposite way that the Bisley does. This locks the wrist and allows the shooter to focus less on this muscle control. The lock it is in adduction, which is against the small end of the ulna bone, and is vulnerable to injury. These shooters are using an air pistol or a 22 rimfire, so injury risk from recoil is minimal. On the other end of the spectrum, you can lock your wrist in abduction. With a hand in a closed fist, you lock up against the big end of the radius bone. This is as strong as you can lock up those joints. If you look at pictures of bare knuckle boxers, they held their hands this way to prevent injury when hitting something as hard as a forehead. The Bisley grip frame holds you closer to abduction than the plow handle. It does not point as nice as the plow handle, but trades that for recoil control and allows you to disperse the recoil to your entire arm. Here is some schmuck with a 500 Linebaugh and a Bisley grip. Note how the wrist is not nearly as rolled, and the elbow and shoulder can take the abuse. The Freedom Arms 83 grip frame is closest to a Bisley. In fact, many like it even better. It makes the 454 much more manageable.
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alinct
.240 Incinerator
Posts: 98
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Post by alinct on Jun 12, 2012 15:52:15 GMT -5
Because after reading about them for so long, I always wanted one And last Friday, I got one ;D Al
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Post by frank1 on Jun 12, 2012 15:52:24 GMT -5
Whitworth: Frank, first off, welcome to the forum. The plow handle was also designed to pivot up, a potentially hazardous situation when shooting a large caliber with heavy recoil. The recoil dynamic is considerably different with the Bisley, coming back in the hand more than a plow handle, allowing for better control. Plow handles are fine when the revolver in question doesn't kick much, but when you start moving into the big calibers, you may be better served with a Bisley. Most custom gunsmiths retrofit their revolver conversions with Bisley grip frames. Hamiliton Bowen won't build you a .475 Linebaugh on up, without a Bisley grip. This photo will highlight the differences. The stainless grip frame is the Bisley. Thanks. Do you mean the fat part at the bottom of the plow handle makes it pivot up? Pivot up means roll in the hand?
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Post by Lee Martin on Jun 12, 2012 16:02:04 GMT -5
Whit....it's neat seeing your old 357 Max again. I guess the only thing left now is the frame. -Lee www.singleactions.com"Building carpal tunnel one round at a time"
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Post by frank1 on Jun 12, 2012 16:12:46 GMT -5
ohnomrbillk: That makes sense now that you explained it. I can see how a large caliber, light weight magnum revolver would benefit from Bisley. Fortunately, for myself, my BFR's are of greater weight so I can shoot the large caliber and benefit from the pointing ability of the plow handle. Right?
That was a great post. I do appreciate you taking your time to explain it. Good luck on your exam!
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Post by bigbores on Jun 12, 2012 16:33:06 GMT -5
I have both and I like a modified plow handle (a hunter grip frame with a rounded bottom) over the Bisley for one reason, the rounded Ruger hunter has more room so it doesn't smack my middle finger with the trigger guard and because the bottom is rounded it pushes more than rotates at least for me.
You can't expect a 140LBS computer tech hands to be the same as a 300LBS construction workers, you should try many different grips to find out what works for your hands.
I would like to try Huntington's grip ext and his modified Bisley but for now I like the hunter with a rounded bottom.
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Post by whitworth on Jun 12, 2012 16:55:48 GMT -5
Frank, did 44man send you?? ;D
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Post by dlhredfoxx on Jun 12, 2012 17:17:43 GMT -5
I also prefer the XR3/XR3-Red for "pointing" in anything up to 44 Special or light 45 Colt cowboy loads. My pinky finger won't fit on beveled grips on that frame. When I get into hot 44Mag/hot 45 Colt (Ruger only loads) a larger SBH frame is nice. When I hit the 454, 475 Linebaugh and into the big 50 bores... the Bisley just seems to handle the recoil much better, IMO. For one thing, you've got more grip to hold onto witht he Bisley, especially with non-beveled grips. It's a "feel" thing to me... it just feels better. I do know one thing, I'd better hold on when I shoot a hot 45 Colt "Ruger only" load in my Vaqueros and Blackhawks with the little XR3 Red grip frame as they try to jump out of my hand, especially with only two fingers holding on the belly of the grip!
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Post by frank1 on Jun 12, 2012 18:53:55 GMT -5
Whitworth: Frank, did 44man send you?? ;D No. I do feel the discussions on the topic were heated, but they never answered the why question. Why is it beneficial? There's a reason for everything. And we got a good answer here.
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Post by CraigC on Jun 12, 2012 23:54:39 GMT -5
IMHO, any discussion is irrelevant. It simply works. It doesn't work for everybody but it works for most. You simply have to find what works best for you. That includes finding what grip panel contour works best as well. We're all different.
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