David Bradshaw Photos - Vol. XV

[Lee Martin]

Some damn good shooting here guys so hopefully David will add more commentary....
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Freedom Arms M83 with .45 ACP cylinder, 5-shot 3.9" group @ 100 yards. Unlike the .454 and .45 Colt cylinders, which have tight chamber-to-bore alignment, this factory original .45 ACP cylinder measures .007" chamber/bore offset on all five.



M83 .45 ACP load: Remington Golden Saber 230 JHP; 8.5/Accurate #5; Fed 150 GM; Fed brass. COL=1.240". V=925 fps. Sandbag 100 yds.



M83 4-3/4" .454 Casull with .45 ACP cylinder. 5-shots=2.3", with 4-shots in 1.1-inch. Sandbag, 50 yds.As throats are firm and forcing cone very short, .007-inch chamber offset is not too hard on accuracy.



FA M83 4-3'4" with .45 ACP cylinder, groups fired at 50 & 100 yards



Jim Stroh modified M83 .44 Mag to my specifications, including special tool grade stainless oversize swivel stud to replace front grip frame screw. Load: Sierra 240 JHC; 23.4/H110; Fed 155 GM; Starline brass. COL=1.592"-1.596". V=1580-1600 fps. Redding carbide dies with



FA Casull M83 .44 mag; Shilen 10-inch, 1:16" twist; Leupold 2.5-8x34mm IER scope with dot reticle and target turrets; Leupold rings. 3-shots



Wind from 8 to 10 o'clock forced me to crank 30-clicks left windage. Held dot center of shoulder with vertical crosshair on front leg. Elevation



Wind easily bends a revolver bullet at long range, despite seemingly fast time of flight. Rested revolver on rolled nylon belting. Three shots=5.8



-Lee
www.singleactions.com
"Building carpal tunnel one round at a time"

[bradshaw]

My thanks again, to Lee, for posting. I'm trying to keep up with the shooting of Lee Martin, who may be the whole reason the rest of the country can't find ammo!

Photos of FA M83 .454 Casull 4-3/4-inch, with the .45 ACP cylinder in action, the 50 yd. group shot in 2011, with 100 yard group shot 2012. Photos illustrate .007" chamber offset does not necessarily ruin accuracy----providing other tolerances are TIGHT. Beginning with a SHORT, smooth & true forcing cone! Firm chamber exits hold the bullet straight as it jumps across the forcing cone in search of the rifling. The FA Casull Model 1983 is famous for firm throats and a SMOOTH, VERY SHORT forcing cone. I don't have the figures at hand, but chamber offset for the .45 Colt and .454 Casull cylinders on the revolver average .002-inch.

Photos of the FA M83 .44 magnum with Shilen 10" barrel were taken, yesterday, right after shooting respective targets at 300 yards. A wind, varying from 8 to 10 o'clock, forced me to adjust the Leupold scope left 30-clicks. Despite the wind, there was enough mirage in the 91 degree heat to render .44 holes at 300 yards nearly invisible through the Leupold 12-40x60mm spotting scope.

Revolver
First generation FA M83.
.44 mag.
Custom work by Jim Stroh of Alpha Precision:
Shilen stainless bull 10-inch, with .429" groove; 1:16" twist.
A wisp of 11-degree forcing cone.
11-degree crown.
Chamber throats .429".
Cyl gap .001" max.
Stainless (tool grade) swivel studs, with oversize thread.
Revolver retrofitted at factory with replaceable firing pin.
Drilled hammer.
Trigger stop.
DB trigger job.

Scope
Leuplod 2.5-8x34mm Long Eye Relief (LER)
Factory fitted with target turrets and dot reticle.
Leupold detachable rings.

Load
Sierra 240 JHC
23.4 grains/H110
Federal 155 Gold Match primer
Starline brass
COL=1.592-1.596"
Velocity (Oehler 35P chronograph) 1580-1600 fps

Dies
Redding carbide set
Redding Competition Seater
Reloading done on RCBS Piggyback or Pro 2000 (don't remember which). Cases are barely chamfered, if at all; just enough to remove any wire edge. Bullets eat with strong neck tension. Minimal crimp----just enough to not pull.

Accuracy
(This revolver and load have recorded 5-shot groups of 0.7 to 0.9-inch at 100 yards. A puff of wind renders sub-inch nearly impossible.)

Yesterday I commenced with two shots at 100 yards----printed inside two inches----carried a few inches right by the wind. From 100 yard POI, I doped 30-clicks left windage, with 60-clicks elevation.

300 Yards, 3-shot groups:
1) 5.8"
2) 5.5"
3) 5.8"

Thought I'd missed my first three shots at 300. Shooting partner, looking through the Leupold 12-40x60mm, said, "They're in there, a triangle." Two of the targets are posted.
David Bradshaw

[jwp475]

Excellent shooting

[Lee Martin]

I may have you on quantity shooting nowadays David but you have me beat on quality. Great work there, especially at those distances.

-Lee
www.singleactions.com
"Building carpal tunnel one round at a time"

[jwp475]

Lee you are an excellent shot make no mistake.

I have followed David Bradshaw's shooting since the early days of IHMSA and he is on another planet IMHO because of his long term accuracy. I am always impressed

[bradshaw]

Think JWP's been trying to get hold of me. I'll holler after a while, John.

A little background on the Freedom Arms Model 83 .44 magnum. Believe it was 1985, Wayne Baker brings a number of the Dick Casull revolvers to the IHMSA Internationals in Idaho Falls. Wayne Baker and Elgin Gates get crosswise at Baker's exclamation, "The .454 Casull will blow those rams clean off the rail." Various of us including IHMSA Region II director and top shooter Allen Kirschner, John Taffin, and I get jawboning with Baker in a more diplomatic vein. Taffin and I called for a 10" or 10-1/2" barrel and silhouette sights. I specifically recommended the Casull be chambered in .44 magnum. In addition, it needed a Bo-Mar rear sight. The Bo-Mar was the finest adjustable handgun sight made, with consistent, repeatable .002" click adjustments, all steel, and sturdy. Wayne Baker told me Freedom Arms made the revolver in Dick's .454 only, ands would not consider another chambering. The .454 Casull will flatten silhouettes, I agreed, but it'll flatten the shooter nearly as quick. Wayne relented; or, to frame it diplomatic, saw the market advantage of a caliber choice.

Pachmayr was represented at the match by owner Bruce Baker (no relation to Wayne and Bob Baker), and Pachmayr smith Carl Cupp. I got them introduced, advising Wayne Baker that a production aftermarket grip was necessary. Taffin and I both pushed for a less costly finish, which I suggested as a "field model." The silhouette variant FA was later introduced with bead blasted finish and Pachmayr grips as the "Field Grade." I am aware of two prototype silhouette models, a .454 sent to John Taffin and the .44 Mag sent to me. These revolvers have the original brushed finish, 10" barrels, and a Bo-Mar sight set in a stainless steel base. The front sight is an undercut target blade. Guns came with Freedom Arms wood and Pachmayr neoprene grips. Taffin and I shot basically these guns neck-and-neck in 1986, and their performance did not look accidental.

The bead blasted silhouette version was marked "Field Grade." At which point the standard, or original model, became the "Premier Grade." (There is no mechanical difference.) In production, the Bo-Mar with steel base was replaced by the ISGW (Iron Sight Guns Works) rear sight----which has excellent adjustments----in an aluminum base. The M83 sight is countersunk in the top strap, secured by two screws. The arrangement constitutes a massive recoil lug for iron or optical sights.

Having severely eroded the barrel face of several revolvers, I pressed Freedom Arms to offer a replaceable forcing cone insert, which was installed on my .44. In retrospect, the forcing cone insert offers no advantage.

The time came to rebarrel my FA .44. I was long retired from competitive marksmanship. Not retired from throwing lead. I had some ideas to put into play. I call John Taffin. Describe what I want. Whom, John, would you recommend to do the work? "I know the quality you want,” says Taffin. "Call Jim Stroh."

Jim Stroh, leery of a couple of my specifications----especially the miniscule forcing cone----nevertheless defers. He even brings up Taylor throating, which makes my hair stand. Stroh has reservations about the pinch of forcing cone, together with TIGHT Freedom Arms cylinder gap. Might jam jam the revolver. "I'll take the risk," I say. "I believe it will work."

Some people consider the revolver an antique. Look at the Universe. The universe is an antique. Still works. The revolver is its own little solar system. As mysterious as ever. And ready to teach.
David Bradshaw

[targetshootr]

Terrific shooting. My Stroh 45 Bisley conversion has no perceptible b/c gap and freewheels like it rides on ball bearings.

[cubrock]

Interesting background, David. I never met Elgin Gates, but in his writing he makes the great disdain he had for the .454 Casull obvious.

[cmh]

Impressive Mr Bradshaw

[cmillard]

wow!!! wonder how the .45LC would stack up against the .44?

[COR]

Jun 17, 2013 7:00:07 GMT -5 cmillard said:

wow!!! wonder how the .45LC would stack up against the .44?

Better yet...I wonder which would be a better "bear gun"... Hell if you're gonna open a can of worms at least make it a BIG can of 'em!


To Mr. Bradshaw,

Why the sling swivel and did the sling (attached) cause any impact changes...just curious. Thanks for sharing.

[bradshaw]

Cubrock.... Elgin T. Gates was so fiercely competitive it ate at him and eventually ate him alive. His wife Dollie called one evening to tell me that Elgin had died, died at his desk. Were Roy Weatherby still with us, he'd be the first to tell you that Elgin's accomplishments in big game trophy hunting will never be equalled. The late shotgun editor for Field & Stream, Bob Brister, told me that Elgin cut down competitors, especially the arrogant ones, with the finality of cutting down clay birds and live pigeons. Elgin did not know how to relax. If he did know how to relax, it was the rest of a hummingbird----short. But a man's heart cannot keep pace with that of a hummingbird. Obsession without meditation may drive you down a wrong trail.

Elgin once referred to Dick Casull's .454 as just a renaming of an old "Winchester line-throwing cartridge." I never bothered to look that up, although it brought to mind the patina'd cartridge boards I had gazed upon as a young teenager at the Winchester factory in New Haven. While the .357 Maximum of Bill Ruger and Bill Ruger, Jr., is father of all Maximums and Super Mags, I believe that Elgin's .445 Super Mag was his reaction to Dick Caull's .454. And the .445 cannot match the efficiency nor the power of the .454 Casull. Origin of the .357 Maximum at Ruger is beyond dispute.

***
Cmillard.... Expect an excellent load from a fine revolver in .357 mag, .357 Maximum, .375 Super Mag, .41 mag, .44 mag, .45 Colt, or .454 Casull to hold in common accuracy at long range. How the respective cartridges hold in a wind may depend more on the bullet than the bore diameter.

4 components of accuracy
* revolver
* bullet
* load
* marksman

David Bradshaw

[bradshaw]

COR.... sling swivels belong on this FA .44 because it ain't a holster gun. Unless the revolver is on the trail or in an above ground stand, the sling is off. I do occasionally use the sling offhand. I'll try to take some photos soon. The sling doesn't seem to affect POI. The 300 yard targets were shot with the revolver rested on a roll of woven nylon industrial belting, cover with a old T-shirt. I do not own a rifle rest contraption, let alone a pistol rest.
David Bradshaw

[cubrock]

Jun 17, 2013 9:01:14 GMT -5 bradshaw said:

The Ruger origin of the .357 Maximum is beyond dispute.

Gates claims credit for the .357 Super Mag in Cartridges of the World, 6th Edition. He claims he invented it in the 50s, but sat on the idea until he convinced Dan Wesson to bring it out in their long frame revolvers.

[cmillard]

sounds like you would need benchrest like loading techniques.