et me explain the differences and the options and opportunities that are opened up or available, by thinking outside of the box, when it comes to the one piece of the revolver that the human hand hangs on to these rascals with.
For one, style. ITS GOT TO LOOK COOL! Two, fit and comfort. So many things have been pointed out to me over the course of the past six months. I live in an area of the country that sees many a winter in the 70's and very rarely into freezing temps. I Have lived in this area since 1969 and i can count on one hand how many times it has snowed, and i loosely refer to it as snow because a lot of our northern brethren would laugh and say, (that is snow cone ice man! Come to my house and i will show you SNOW.) Haha! I never thought about shooting gloves but have realized that feature on some of my grip frames is a shoe in! The Bisley Trigger guard. It allows a much larger finger and because of the geometry difference between it and the standard Black Hawk trigger guard, it allows a greater amount of room between the Knuckle and the trigger guard. That feature was my sole reason for adapting the feature to non Bisley style grip frames! However the Bisley trigger guard is much larger and sits forward much further than the standard Black Hawk trigger guard. Very important when using a glove, to have enough room for it and not worry about setting the trigger off till your ready!
I must point out a lot of my designs were built to achieve a certain look first. Then make it fit right second. The look was always my driving force. But along the way i had to make it practical and easy to manufacture and very functional. Some of us like corvettes, some of us like mustangs, But a few of us LOVE Both! I am one of those people who love both! Changing triggers and hammers is a great way to completely transform the way a single action looks, works and functions.
Most of all it needs (to MITIGATE RECOIL and ADVANCE CONSISTENCY, furthering marksmanship.) David Bradshaw!
So with that being said, lets point out some subtle differences and explain the geometry difference between the two types of triggers!
Trigger Guards
**NEED TO RE-INSERT TRIGGER GUARD COMPARISON PICTURE
Also Notice the size difference of the actual trigger Guard Hole!
The left is a Bisley Trigger. The right is a Black Hawk. Notice the difference in the radius rehind the two triggers. The Bisley has a smaller radius allowing for a little more rearward travel without contacting the rear bottom of the trigger guard hole. A standard Blackhawk trigger is pretty much a straight back type situation and sits back a little farther than the Bisley. But because of the position and travel geometry of the Bisley, the window at the bottom of the frame has to be different. The window extension on the Bisley, closes up the gaping cutout that has to be there because of the way it travels rearward versus the standard black Hawk. However the main difference is the Bisley trigger sits much further forward than the Bisley, cocked and relaxed!
See below trigger Cutout view from above. You will notice the black hawk on the left has a much shorter trigger cutout than the Bisley on the right! You will also notice that the cylinder latch spring plunger hole is in a little different location. The Bisley cylinder latch spring plunger hole is further forward because of the position of the front of the Trigger guard. The hole has to be in some material of course, and because of the further forward position, in order to push on the Cylinder latch properly it has to be tilting back 8 more degrees than the Black Hawk! So that way the plunger contacts the same spot on the bottom of the latch. If you look at the bottom of the holes you will see less of the Bisley because of the tilt!
Something else we need to point out.
Every once in a while i run in to a stubborn frame that needs a little love around the alignment boss location at the base of the frame near the front , Lower Mounting Screw!
You will notice the frame on the left has a nice radius and will allow an easy fitment, However the frame on the right has a rather random radius that has a protrusion that might give you some trouble.
I have found on a lot of the single six frames, That they need a lot more attention to this area. I have seen the groove or slot to be shorter than most of the standard Black Hawks.
However it is a simple cleanup operation with an 1/8 inch flat bottom dremel bit and a little patience.
The next picture will point out the grip frame boss or alignment protrusion that the front mounting screw goes thru.
The side of the boss should be fairly snug along the sides of the groove cut in the bottom of the Gun frame.
You may have to tickle the side of the Grip frame alignment boss to get a perfect fit but i strongly suggest to keep it as snug as possible so as to not have side play!
If it is real loose the Grip frame might shift a smidge, left or right. I also do not cut the front radius of the grip frame so you retain as much material around the screw hole as possible.
Remember, on the other side of that boss is a countersink hole so the screw head can sit flush with the Grip frame.
If the frame has a shorter groove, i remove material from the frame instead.
The frame is a high quality 4140 steel and removing a small amount of material here will not compromise the frames strength!
If you Cut the front radius of the Grip frame you take a chance on cutting in to the screw countersink in the Grip frame.
Hope that Makes it a little easier!
So to sum it all up...
I am offering the opportunity to blend various combinations together that in the past have not existed except from the hands of hardcore Gunsmiths or individuals altering the existing frames. I have seen a few and they have all been highly skilled individuals. But very few. And not available to all of us regular ole Joes at a moments notice! In other words an XR3-RED with a Bisley trigger guard looks great and fits and feels very nice! It allows the larger trigger hole and a little extra knuckle Room. It doesn't matter what it is. XR3, XR3.5, XR3-RED, SBH, I have a Bisley handle with a Blackhawk trigger Combo. The Ladies seem to like that one because it works well with shorter fingers and gives lots of grip to hang on to! My Birdsley with the Bisley trigger has been voted MOST SEXY by a lot of my old cowboy buddies. The K-Bird with BTG (Bisley Trigger Guard) also looks great and feels even better on the specials, 44, 38, 45 ACP, ETC! I also offer a .300 longer option which absolutely transforms an XR conventional into an entirely new kind of animal with a Bisley trigger guard!
However Bisley Triggers go with Bisley Trigger Guards and Black Hawk Triggers go with Black Hawk Trigger Guards because of the Geometry difference.
You can use a Black Hawk hammer with a Bisley back strap design with no problems, But you CANNOT use a Ruger Brand Bisley Hammer on conventional plow handle without cutting the rear of the hammer down. Powers Custom makes of course a Beautiful Bisley hammer for use with a plow handle that was made that way from the get go, and I LOVE THEM! They are always a perfect fit and absolutely gorgeous!
I hope that explains the options and differences to a degree that is helpful. For visuals, check out our new (Link Coming Soon) Compare Page.
Ronnie Wells
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