[Justin, if you want to banish this, I can PM Lou.JT]
From Lucky_Lou: <<Am i right in thinking the "colt bisley" is basicaly a cattleman 5.1/2>>
From what I gather, the Cattleman 5.5 is a modern replica based on the Colt Peacemaker. (Something makes me think that Colt doesn't manufacture it.)
Colt manufactured about 45,000 Bisleys between 1894 and 1915. Interpolating serial numbers of Bisleys advertised for sale, I think mine was manufactured in 1904. Bisleys were available in several calibers (some now extinct) from .32-20 to .45 Long Colt, and three barrel lengths (4.5, 5.5, and 7.5"—mine is 7.5"). As the name suggestss, the Bisley was designed as a target pistol. Thus, it's quite different from the Peacemaker, and similar to the Single Action Army.
From the cylinder forward, the Bisley closely resembles the SAA, but the rear of the frame is totally different, with a vertical ("humpback") grip. Also, the hammer is a different shape, with a low thumb fork, giving the piece an asymmetrical appearance. It had a relatively high blade front sight. (Someone replaced the original front sight on mine with a Marble blade sight, so I can't give a good description.)
I keep intending to shell out the three-digit fee to Colt to research the serial number and issue me a letter giving the date, destination, and purchaser's identity when the factory initially shipped the Bisley. I'm pretty certain my family did not acquire it new, because it had belonged to my grandmother's brother, who left the Shenandoah Valley hurriedly about 1912. (Supposedly he got a girl pregnant, and her father & brothers threatened to kill him.) I was told that he worked as a cowboy in Montana, and there was an unconfirmed tale that he later went with Pershing into Mexico in 1916, chasing Pancho Villa. (Didn't everyone?
) He picked up the Bisley somewhere in his travels, and gave it to my grandmother sometime later. [Sigh] Guess I'll never know the full story.
