Looky HERE!

[Rocky Raab]

One of the very first production guns made for Lipsey's. I picked it up an hour ago. You may now wipe the drool off your keyboards ...


http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c170/RockyRaab/IMG_1483.jpg

[muledeer]

Nice!!!! I want it:D
muledeer

[toxic111]

Looks good.. would have to check the barrel length to even see if I could get one..

[Jack]

Very, very nice !
Is that a 5 shot cylinder?, or six?

[skeet]

Nice ..very very nice. 44 special. man..I might just have to get me one of them.. Where? How much? when will they have more??

And hey..look at all that NEW brass.

[Rocky Raab]

They are a special-run for Lipsey's, who last year had the same gun and chambering in the regular frame. They'll make 2000 each in 4 5/8" and 5 1/2" version. Six-shooters all. Mine is the shorter one. Mine is also from the first few production guns, and was made on Feb 20.

MSRP is $800, but street price of the regular frame ones is about $400 and the Bisley $500.

The first one sold out so fast (even after they doubled the order!) that Ruger now offers the gun as a stock item. I'd bet a dollar they offer the Bisley as stock next year. It took 50 years, but Ruger finally lists the flattop .44 Special, which they originally planned to do - until the Magnum came out. Fifty years of whining, begging, beotching and cajoling by Fans of the Forty-Four; it was worth it!

(I gulped and paid $36 for that bag of brass to use as photo props, but I'll be loading it as soon as the photo sessions are over!)

[dovehunter]

Nice! I've always loved the Ruger SAs and I sort of like the Bisley too. Nice photo - very professional looking!

[skeet]

I really like the looks of that Bisley. But the remake of the Flattop in 44 Spec is pretty much one of my real wants. I have a 2nd year production 44 Flattop back east in the vault with a couple other handguns that are worth a bit. The 4 in te vault all have their boxes and papers and 2 are 44's. One is a Smith 44 spec and the other is the Flattop Ruger. One is a 357 Registered magnum almost unfired and the other is an old Kreighoff Artillery Luger. Other than the Luger the rest are pretty much shootin guns but still worth some money now. I am going to have to find a Flattop 44 Spec.

That brass sure do come spensive now Rocky. A friend in Maryland just sent me a care package with some 300 H&H, 257 Weatherby mag and 44 Special brass. All new but I'm gonna give him some stuff in return.

[Rocky Raab]

Thanks, dovehunter. I'm learning!

Now's the time, Skeet. The regular flattops from Lipsey are showing up on auctions now, and of course they're now regular stock items from Ruger as well.

[skeet]

If I can find a flattop 44 spec any time soon..I'm gonna have to sell the Smith 696 I just bought. I just like those Rugers. You really did good Rocky. Did you have the gun on order? or just find it as it came in??

[Adam Helmer]

Rocky,

VERY nice handgun!

Adam

[Catfish]

I`ll bet if you would have had that when we were in Idaho you could have killed a coyote. :D Nice looking piece. I would even consider something like that for CCW.

[Rocky Raab]

Skeet, I had on order in for last year's model, and they ran out before I got one. I moaned about it to a guy on another board - who turned out to be the fricking OWNER of Lipsey's!

End result: almost the first gun of regular production had my name on it. There are times when I'm so lucky I think I could reach blindfolded into an Arab privy and come up with a ham sandwich ...

[skeet]

You are without a doubt a lucky so and so.

Now as to the sandwich..remind me NOT to go to lunch with ya!!:eek: :D

You did good!

I finally got my Smith 41 mag..and I was about as lucky as you. I found a guy selling a 657 in 3" with a bunch of accessories. Turns out it was one of ol Lew Horton's specials and is the only 3 inch 657 made. Still rather have a regular ol Blue 57 though.. But it is a pretty good shooter. Let us know how that Ruger shoots sometime soon. I really like the 44 Spec. I've gotta go look at your site and check out the 41 Spec write up you did.

Hey while I'm thinkin on it. If you shoot cast bullets would you prefer gas checked or plain base...in either the 44 Spec or 41 mag?? Lookin at a mould for the 41 right now.

[Rocky Raab]

I much prefer plain-based. I bought a custom mould from Lee that throws a 265 RNFPGC that I'll probably shoot without the gas check. Below 900 fps, I doubt it will matter, and that's as fast as I'll push it.

I don't have a mould for the .41 either. Still using up a big buy of commercial-cast bullets I got for cheap (when they still were!). But I'm looking at the Lee tumble-lube FP. I think it's a 215-gr bullet. They're designed to be tumble-lubed and loaded as-cast, without sizing. The other TL bullets I've used did exactly that.

[skeet]

I tried a tumble lube bullet in the 38 and had terrible leading with it. Probably the gun or the lead alloy. but I kinda swore off of them. I have a few custon moulds in 44 and 45. One is a really neat cramer type hollowpoint and it seems to shoot pretty will run through the 430 Star sizer. Bullet measures ,4315 from the mould. Using that Red lube. Kinda hard but it works ok when you heat the sizer a bit. I am only pushing 'em about 850-875 though..

[buckhunter]

Rocky ,

Ya stop posting those pictures. It too rough on my pocket book.

Sheet, did you ever meet Lew Horton. He had a retail store for years in Framingham, Mass and believe he still has a wholesale operation. Not a bad guy. Don't know if he is still with us or not.

[skeet]

I was at a pretty large get together that the wholesalers put on one time up near Rochester NY.. I was buying an awful lot of reloading items at the time. Wholesaling some and selling the rest retail. I was selling about 750,000 to 1 million wads a month and 10-12 ton of shot so got invited.. Went to it with a guy from Pa named Clair Frank. He had waaaayyyy more BS than I did. He was from near Lancaster Pa..Actually Willow Street. Dead now..But I was kinda young then...Heck so was he. Diabetes and the banks got him.. Only thing wrong with selling all that stuff was i didn't make enough profit. Heck none of us did. We were making about 20 cents a bag on shot..Lotta handling for 20 cents. Back to the subject at hand..That sure is a pretty gun Rocky has there. How does it shoot, Rocky??

[Rocky Raab]

Beats me, sad to say. My usual range is still closed for winter, and another is open, but only on weekends. And an indoor range doesn't allow lead bullets.

So I look at it and fondle it every day - but it hasn't fired a shot yet.

[skeet]

That sure sucks. Luckily I can go out the door to the little range I have set up out in front of the house. I was out early this morning hoping to catch a slow coyote going back to wherever they go during the day. No such luck this morning. They were out howlin all night though.

Went to a little auction in Billings yesterday and picked up another Contender bbl.. this one in 30 Herrett. Haven't had a Herrett in a long time. Anyway..got the darn thing with the T-C (Pacific) dies the old Bushnell/TC Lobo scope ammo brass bullets etc and an extra Contender grip and forend for a 150 bucks..Think I did ok on the price. If'n it shoots. Took the ammo apart already and checked the loads and they were spot on to what was listed on the boxes. Should be a good load. Gotta try it out ...again..Like I did a few years ago. Kinda tough one to load for till you start headspacing it on the shoulder. At least I kinda remember it that way.. I surely do like handguns. I just wish I was a good handgun shooter