David Bradshaw Photos Vol. 108 - Ronnie Wells Gripframe Pt 3

[Lee Martin]

SBH Bisley Hunter .44 with (left) Ronnie Wells Bison Hunter brass grip frame. Ruger 03 with Bradshaw Bisley. Ronnie shaped the Bison Hunter his hand, and shaped black micarta scales with palm swell to compliment his mitt. The Bradshaw Bisley is simply a Ruger with the Bisley pushed back 3/16-inch.



A light French curve blends brass Bison Hunter to hammer hump of SBH frame. Belt sander brings shape close. Precision of the RW grip frame greatly eases exterior work.


RW brass Bison Hunter. Rough-in on belt sander. The owner who performs final fit-up personalizes his or her grip. Dremel rotary grinder with sanding drum contours trigger guard in spirit of old-time manufacturing. Finishing will be done by hand with crocus cloth and/or emory paper & water.



Black micarta on brass Bison Hunter gripframe. David accentuating Ronniw Wells palm swell, aka "coke."



Backstrap profiles from rear: (left) Bradshaw Bisley, scales thick at hump, thin at butt; Bison Hunter, scales thin at hump, coke or palm swell, flared at butt.



RW scales profiled on CNC fit seamless to Ronnie's grip frames. ides must be taken down, as must hammer hump on backstrap, as factory polish of frame makes each revolver unique. Ruger dimensions of frame angles and spacing of 5 grip frame screw holes remains precise and consistent year-in, year out.



Overlay tracing of Bradshaw Bisley and Bison Hunter. Both improve clearance between middle finger and trigger guard over Ruger Bisley. David prefers match of Bradshaw Bisley backstrap-to-front strap. Slope of Bison backstrap may beg for tapered toe on front strap. RW open the door to personalize proportions.



Fireball from Ruger SBH Bisley Hunter with RW brass Bison Hunter gripframe. Nosler .44 200 JHP over 23.3/Winchester 296, CCI 350,Federal brass, COL=.605". This load will do for lung shots on whitetail and pigs, from revolver and carbine.



RW Bison Hunter brass gripframe on SBH Bisley Hunter .44 Mag. Aerial water jug. Lead on falling jug shots 6 o'clock hit. Mass of bull barrel Super Blackhawk Hunter minimizes correction possible on a split-second shot.



David after a shot with the humble .44 Magnum. David continues shaping----and shooting----brass Bison Hunter, to see whether is can be made to fit his hand. Thanks to Ronnie Wells, the door is open to personalizing single action grip frames for Conservation of Anatomy.



-Lee
www.singleactions.com
"Chasing perfection five shots at a time"

[weiler]

David, who made the sloan type holster for you? very cool stuff

[bradshaw]

Chris.... holster is a single layer Milt Sparks #200AW. Bought from Kelye of belt Mountain. Wasn’t taking the time to make a scabbard, thought about Doc... Kelye wasn’t wearing his, so I threw him a line. Immediately wet the skin, to mold to the 3/4-inch longer ejector of the Ruger 03. Holster treated inside & out with warm mixture of clear mineral oil & beeswax.
David Bradshaw

[contender]

I'm really liking that Bradshaw Bisley with the added 3/16". Looking good here!

[bradshaw]

Jul 22, 2020 21:48:07 GMT -5 contender said:

I'm really liking that Bradshaw Bisley with the added 3/16". Looking good here!

*****

Tyrone.... especially shooting one-hand with stiffer loads, trigger guard of the Bradshaw Bisley hasn’t visited middle finger. Had enough of that pounding while still in my thirties, and continued on. So, to consider conservation of anatomy at this stage is important and healthy. Ronnie can work with a hand tracing, which of course guided Steve Herrett in his grip making. Ronnie brings experience of working with a hand surgeon. He’s also a hard corps shooter, so the combination is worth digging into. I would never have thought someone so deep into precision machining comes armed with an open mind. This last point provides a key to continuous learning.

The old Colt 1873 Peacemaker grip is an amazing development, as was the entire pistol. Clarifying one and a half centuries later the triangle of revolver weight, cartridge power, and shooters hand. The magnums, specifically the .44 Remington Magnum, didn’t end the power game. Rather, the .44 Mag let the dog out to follow its nose. These grips of Ronnie Wells keep power-to-weight ratio high, and in doing so screw a fourth leg to the table. Dick Casull did this, but not for everybody.

Dick Casull told me his grip (Freedom Arms Model 83) was “Perfect.”

For who’s hand? I asked.

“Mine,” Dick smiled.

We are far from through, looking into the power-to-weight caper. The target remains the final arbiter, where consistency has a a huge say. A grip change radical enough to influence shooting takes some getting used to. I don’t promote anything beyond SAFETY and MARKSMANSHIP. Feel like we’re headed in a correct direction.
David Bradshaw

[contender]

I normally try to use both hands as much as possible,, but you are right,,, one handed shooting can truly push the limits of abilities when it comes heavy calibers. But I think the Bradshaw Bisley grip shape would be close to fitting my hands as well. That additional space behind the trigger should fit my hands quite well. Gonna be looking into that for sure.

[kaytod]

David,
Very nice description and work on the grip frames. Ronnie has addressed a major problem for us with his frames. I'm delighted with his Kaytod model, although not for me, but for my wife and several friends who's hands all measure nearly the same in palm and finger lengths. The only differences are widths across the knuckles and palm. Primarily the differences between male and female. It had given them the length of pull needed for proper trigger placement. Combine that with an additional 2.5 degrees of angle and their smaller hands, it keeps the trigger guard from the middle knuckle well.

Ronnie sent me one of your Bradshaw models, since I tend to swallow up a Bisley. ( see my avitar, that's a full sized bisley, not a single six ) I can't wait to put it on something with generous recoil. Now selecting what I'm going to place it on. I'll keep everyone updated as possible.

[450ak]

Your sixgun and load has to be usable with either hand. My old 45 Vaquero 3 5/8s has many miles in the Absorkas. Took a short cut one afternoon through a steep logdepole stand. Came upon a g bear of course. Hooked left arm on a tree and yanked the 45. He grumbled and thought about my suggestion of what a 310 Keith would do to his well being. He took off , range was twenty feet or so. Doubt I could gotten both hands on the gun.
My FE special grip frame is working well, have been shooting it on my 500 Vaquero. 450 Keith at 1025 won’t stay in bison so it might work on a bear that’s a third the weight.
Look forward to a RW grip frame for black beauty 🙄 my 5 inch 500

[bradshaw]

kaytod.... by all means keep Singleactions tuned on your grip frame experiences and, importantly, those of your wife.
David Bradshaw

[RDW]

Jul 25, 2020 16:48:06 GMT -5 bradshaw said:

kaytod.... by all means keep Singleactions tuned on your grip frame experiences and, importantly, those of your wife.
David Bradshaw

Ya Man, Cuz Kayla aint no Sissy girl!
This gal will send them 475 Linebaughs down range with the best of them! Oh Ya, Shes a shooter!
And Todd Stay Tuned cuz theres some Walnut panels heading your way.
R