Bisley tweaked by Clements and a bonus

[c.r.]

I sent a 7 1/2"Bisley in 44 mag to Mr. Clements a little while back and received it back a couple of weeks ago.

In addition to what can be seen in the pics.........Mr. Clements gave it his basic tune-up package, set the B/C gap & end-shake to minimum, re-cut the forcing cone, fit an add'l SBH cylinder to the six-shooter, and free-wheeled the cylinders.

David went ahead and re-blued the entire gun. The loading gate and hammer have a nice tint of plum to them.

What might be my favorite part of this project is what Mr. Clements did with the factory grips. I don't even know where to begin to describe how much better they fit my hand. I never had a problem with really getting thumped by the trigger guard, but now the guard doesn't even come near tapping my finger.

I'm beginning to think the money spent on grips is the best money spent. Not necessarily the material, but just they way the grips fit the hand an make the gun so much more comfortable.

I'm also becoming a HUGE fan of crescent ejector rod handles. They just feel right.





and the bonus.......I received a copy of Big Bore Sixguns the same day.

[cas]

The grip shape change makes all the difference in the world. My first 5 gun a was a 50AE, with a stock grip frame/grips, the heavy bullet loads beat my middle knuckle unmercifully. My hand would hurt for a week after I shot it. My Clements 500 on the other hand, I can shoot the most awful loads imaginable and the knuckle never even gets a kiss.

[Mark Terry]

C.R.,

I'm trying to understand what was done to the grips. Do you mean he changed the stocks / grips and that made the difference? They are the stock set that was modified (I assume by removing material)?

I have Bisleys and have made an attempt to make grips to better fit my hand but every set ends up wider in the back (I remove material and try them - without actually shooting the gun). I'd be anxious to try something like you have here.

Actually, all of my Bisleys are away from home undergoing minor surgery so it'll be some time before I can try anything different.

Thanks for sharing.

By the way, excellent choice of reading material. It's a gem.

[c.r.]

Mr. Terry,
Those are a set of factory grips that Mr. Clements worked over. before sending the gun up there I asked him if he'd take a look at the grips and see if he could "fit them a little better". I just expected he would trim the edges. Mr. Clements responded that he'd see what he could do. When Mr. Clements was getting started on the gun, we spoke again while he had the gun in his hands. He said, he could definately do something with them.

From what I can tell......first, he flushed the edges up with the grip frame. It feels like he took some of the width off them. I don't notice as much of a flare toward the bottom either. They feel smaller/slimmer in my hand. They don't feel as "boxy" as the factory grips. Somehow, it feels as though they have created more relief between the trigger guard and my #1 finger, but it's probably more that these grips allow me a better hold on the gun.

when i said, "I'm beginning to think the money spent on grips is the best money spent"......I was referring to the custom grips I have on a few guns.

the factory bisley grips allowed the guard to just barely kiss my finger with heavy loads. nothing painful, i just recognized contact. It made me wonder if I could shoot a 475L and not shatter my finger. I believe CAS has it correct.........grips make all the difference.....

this book is a great read isn't it......it completes my set of Mr. Taffin's books......until........well I can hope until his next book.

~c.r.

[Markbo]

Soooooooo... did he modify (reshape?) the frame and grip panels or just the panels?

[c.r.]

Oct 27, 2009 18:11:30 GMT -5 Markbo said:

Soooooooo... did he modify (reshape?) the frame and grip panels or just the panels?

per my invoice, only the panels.

[caryc]

I think I posted this in another thread but don't remember which one. Below is a picture of what is wrong with most Ruger stock "cookie cutter" grips. They are CNC machined with mostly no attention to hand fitting.

The arrows show you the flat spots on a Bisley grip on the front of the grip. The back of the grip is usually the same also. Between the top and bottoms arrows you see the flat spot. At the arrows on top you can see the sharp edge left on the grips. This is the kind of stuff that makes cookie cutter grips uncomfortable to use.

This thread is not to bash using a CNC router to make grips. A small one man operation can take the time to final hand fit the grips unlike the big companies. That makes the difference.

My guess is that Mr. Clements de-cookie cuttered the grips with maybe a little overall slimming towards the bottom. I never understood what all the flare at the bottom was supposed to do on a plow handle type grip anyway. The second picture down shows a stock pair of grips on a single six that just felt wrong to me. I replaced them with a set of gunfighter style grips that I made and the difference in the feel is jut unbelievable.

I kind of equate the feeling of those stock single six grips to holding a baseball bat by the wrong end. You know something just doesn't feel right.

You can also see a flat spot at the top or those wooden single six grips on the back strap. It starts right at the top and gets a little narrower as it continues all the way to the bottom. My guess is that Lett or who ever made them just couldn't put any final finishing time into them for the cheap price they were getting for them from Ruger, just as is still happening today. Ruger makes good guns for the money they charge for them. One can hardly expect a precision set of grips for that price. Rugers are still a good buy.