Freedom Arms

[cas]

One bad thing is a they make everything else you own seem a little crappy.

[6string]

Since we're on the Cast Boolits forum, I find it curious that nobody's specifically talked about load development for cast bullets in any of the Freedom Arms revolvers.
I once read an interesting write-up on the FA 83 Silhouette model in 357 Magnum on an IHMSA related site.
Outside of that, when it comes to cast bullet loads it has been vaguely suggested that cast bullet loads can be disappointing because FA uses a very slow twist of rifling as a matter of general practice.
Of course, I have no first hand experience, nor am I criticizing Freedom Arms.
In fact, I want to like them. But, so far, I haven't gotten a lot of detailed range/load reports.

Very interested to hear what you FA owners think.
Thanks,
Jim

[BigboreShooter]

6String
In regard to your inquiry about FA revolvers. I own many FA revolvers, 2 rim fire and 5 center fire.All I shoot is cast, 32 to 475Line. The 44spl/M97 has never had a jacketed bullet fired through it!!!
So your answer to your question. They shoot cast very well.
BigBoreShooter

[6string]

6String
In regard to your inquiry about FA revolvers. I own many FA revolvers, 2 rim fire and 5 center fire.All I shoot is cast, 32 to 475Line. The 44spl/M97 has never had a jacketed bullet fired through it!!!
So your answer to your question. They shoot cast very well.
BigBoreShooter

Thanks! ��

[Ed K]

Nothing to do with quality - you can get the best boots known to man and if they are the wrong size what good are they - to you?

It is very common that shooters with large hands do not get along with the model 97 grip frame. It has been mentioned before but I must do it again: try before you buy!

[6string]

Nothing to do with quality - you can get the best boots known to man and if they are the wrong size what good are they - to you?

It is very common that shooters with large hands do not get along with the model 97 grip frame. It has been mentioned before but I must do it again: try before you buy!

Yes, I appreciate this comment! I shoot a lot of International style target pistols and air pistols with custom anatomical grips. An ill fitting grip is a real hindrance.
I'll have to look deeper to see if I can find any here in SC. Around my parts, a Ruger SBH is considered "high-faluten'-fancy", so sighting an FA in the flesh is like sighting Bigfoot.

[FarNorth45]

One bad thing is a they make everything else you own seem a little crappy.

This 100% !!!! I just bought my first Freedom Arms about 3 weeks back .
I got the model 83 in 475 linebaugh and I am still amazed at the craftsmanship!!
The tightest well made pistol in my opinion that you can get...... but as stated above , now my other pistols don't seem as shiny anymore ha!ha.

[leadhead]

I bought a model 353 premier grade in .357 with a 9" barrel in 1992 and used it for IHMSA shoots.
It's the best revolver that I ever shot. I shot all cast bullets in it and it won me many matches.
I shot a RCBS 35 caliber bullet that weighed I think around 210 grain. I won a 60 round cast bullet
championship match with it with a 60x60 with 9 out of 10 shoot off chickens at 200 yards.
I love this gun and will never sell or trade it
leadhead

[JimB..]

Nothing to do with quality - you can get the best boots known to man and if they are the wrong size what good are they - to you?

It is very common that shooters with large hands do not get along with the model 97 grip frame. It has been mentioned before but I must do it again: try before you buy!

I do not have large hands. I have a 97 in 41mag but haven’t shot it yet because it just doesn’t feel right. Keep thinking it’ll feel better one day. Eventually I’ll try shooting it.

[Jtarm]

There is a huge difference in size and weight between a BFR and a FA97 (approx weight for similar bbl length/cal FA97 36 oz, FA83 50 oz, BFR 59 oz) - OP wanted something with smaller with lower recoil

OP Quote:
I would choose either 45colt or 44 special.
I am done with the hard recoiling wrist snappers

Here's a crappy picture of a full size FA 83 and the smaller FA 97 -- the BFR is even bigger than the full size FA83
.

.
Paul

Looking at this while my wife is gone because that is pure porn

[contender1]

6string,, I saw this; "I'll have to look deeper to see if I can find any here in SC. Around my parts, a Ruger SBH is considered "high-faluten'-fancy", so sighting an FA in the flesh is like sighting Bigfoot."

Where in SC are you?

I'm near the Upstate, in lower WNC. I have a FA in .454 Casull if you wish to handle, & shoot one. Bigfoot works for me.

[ohen cepel]

If you go with 45LC, I would consider the ACP cylinder also. The 97 is very nice in either of those. Nothing wrong with 44SPC and then no temptation for a spare cylinder, I have also been tempted to get a 41.

I also have an 83 in 454 with the spare ACP cylinder, ported. Very mild with ACP in it as it is heavy/big.

They are excellent revolvers and I think the best made in America now. May well be the best SA made in the world (haven't done a global search though).

[Rockindaddy]

That's alot of money for a gun that you may or may not shoot in competition. I have 7-Umberti Single Actions. They all shoot great! Also shoot an old High Standard Victor 22, a new Colt Python and a Colt Annaconda. These are very well made handguns that shoot extremely well. The Unberti revolvers are various calibers:
38 Special, 44 Henry Flat Centerfire(44 Russian), 44-40 WCF, 44 Special, and 45 Colt. Right now Taylors in Winchester Virginia has probably the best selection of Unberti revolvers. You could have a whole collection of revolvers for the cost of one Freedom custom revolver. I have been shooting a German Sauer single action for some time in 44 Mag. The barrel is 4 3/4" If you do not hold it tight; it will roll hard and you will notice some discomfort in your wrist. All the Ruger Super Blackhawks are the same. The barrel sits higher over the centerline and twist when fired. The shorter the barrel, the more twist. Started shooting a 300 gr bowling pin buster with 17grs of Winchester 680 ball powder out of the Colt Annaconda. The recoil is stiff but straight back. A Smith 29 also has a barrel that sits lower to the centerline of the gun. With large rubber grips, the recoil is easier to take. The Single Action Sauer with the 4 3/4" barrel is almost unpleasant. The Freedom revolvers are beautifully made like a wagon. Very sturdy, last more than a lifetime. The Colt single action design and recoil twist especially with the 454 Casull of a Freedom Arms revolver will get your attention. To me a "box" of ammo is a 50 Caliber Machine Gun steel can full of ammo. Two to three hours of blasting with with full house loads is easier with a Smith 29 or a Colt Annaconda 44 than a Ruger Super Blackhawk. The Ruger Redhawk is a little easier on recoil. Don't mean to knock the Freedom Arms revolvers. They are a Ferrari of revolvers and a great piece of workmanship. Am 77 years old now and maybe someday when I grow up I will get a Freedom Arms Single Action!

[alamogunr]

I've got a FA 83 w/two extra cylinders, .45 Colt and .45ACP. Bought it used and came with the cylinders. Last year bought a FA 97 in .44 Spec. It cost more than $1K more than the FA 83 fifteen years earlier. I guess I picked that cartridge because it was Elmer's first choice and didn't need another .45 Colt. I've never shot the 83 with full house .454 Casull. Nor have I shot the .475 Linebaugh with more than midrange loads. I'm 80 now and the Linebaugh doesn't come out of the safe very often. Nor does the .454 cylinder. Slightly below max is the most I can stand with the FA 97. I enjoy the midrange loads. Accurate shooting is a thing of the past.

[TurnipEaterDown]

I've got a FA 83 w/two extra cylinders, .45 Colt and .45ACP. Bought it used and came with the cylinders. Last year bought a FA 97 in .44 Spec. It cost more than $1K more than the FA 83 fifteen years earlier. I guess I picked that cartridge because it was Elmer's first choice and didn't need another .45 Colt. I've never shot the 83 with full house .454 Casull. Nor have I shot the .475 Linebaugh with more than midrange loads. I'm 80 now and the Linebaugh doesn't come out of the safe very often. Nor does the .454 cylinder. Slightly below max is the most I can stand with the FA 97. I enjoy the midrange loads. Accurate shooting is a thing of the past.

You should feel good about doing what you do describe at 80!
Time goes faster it seems as I approach 3/4 of your years. I hope to be doing as much.

[RJM52]

.41 Magnums

[gunther]

If you are going to carry and use a revolver, add a Ruger 41 mag 4 3/4 to your list of possibilities. They are light enough to carry, and 41's seem to be closer to specification than a lot of others. Which is to say they shoot good. A set of Pachmayr's or Herretts, and a trigger job will not be near as much as a FA.

[bisleyfan41]

I've owned 2 FAs. A 6" 83 Premier in 44 mag and a 7.5" 97 in 41 mag. Owned-past tense. Sold both of them years ago. They were both well built, tight, and very accurate. Other than the fact that the 83 was basically a 4-shot 44 mag when I could get 6 shots in a Super Blackhawk, at 1/4 the price. Nothing at all wrong with either of those FAs, however this shooter could shoot them no better than any run-of-the-mill BH; lack of skills of the shooter not an indictment of the guns.

And I know this will sound weird, but they were too tight for me. I prefer a little looseness that will allow dependable, reliable function should the gun get dirty from being fired. Or from possibly being dropped in the woods, where something as simple as a pine needle getting jammed into the wrong nook or cranny render the FA in need of disassembly to assure proper function.

I also love to work on my guns, especially my BHs. I can take them apart, polish them up, replace parts without significant fitting, and clean them thoroughly. I would NEVER even think about taking one of those precisely-fitted FAs apart, let alone work on or alter one.

Also, I'm a Ford pickup type of guy, not a Bentley afficionado. So the "status" of such guns means little to me. Form following function. The FAs offered me no advantage over the Blackhawks I was already used to. And I could buy at least 4 BHs for the price of one standard FA. "Bank vault" and "Swiss watch" qualities mean little to me shooting whitetails under 50 yards away. And tying that much money up into something I was half-scared to use for fear of wrecking it's "value", just didn't make any sense to me.

As I said these 2 revolvers, displayed the pinnacle of gun making in every respect. I've held nothing finer, more refined, or more perfect than every other handgun in the world. I was just underwhelmed with them, especially for the price point, my skill level, and planned usage. I do think I may be the only person on the planet to prefer BHs to the FAs, but that's OK. To each, their own.

[ranchman]

Don't feel too out of place Bisley.. I have a 97 44special, and have put every load in the book through it, proven ones from other guns and new ones trying to tailor the thing specifically for that ammo BUT probably 500+ rounds later, I can't get the gun to shoot for ****. I personally believe the problem in my-own case is in the grip itself though, I foolishly ordered mine with a rounded butt rather than the standard square back and I regret it very much. The grip is so inconsistent in my hand, I can't make it work no matter what I do.

Love the mechanics and workmanship, the lock-up, everything else is top notch.. I just hate that grip design. It doesn't fit me at all. I have seriously debated returning it for them to re-fit a standard square back frame rather than the round, and see if that corrects anything. Til that happens, if they'll even do it, mine too resides in the safe. Rugers & Colts get 100% of the field time here ... and it's a shame. I ordered that FA 97 to be my perfect bush gun, but missed the mark I set for it.

[gypsyman]

Absolutely, one of the most accurate revolvers you can shoot. In the heyday of IHMSA, basically only 2 guns were in the top revolver score's, Dan Wesson and Freedom Arms. Built like a tank, and action like a Swiss watch. Only reason I stuck with the DW's, the way the grips fit my hand. 80 rd. match with a load of 296 under a 240 gr LBT bullet got my hand pretty sore. If the grip style fits your hand, go for it.