Wyo4News staff, [email protected] [PRESS RELEASE]
January 9, 2024 — The Sweetwater County Historical Museum’s Vintage Firearms Research Program recently examined a distinctive revolver made in 1901 – a nickel-finish, single-action Colt Bisley chambered for the .38 Special.
The Bisley took its name from the village of Bisley in Great Britain, where, during the late 19th and early 20th century, shooting competitions, including pistol matches, were highly popular.
The Bisley was a distinctive target variation of Colt’s iconic Single Action Army, introduced in 1873. It featured a redesigned grip frame, hammer, and trigger to accommodate a then-popular (among British shooters, anyway) one-handed shooting style that called for a bent wrist and elbow.
Colt introduced the Bisley in 1894. It was made in 18 calibers, including 32 Colt, .38-44, .38 Special, .44 Special, and .45 Colt. (The most popular chambering was reportedly the .32-20.)Â Production ceased in 1912; a total of 44,350 were manufactured.
Museum staff noted that the Bisley’s front sight had been stoned or filed down. This was a common practice among serious shooters, as the shorter barreled Single Action Armies and Bisleys tended to shoot low because the front sight was too high. As there was no adjustment for the rear sight, the front sight had to be lowered to bring the point of impact up to obtain a good zero.
The Mexican revolutionary general Pancho Villa was a Bisley fan, as was Bill Miner, the turn-of-the-20th-century outlaw who was the subject of the 1982 feature film The Grey Fox, starring Richard Farnsworth as Miner.
If you have a vintage firearm (or firearms) and would like to learn more about it, contact the museum at (307) 872-6435 or via email at [email protected]. There is no charge for the museum’s Firearms Research Program.
