Bisley vs plow handle

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You're the second person lately that started a "This or That" thread without adding a poll! (.45ACP or 10mm being the other thread)
Bisley. For the reason MaxP states.
 
You're the second person lately that started a "This or That" thread without adding a poll! (.45ACP or 10mm being the other thread)
Bisley. For the reason MaxP states.
Sorry to be such a disappointment. I looked into history, and didn’t see this thread brought up. I’ll be sure to check with you next time, before I post.
 
I believe I seen a picture of the aftermath of that one. I’ve often said, I’d like to shoot a .50 Alaskan once. Probably once would be enough, to get the urge out of my system too!!

Yeah I put that photo in my first book, Big-Bore Revolvers. I just let my concentration slip for a moment because I became complacent and wham, the front sight tried to knock me out. Here is a still taken from the video showing just how much muzzle flip that revolver produced even with the brake.

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My father and I used to do a lot of handloading from the Ruger-Only pages of some reloading pages. While the Bisley has a nice feel against the palm of my hand, I still prefer the way the Plowshare handle allows for the grip frame to roll in my hand with the heavy loads (reducing some of the stress on the wrist).

Sure, rubber grip stocks can also mitigate stress. Different strokes.
 
My father and I used to do a lot of handloading from the Ruger-Only pages of some reloading pages. While the Bisley has a nice feel against the palm of my hand, I still prefer the way the Plowshare handle allows for the grip frame to roll in my hand with the heavy loads (reducing some of the stress on the wrist).

Sure, rubber grip stocks can also mitigate stress. Different strokes.

You shouldn't feel anything in your wrists at all. The elbows should be your only articulation -- cuts down on wear and tear. The rubber grips change the grip frame geometry and that is why they work so well.
 
Yeah I put that photo in my first book, Big-Bore Revolvers. I just let my concentration slip for a moment because I became complacent and wham, the front sight tried to knock me out. Here is a still taken from the video showing just how much muzzle flip that revolver produced even with the brake.

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No need to put red paint on that front sight, and it tries to "repaint" itself every time you pull the trigger. Ouch!
 
Yeah I put that photo in my first book, Big-Bore Revolvers. I just let my concentration slip for a moment because I became complacent and wham, the front sight tried to knock me out. Here is a still taken from the video showing just how much muzzle flip that revolver produced even with the brake.

Now I'm an even bigger fan of the .44 Special than I was! :p
 
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It all depends on the level of recoil for me. I like the feel of a plow handle, but it moves under heavy recoil, so for big bores I prefer bisley, especially in 44 mag or bigger, and in barrels over about 6”. The 44 I had with the 9” barrel was highly unpleasant with stout loads so it ran away. I wish I had kept it and swapped grip frames, but there was something else that was fancy that I wanted at the time...
 
I had a pair of Bisley Vaqueros in .44 Mag for about ten minutes. Maybe I'd been shooting my Super Blackhawks too long by that point, but they felt... foreign, sort of unnatural.

Pinky under, and smooth grips on a dragoon size plow handle, that's the ticket for me.

The Vaquero sized plow handle, though, that's another story. Not enough room to the trigger guard for heavy recoil. Specials were okay, but my knuckles still smart, thinking about putting magnums through.
 
I can shoot either grip style equally, Bisley, Plow, or Birds Head.

I have medium sized hands, don’t know if that makes a difference. But then, I’m not shooting Ultra Magnums either.
 
I developed a dislike for the rubber Pachmyer grip many years ago. I was visiting my daughter and her family in Ohio and my son-in-law and his friends introduced me to the Thompson Contender. They had about three frames and a box full of barrels. All the frames were Pachmyer gripped except one, which had the original wood grip. My introduction was with a .30-30 and a .35 Remington, then on to more interesting stuff.

We were shooting hot .444 Marlin and heavy loaded .45-70 loads. The gun's recoil rolled that little web of skin betwixt thumb and forefinger, and by the end of the day I had formed a very painful blister there which remained very sore for a couple of days. Soured me from that time on for rubber grips.

Of all the Contenders there the favorite of mine was a scoped .30-40 Krag. Very sweet shooting pistol.


Bob Wright
 
I have a Flattop 44spl in both Bisley and Plowhandle. Bisley all the way for me. Now if I could just convince myself to get rid of the plowhandled one.
 
Another fan of the Pachmayr rubber grip. It not only cushions recoil, but extends the grip down for a larger hand (mine) and keeps my fat middle knuckle from getting whacked by the trigger guard. The heaviest loads I've fired from my BFR Casull with the rubber grip are 345s @ 1300, and they were pleasant and controllable.

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There should be some side-by-side comparison pics of Bisley, Birdshead, and Plow Style grips in this thread!!!

I do not have any guns with birdshead grips, but here is a pair of good sixguns showing Ruger's Bisley and plowhandle grips.

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The stainless gun is a New Vaquero in .45 Colt. It was purchased to be my "indoor range" gun to be used with plated bullets. Our local indoor range is not well ventilated and I do not like to breathe the lead and lube fumes from cast bullets. I also do not enjoy cleaning copper out of bores, so I use just this one gun with copper and clean it out every once in a while. Leather is from El Paso Saddlery.

The blued gun is one of the early Lipsey's flat tops in .44 Special, shown in its Milt Sparks holster. I have had some pretty nice guns over the years, but after firelapping and a trigger job, this seems to be the gun that jumps into my hands whenever I am preparing to go to the range. While I claim to prefer plowhandle grips in general, this is one those good guns that just seems to really want to hit for me. It is the one that I immediately think of whenever a "if you could only have one gun" thread pops up.

<edit> My wife is from Taiwan, in case anybody is wondering why my guns are always propped up with chopsticks!
 
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I am very much a "Bisley" guy. I have shot plenty of "plow handles" but I do not like the way that they tend to squirt down in my grip while I am shooting them. I have tried the pinky under the grip, different holds, all kinds of things, but was never satisfied. The Bisley grip just seems more stable in my hand while shooting it. I think part of it may be that it is much more similar to how a grip on an automatic feels. While square butt K frames are not as bad, they tend to squirt down in my hand when shooting them as well.

Yup.
 
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