An American classic — the Ruger Bisley: more value than you pay for, is the author's assessment of the popular Ruger Bisley revolver

Guns Magazine, Jan, 2003 by Glenn Barnes

Leadingham uses a standard 7 1/2 inch .44 Magnum Bisley for the majority of his six-gunning chores, preferring his Clements Custom Bisley in the same chambering for everything else.

We tested three different factory loads, nine .44 Magnum handloads, and for added versatility, we also tested six .44 Special handloads. Powders used during our tests were: Alliant's 2400 and Unique, Hodgdon's H110 and Universal Clays, and finally Winchester's 296. Hornady, Speer, Nosler and two different cast bullets topped off our bullet selection, and we used Winchester primers and brass.

Minor Technical Difficulties

Accuracy testing was done from a rest at 25 yards. Velocities were obtained using a Chrony chronograph, set up 10 feet from the muzzle. Unfortunately, we were unable to obtain measured velocities with all our loads, due to the fact I inadvertently shot the chronograph. Don't laugh! I'm sure I'm not the only one that's ever happened to, but I might be the only one to admit it.

I have owned handguns in the past and I'm sure you have as well, that were very finicky about what you fed them. Good accuracy was only obtainable with one or perhaps two loads. Leadingham and I spent the whole day at the range testing various loads in our Bisley .44 Magnums, a total of 18, and with the exception of one .44 Special handload, they all shot exceptionally well.

Not one group was over 2 inches, with the majority running around 1 inch. The Ruger Bisley is plainly not temperamental. In addition, Leadingham and I carried a couple of customized Bisleys to the range with us, just for comparison sake, and with the exception of that same .44 Special handload, they shot uniformly well. Over the years I have tested several Ruger Bisleys, in all the centerfire calibers. They have proven to be the least finicky sixguns I've ever worked with.

Favorite Fodder

For my personal use, I've settled on three handloads in the .44 Magnum that cover all my needs. The first consists of a 240 grain cast semi-wadcutter bullet, over 8.5 grains of Alliant Unique, for around 900 to 1,000 fps, depending on barrel length and gun.

This load works very well in all .44 Magnum handguns I've tested, and our Bisley was no exception. From the bench, it averaged 1 1/2 inches for several five shot strings. This is a pleasant load to shoot, recoil is very mild, yet it is powerful enough to take deer sized game at reasonable ranges.

My second handload is one I use for 90 percent of my .44 Magnum handgunning chores. Combining either a 240 grain cast bullet or a good 240 grain jacketed bullet, with 18.5 grains of Alliant's 2400 powder, this load produces around 1,200 fps in my 7 1/2 inch Bisley.

Groups run around 1 inch at 25 yards and recoil is still fairly mild. This load actually duplicates the hot .44 Special loads Elmer Keith touted before the advent of the .44 Magnum. For the majority of us, this one load would be sufficient for our needs.

My third handload has been a favorite for many years -- 21.0 grains of Alliant 2400 under Hornady's excellent XTP bullet. This is a magnum load, generating 1,300 to 1,350 fps from my Bisley. Recoil is pretty stout, but the excellent design of the Bisley grip frame handles it nicely.