Great article in this currrent issue of American Handgunner by John Taffin. He talks about Hamilton Bowen's book, and for all you handgun afficionados it is a must have.

Haven't read Taffin's article but agree Bowen's book is required reading for anyone interested in handguns in general. It possibly is one of the best custom gun books ever written.

Just to add my concurrence. Bowen's THE CUSTOM REVOLVER is fabulous. I'm currently rereading it for the third or fourth time.
Bowen's shop does first rate work, based on the sole sample I have. My dealings with Mr. Bowen were a pleasure and I would rate him as a genuine Southern gentleman.
I'm contemplating having a pretty full house custom revolver made by him soon -- prolly a 5 shot .45C on a stainless Ruger Bisley BH frame...similar to that shown on page 171 of his book.

Regards --
-- No Plea

I don't know if I can post a pic on this site, but here goes. Here's my Ruger Bisley .45 Colt "Perfected" by Hamilton Bowen. The barrel has been cut to 5.5", a Bowen Arms front sight installed, a target length ejector rod & housing have been fitted, Bowen Arms rear sight installed, frame and hammer case colored by Doug Turnbull, cylinder throats reamed, deluxe action tune, and lanyard ring installed. It now has faux ivories but no pics yet...Tom

The three Rugers in my ID photo were worked on by Bowen. I will try to post a photo of the 45 Colt that had similar work to yours. The grips are Elk antler.

My Bowen 44 Special on the right is a very fine shooter.

tpdtom;I have a ruger like yours in SS that was reworked by a former employee of Bowens,It is the most accurate hand gun I have ever owned.For some interesting reading go to John Linebaughs web site and read his articles on the 45LC and hangun accuracy in general.w/regards

Nice looking revolvers.
I bet they shoot good to.

Boxhead. Tell us a little about the grips on the Ruger on the left.

TPDTOM, I have an exact copy of the Perfected Bisley by Bowen. I love that revolver. I intend to get some custom grips made for it though, like most of my other Ruger revolvers.

Bill, for custom grips look up clccustomgrips.com and he does excellent work. Most of Cary's in-stock custom grips fit very well but if you want them perfect fitting you have to send him your gripframe, which is no big deal. He has some of the finest wood species I ever seen and check out his spalted maple...especially the rift cut ones. They are stabilized grips and will never swell, shrink, or crack. Some of his grips will blow you away...really. I have at least 5 or 6 pair and they are satisfaction guaranteed..

Woody

Oh, when you get the custom grips made tell them you want the one side blind drilled(the outside grip panel), meaning one side has no screw fixture. They look a lot nicer that way. When the wood grain is spectacular I also forgo the Ruger emblem that way the grain flows without interuption.

Woody

Those spalted wood grips are beautiful. Now I need to buy another old Ruger, have Bowen work his magic and get a set of those wonderful grips. Going to think about a paired set for my cowboy bisleys. I also don't care for the medalion and like the one blind side.