Blackhawk question?

[Twicepop]

A while back I purchased a 3 screw Ruger Blackhawk in .41 Magnum from the estate of a deceased gunsmith. It's in pretty rough condition and missing a few parts, the biggest of those is the grip frame. Does anyone know if the Bisley grip frame is a direct replacement piece for the original or does the revolvers frame have to be modified to fit the Bisley grip frame?

 

[SSL]

As far as I know, they should fit. The "three screw" that is often mentioned refer to the ones on the side of the frame, not the grips. All Rugers attach to the frame by three screws on the bottom of the frame and two more into the frame by way of the "dog ears" on the back of the frame. If you should choose to install the Bisley grip be sure to order a Bisley hammer too. The Bisley hammer has a rather pronounced hump in the back of the hammer. Too accommodate this the Bisley frame has a rather long hammer slot that might be objectionable to you. I restored a Ruger .45 Colt and replaced the anodized aluminum grip frame with a standard shape steel grip frame and a Bisley hammer. I had to re-shape the "hump" to fit into the existing grip slot. You might think about replacing the old anodized ejector housing with a steel one and probably an over-sized cylinder pin to take up wobble.

 

[SSL]

Another note on the Bisley hammer: If your frame does not have the transfer bar you will have to remove a considerable amount of the hammer 'nose' to allow contact with the firing pin. They are designed with a protrusion on the tip and a recess that matches the transfer bar. My conversion has the transfer bar and still needed the nose protrusion relieved to allow the hammer to strike the bar enough to engage the firing pin.