RUGER’S 45 COLT

I have and have had about every Ruger rifle and handgun they have put out, at one time or another. In fact a few that got away I wish I still had. Like a treasured little 3 screw/flat top 357 SA and the single shot .256 Hawkeye. Gone these long years. I have today several Ruger 357 SAs. The one most prominant is a Bisley with a seven and half inch barrel. This gun out of the box like most Rugers had a rough trigger...which took 20 minutes to cure...but it's accuracy is outstanding! My favorite load of a 180 grain bullet over 13.5 grains of All(Herc)2400 will go into sub inch groups at 25 yards all day long.

Of course being a strong Ruger Blackhawk frame and cylinder, it will take a lot heavier loads and I use them for hunting. But there is one Ruger for the money I feel is the poor man's big game handgun.....

The Bisley with a seven and ½ inch barrel chambered for the 45 long Colt...the Redhawk in doouble action 45 Colt is also good but it is larger and bulkier to carry.

I have two Ruger 45 Bisleys...One of them got it's barrel cut to five inches almost immediately...the other stayed at 7 and ½ inches. The velocity gain from the five inch to the 7 and ½ was negligible. For those that need the extra sight radius the 7 and ½ is a fine gun. Personally I don't need it.

I like Hamilton Bowen's after market back sights for the Blackhawk...they fit the Bisley since it is the same frame. A little smoothing up and you have one heck of a big game handgun.

Why not just the 44 magnum? Because you can get the 44 mag's power at much less pressure with the 45 Colt case. And then when you do up the pressure in the Bisley 45 Colt, the 44 mag is left in the dust. For the person that wants to hunt moose some day...or will be in bear country and can't afford the 454s and 475s...the Ruger 45 Bisley is gun to get.

I shot a large mule deer with a 180 XTP bullet leaving the five inch 45 Bisley at 1610 fps (31/4227 @ 31,000 psi..very warm top load) and over 1000 lbs of muzzle energy. At 88 long paces it struck the animal in the right ribs...about the middle, angling toward the off shoulder. I never expected the bullet to make it to the off side shoulder...the XTPs are very expandable. The right lung had a grapefruit hole thru it...the left lung was trashed and the left leg/low shoulder joint, was scrabbled. The bullet exited. The deer just caved in. It went down so fast at the shot, I thought when I pulled out of recoil it had leaped away, but it was laying right where I had shot it.

The Cor-Bon 265 grain soft nose at 1344 fps from my Bisley is one of the best for deer, black bear, hogs of all kinds..and they are mini tanks, and even elk. Their 300 grain soft point at 1300 fps will take any animal the Americas has to offer and 90% of African game.

Buffalo Bore also is in the 45 Colt Plus P market. Their 325 grain LBT bullet and there 300 grain Speer PSP will give well over 1300 fps from my five inch. The accuracy of Buffalo Bore’s ammo is outstanding...it’s killing power is undisputed....truly how many animals could withstand over 1200 ft.lbs of muzzle energy placed in the right spot? Buffalo Bore performs.

My personal opinion is that there is no animal that walks the earth that can’t be taken cleanly with the right bullet loaded to full pressure in the 454 Freedom Arms SA.....I also think that the Bisley 45 Colt loaded with the right bullet can cleanly take just about every thin skinned game animal.

Now before I hear lots of crying over that...I would not go out and hunt the big bears of the North with a heavy loaded 45 Bisley Colt...but I would carry one in the North for protection and not feel under gunned. Also I would without a problem shoot a moose...even a very large moose...with a properly loaded 45 Colt/Bisley.

The Ruger Bisley grip...which is really a modified Bisley grip from the original Colt Bisley shape...takes recoil just right for me. The FA Bisley type grip has that same recoil handling quality. When you are pushing a 325 grain bullet at 1300 plus fps from a Ruger Bisley or a 340 grain bullet at 1700 fps from a FA 454, the recoil isn’t a push or a heavy raising of the hands...it is a powerful snapping jerk and pushing up of the hands and arms! And the Bisley type grip really helps the shooter to tolerate and handle the handguns so much better with this kind of recoil. The difference between my standard Ruger Blackhawk SA grip and the Bisley grip with the 45 Colt chambering and heavy loads is amazing...you can feel the difference. It doesn’t lessen the recoil...the Bisley gives you more control over it.

Using 2400 powder and slowly going up, I went to 24 grains under the 260 grain cast Keith bullet and 1475 fps. That’s around 1250 ft. lbs. And running around 30,000 psi. 15 grains of IMR800X will go around 1400 fps and 28,000 psi...I like the accuracy of these two loads. For those that want a milder but yet powerful loading with the Keith bullet 22/2400 gives over 1330 fps and the pressure is down in the mid 26,000 psi range. 25 grains of H110 will also put you in the 1300 plus fps range...switch to a jacketed 250 grain bullet and the H110 load drops to around 1250 fps....

I have settled on 24 grains of 2400 under the 260 grain Keith so I have a cross over load with my Rossi 92 levergun and getting close to 2000 fps...I wouldn’t use this load in the Marlin or Winchester 94 leverguns...only the 92 designs....

22/2400 under the 300 to 325 grain cast Keith bullets goes close to 1300 fps in the long barreled Ruger Bisley and near 1700 from the Rossi. (My Rossi has a 24 inch ½ Octo ½ round barrel). The Ruger is truly the poor man’s large game handgun...but since it will be used most on deer, black bear, hogs and elk....it is nice to know it is certainly more than powerful for any of them.....