Bisley Examples
I have picked up several Bisley Models over the past 40+ years. One of these has been fitted with a .44 Special cylinder and a 7½” barrel, while another, also in .44 Special, is a nickel-plated 4¾” Bisley. One of my most cherished sixguns is my “Born Again Bisley.” This old, well-worn sixgun was totally rebuilt by Nutmeg Sports, fully engraved, blued and case hardened, and topped off with an exquisite pair of ivory grips carved in the Mexican Eagle pattern. Jim Alaimo and his staff put together what is one of the most beautiful sixguns in existence.
One of the most well-known Colt Single Actions, probably second only to General Patton’s ivory stocked and engraved .45, is Keith’s “No. 5 S.A.” This sixgun was featured in the April 1929 American Rifleman in an article entitled “The Last Word.” Every possible improvement was incorporated in The Last Word sixgun and Keith tried to interest Colt in making it a factory offered single action but to no avail.
Keith, along with the ideas of Harold Croft and gunsmiths of the time, Neal Houchins, R.F. Sedgley and J.D. O’Meara, worked together and welded up the top strap of a standard Colt Single Action to make a heavy Flat-Top Target design. The old flat mainspring was replaced by a U-Type spring, the hammer was made by welding a Bisley wide hammer on a standard hammer, the rear sight is adjustable, and the front sight is the high Patridge type. The base pin latch was changed to eliminate any chance of the pin jumping forward under recoil and the grip frame was made by mating a standard Colt SA trigger guard and a Bisley backstrap. After this .44 Special Single Action proved to be everything Keith could hope for in a sixgun, he had it fully engraved and stocked with ivory grips. It was used so much it has been re-blued several times. Along with all of the other Keith firearms, the #5 was auctioned off in March 2015, bringing in more than $70,000.
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