I have a SS Bisley with an ACP cylinder and it is fun to shoot. I just use is for plinking with my son, but in the Bisley there is no recoil to speak of and it whacks the steel pretty good.
I have been tempted by the Flat Top models, but have thus far stayed away. I think a 4 5/8" FT would make a great packing pistol.
I've recently learned of about the Accusport special Blackhawks.
Not flattops. Bisley, stainless, 5.5-in barrels. .357, .41, .44 and .45. Some but not all of the .45s came with both cylinders. It appears the .45 Colt cylinders were fluted, and the Auto cylinders were smooth.
I might be on the lookout. I have factory ammo, bullets, and dies for .44. I'm also attracted to the idea of cheaper factory ball and standard defensive ammo in the .45 Auto cylinder.
Nobody needs to say "get both."
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Not another dime.
The mid-sized flat tops appeal to me greatly. I have a full size if I want to shoot the top end loads, though I think Ive shot about 150-200 all told of the upper end stuff suggested by Mr Linebaugh over the past 30 years or so Ive had it. I dont get out in the bear brush like I used to for various reasons, so the need is even less at this point. The carry weight has become more of a thing as well, so the skinnier gun sounds good. All good rationalization for one.
However....Ive also tended towards skinnier bullets the past couple years, and find myself blasphemously thinking a flat top in 357/9 would be dandy. If i can just get someone to make me a decent front sight for it, Id be in trouble. Sadly, there doesnt seem to be a source for Colt Flat Top Target front sights at this point. Brownells used to carry the Uberti parts, but no longer.
Edit: None of the above should be construed to mean I dont like my current 45s, which I can sit and handle and mess with and simply enjoy looking at them, something I dont seem able to do with mostly stock Rugers, The tools would have to come out the minute it came through the door, probably before it was shot. Its a curse at times, being detail oriented in that way.
“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”
― Theodore Roosevelt