UPPER LIMITS OF THE RUGER BISLEY PLATFORM

PICTURED ABOVE IS A 5 1/2 INCH "NIMROD" STYLE, 5 SHOT CONVERSION TO .500JRH, BY JRH HIMSELF, ON A RUGER BISLEY, I ADDED A BOWEN W/O RCRS TO IT. I ACQUIRED THIS GUN OFF GUNBROKER A FEW MONTHS AGO BUT HAD OTHER GUN PROJECTS GOING ON SO DID NOT SHOOT THIS GUN UNTIL JUST THE OTHER DAY. I SET UP TO SHOOT ON PAPER, SITTING, OFF MY MTM REST. FIRST OFF 3 SHOTS WITH SOME BUFFALO BORE 440gr "LOW RECOIL" 975fps AMMO (THE 2 ROUNDS IN THE MIDDLE) AND I THINK "WOW THIS IS GOING TO BE FUN". NEXT 3 ARE THE BB 350gr JHP LOAD @ 1,500fps (THE 2 ROUNDS PICTURED ON THE RIGHT) AND WITH EACH SHOT THE REVOLVER RECOILED AND HIT THE BRIM OF MY BASEBALL HAT, FIRST TIME I CAN EVER RECALL THAT HAPPENING WITH ANY HANDGUN. I HAD SOME BB 400gr LEHIGH, 1,350fps DANGEROUS GAME AMMO BUT DID NOT TRY IT.

HAVE DECIDED TO USE THIS 500 JRH WITH MODERATE HANDLOADS IN THE 1,000fps - 1,100fps RANGE WITH THE MISSOURI BULLET COMPANY 400gr POWDER COATED CAST RNFP BULLET (2 LOADED ROUNDS AND 2 MBC BULLETS PICTURED ON THE LEFT). GOT RAINED OUT AT MY RANGE YESTERDAY BUT I WENT DOWN A CALICHE ROAD AND TRIED SOME LOADS WITH 12grs OF UNIQUE AND 20grs OF VVN-110. BOTH FUNCTIONED WELL. WILL LOAD UP SOME MORE OF THE 12grs UNIQUE LOAD, AND HAVE LOADED UP SOME WITH 21.0grs OF VVN-110, WHICH MAY BE HOTTER THAN I WANT BUT @ 20grs I WAS GETTING SOME UNBURNED POWDER AND I FEEL LIKE THE "SWEET SPOT", WHEN THERE IS NO MORE UNBURNED POWDER, WILL BE 21.0grs OF VVN-110.

SO WHAT DO YOU THINK THE UPPER LIMITS OF PRACTICAL ARE FOR THE RUGER BISLEY PLATFORM? I AM THINKING THAT FOR ME, TOP END LOADS IN THE 475L AND THE 500JRH ARE TOO MUCH IN THE RUGER BISLEY PLATFORM.

We all have our limits and now you know yours. Everyone will be different and have a different tolerance level.I don't get along as well with the Bisley grip as you do, and heavy loads in my .45 Colt Bisley are enough for me with wood grips. I am sure Pachmayr grips would change that but they do not make them for the Bisley.

Oh yeah, those top-end loads kick. That revolver can't weigh more than maybe 3-lbs. The platform will hold up just fine. They can be a real handful. My .500 Maximum was just a hair heavier and that damn thing kicked like a mule. The Bisley (by Ruger) is a great grip frame for heavy recoil, but I think the BFR interpretation is better. Plus, the BFR is a bit heavier which works in your favor. You should probably save the real heavy stuff for your BFR, Rey.

Beautiful gun Rey, would love to get a 500JRH but don't shoot my 475L enough to justify it.

KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN, THE 475L AND 500 JRH ARE FOR SERIOUS ENCOUNTERS OF THE DANGEROUS KIND WITH BIG BAD ANIMALS, NONE OF WHICH ROAM IN TEXAS. NO "NEED" FOR BOTH, BUT I CAN SAY THAT ABOUT 75% OR MORE OF THE REVOLVERS I OWN. HOWEVER, LOADED DOWN THE 480R, 475L AND 500JRH MAKE WONDERFUL OUTDOORSMAN REVOLVERS.

That one?s in the packin? pistol size range. I can only imagine the recoil is rough. The good thing is it?ll do anything you need with the light loads, if they can be called ?light!?

No idea on the limits, but that's one beautiful gun...

I had a 500 Linebaugh Maximum. It was a hoot to shoot and didn?t seem like it was at the ceiling shooting a 525 gr hardcast at 1500 FPS.

Rey, when I got my 500max, I worked up some various loads and Chrono?d them then used the USPSA power factor measurement to determine my personal recoil threshold. 400 - 465gr bullets at 1000fps were easy shooting and accurate.
465?s at 1300fps we?re determined to be my comfort level,.....at the time. Now years later and probably a hundred or more rounds later, 450- 465gr bullets at 1300fps are my normal hunting loads, and I was astonished with how little they seemed to recoil when I had to replace my rear sight the other day and resight in.
Shooting my little 4? 500L, is actually fun and it?s super accurate for what it is. The 500max, is a 5 1/2? gun and probably weighs less than your gun, or very close to it, give it time and shoot some easy shooting 350 -400gr bullets at 1000fps and enjoy it.
Trapr

Rey, That?s a beautiful brute of a gun. What a hammer even at 1000 FPS. Half inch diameter hole all the way through will let the air out or drain the blood out of anything.

Beautiful gun. I imagine that would be quite a handful.

Been thinking about 500jrh in a BFR but was wondering about recoil looks like it would put the hurt on a pig. 460 and 44 covers every thing I need to shoot but that 50 cal is calling but will have to wait bought a 10mm AR Friday

I HAVE A 7.5 INCH BFR BISLEY IN 500JRH AND IT REALLY HANDLES THE RECOIL, HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.

I have a 6.25? BFR Bisley and it is a great handling gun. Shooting 440gr over a healthy dose of longshot the recoil is substantial but oddly not abusive.

I love my 7.5" BFR Bisley in 500JRH. Shooting 475gr over a a heavy load of H110 getting about 1250fps. Very accurate and the weight/design of the BFR tames the recoil admirably. I have shot a 475L conversion on a Ruger frame and it seems to be a little more "snappy" perhaps because of the lighter frame. Yours is a beautiful revolver.

That is a beautiful gun. I have a 5.5 inch 500 Linebaugh built by Linebaugh. It is built like a bank vault.

I have to say the top end loads, 450-525 grain bullets pushed hard are beyond my liking as a handgun shooter. They're just more than my old wrists want to take. A 450 grain at 900-1000 fps is plenty for me. Very shootable and still a very big hammer.

I don't know what the upper limits of a Ruger Bisley are but its more than I can take

I must have missed this first time.That thing is gorgeous. I have always want some 1/2" bore wheelgun but keep getting lured into more weird stuff. Sooner or later.......

GOT TO CHONY SOME LOADS TODAY (3/29/20) IN MY BOTIQUE BISLEY NIMROD 500JRH BY JRH (THE REVOLVER PICTURED AT THE BEGIINING OF THIS TOPIC). 400gr MISSOURI BULLET COMPANY PC'ed RNFP IN STARLINE CASES: 1) 12grs UNIQUE AND FED 150 PRIMERS, 3 SHOTS AVERAGED 1,021fps; AND 2) 21grs N110 AND FED 155M PRIMERS, 6 SHOTS AVERAGED 1,064fps. I LIKE THE N110 LOAD, FASTER AND MORE ACCURATE THAN THE UNIQUE LOAD, AND VERY SHOOTABLE TOO. WAS THINKING IT WUD CHONO 1,100fps, MAY TRY 22grs OF N110, WHICH SHUD EASILY GET ME TO 1,100fps AND PROBABLY MORE, BUT 1,064fps WITH A 400gr BULLET WITH A GENEROUS MEPLAT OUGHT TO WORK JUST FINE FOR MOST OCCASIONS.