Snyd
.375 Atomic
The Last Frontier
Posts: 2,392
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Post by Snyd on Oct 2, 2018 17:06:08 GMT -5
So I got this gun last winter... 1993 vintage premier grade, 7.5" with a 45 Colt cylinder as well. Looked like it had hardly been shot. My buddy Bob hooked me up with some pachmayer grips, I got a TSOB mount and topped it off with a 4X Leupold gifted to me by my buddy Mark. I shot it some then sent it back to Freedom Arms for the firing pin upgrade and action job. Well, I've spent this last spring, summer and this fall shooting this gun with multilple boolits, bullets and loads out to 200yds. No matter what load it's accurate, accurate, accurate! I just got back from the range shooting 2 different loads. 255gr rnfp plane base cast from a Lee mould loaded over 15.6gr HS6. Load data puts it about 1300fps. I have not chronied it. Other load is 335gr gc LFN at 1535ish fps I worked up for Moose hunting. Both loads shoot same POA POI at 50yds, 1-1.5 inch group and clang the 12" steel at 150yds with the 4X Leupold. I've shot the 335gr out to 200 at the steel with excellent accuracy.
If I'm honest I realize that this is the only gun a handgun hunter/shooter needs! And I haven't even shot it with the 45 Colt cylinder yet! I have one gun that can shoot 200gr popgun loads, 240gr 1900fps and 335gr 1500+fps loads and is capable of killing any big game animal on the planet! Rifle like accuracy, powerful, versatile all wrapped up in a beautifully crafted gun. How can I justify my other pistols! DANG FREEDOM ARMS 454!! Thanks Mr. Baker and Mr. Casull!!
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Post by 500fksjr on Oct 2, 2018 17:26:25 GMT -5
Dang Snyd, you have a terrible problem! Maybe the guys on here can help you thin your herd?
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rug480
.30 Stingray
Posts: 139
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Post by rug480 on Oct 2, 2018 18:09:53 GMT -5
Man these FA posts keep nudging me towards one. Gotta ask for them pics, we all know what they look like but I never tire ogling at them.
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Snyd
.375 Atomic
The Last Frontier
Posts: 2,392
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Post by Snyd on Oct 2, 2018 18:49:04 GMT -5
Man these FA posts keep nudging me towards one. Gotta ask for them pics, we all know what they look like but I never tire ogling at them. 200yd shooting 12" steel last month. 335gr LFN 1535fps. A friends FA 500jrh Another friends 500 WE/ 50AE
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Post by sixshot on Oct 2, 2018 21:35:52 GMT -5
Snyd, that's a fine looking 5 shooter & it looks like you know how to shoot it. So, we all know that September is the magic month up north, tell us what you've been up to, I know you've been out pounding the bushes & the tall peaks hunting something to put in the freezer so fess up buddy..... is it sheep, moose, caribou? You can't live on halibut & salmon all year.
Dick
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Post by contender on Oct 2, 2018 22:07:24 GMT -5
I have the exact same gun,,, (minus the 45 Colt cylinder.) And yes,, it is an accurate gun. I also have a scope on mine,, (mine's a Burris,) and makes me look good on the range.
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Snyd
.375 Atomic
The Last Frontier
Posts: 2,392
Member is Online
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Post by Snyd on Oct 2, 2018 23:17:15 GMT -5
Snyd, that's a fine looking 5 shooter & it looks like you know how to shoot it. So, we all know that September is the magic month up north, tell us what you've been up to, I know you've been out pounding the bushes & the tall peaks hunting something to put in the freezer so fess up buddy..... is it sheep, moose, caribou? You can't live on halibut & salmon all year. Dick Well, for me, this hunting season was a bust. My sheep hunting partner had some life issues come up and the next day I tweaked my back so our August handgun sheep hunt was postponed until 2019 My buddy that lives down by Homer was gonna come up and moose hunt. The hope was we'd get him on his first handgun moose. Well, some things came up, his back acted up and he couldn't make it. So I set out on my own like I've done lots of times. In the area I hunt, Fish and Game issued and Emergency Order shortening the season from Sept 1-20th to 1-15th due to low Bull to Cow ratio. I normally don't go out until 14th. Usually cooler, less leaves on the brush and the Bulls are moving more and gettin the hankering so respond to calling better. Well, I decided to take a "stand up" tent complete with heater and air mattress, a bunch of food and hunt the whole 2 weeks if needed. First week it rained sideways most days. Then the weather got good. Clear and cold. But, I didn't see one bull! Not one! And I tried hard. Cows and calves. Lone cows but no bulls. This is an area that I've killed moose every time I've hunted there (except when I missed one). I did see some fresh griz sign but never saw the bear. And so it goes!
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Post by squigz on Oct 3, 2018 7:10:52 GMT -5
I've always lusted over a 454 but I refuse to buy it in anything less than a FA83 just to keep the lineage strong. I've been hoping that some day a local deal would show up on one, but I doubt it's going too.
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Post by bula on Oct 3, 2018 7:23:26 GMT -5
Sorry to hear of the empty freezers. Maybe the F&G folks made the right call though ? Synd, so what is plan-B now ?
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Post by bradshaw on Oct 3, 2018 8:58:20 GMT -5
I've always lusted over a 454 but I refuse to buy it in anything less than a FA83 just to keep the lineage strong. I've been hoping that some day a local deal would show up on one, but I doubt it's going too. ***** Dick Casull developed his .454 for extreme velocity with big bullets from a revolver. ROCKS & DYNAMITE loads don’t achieve velocity on pressure alone, the pressure must be contained. Tight dimensions, starting with firm CHAMBER EXITS, minimal CYLINDER GAP, and short FORCING CONE go a long way to hold combustion in the boiler room until the bullet departs the muzzle. Odd as it may sound, a slightly loose GROOVE DIAMETER may contribute to velocity, along with a slower twist. The danger of a slightly generous groove diameter is degenerating accuracy, which any combination of other dimensional faults aggravates. To reduce pounding in the gun, CHAMBER-to-BORE ALIGNMENT must be close. Dick Casull’s revolver features attention to manufacturing detail necessary to utilize the outsize pressure of his cartridge, and to achieve fine accuracy. A revolver may be made strong enough to contain the .454 Casull, yet produce lackluster velocity for reasons outlined. It must be respected as a true feather in the cap of Freedom Arms, that the Model 83 has consistently been manufactured to compliment Dick Casull’s original concept & work. Therefore, my preference for a .454 Casull resides the the Freedom Arms Model 83. I shoot both the factory wood grip scales, and the neoprene or rubber Pachmayr Presentation. While I got FA president Wayne Baker together with Pachmayr president Bruce Baker (1986?) specifically in hope Pachmayr would make a grip for the M83, the resulting handle is a bit more generous than I would prefer. Dick Casull configured the M83 grip frame for his large hand. And I have a sneaking suspicion that Pachmayr’s Carl Cupp, to be sure a meaty-bone individual, configured the Pachmayr stock to suit his walrus hand. Nevertheless, I never regretted getting the two unrelated Bakers together, as the Pachmayr grip not only works for me when shooting Rocks & Dynamite, the grip found steady use among sharpshooters in Handgun Silhouette, where the Freedom Arms revolver offers as close to guaranteed accuracy as can be manufactured. Of course, the .454 Casull may be loaded down----I sometimes DEEP SEAT, with crimp on ogive or above front band----to milk velocity from less powder. By dint of BULLET VELOCITY, full house .454 loads produce high RECOIL VELOCITY. Try to imagine a jab from Muhammad Ali. Such loads don’t touch off silently; rather, more akin to standing too close to C-4 (a high shrill blast in the high cycles-per-second category). My preference is to ease off the throttle. While I shoot many more rounds from a .45 Colt cylinder on the M83, money can be saved by deep seating in .454 Casull brass to achieve the effect, without buying an accessory .45 Colt cylinder. Since I prize the .45 Colt cylinder, no need to look back. Reckon I’ve made an argument for the Freedom Arms M83. At the same time, the Magnum Research BFR warrants consideration for containment & accuracy. David Bradshaw
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Post by tradmark on Oct 3, 2018 20:20:12 GMT -5
I have four of them of 4 different barrel lengths. All are superbly accurate and 3/4 have produced sub 1” groups at 100 off of a rest. They are superb. I also echo the bfr needing consideration. I have 3 and all are accurate as well.
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Post by potatojudge on Oct 3, 2018 20:36:22 GMT -5
The question isn't is Freedom Arms the best, it's which Freedom Arms is the best and what can a gunsmith do to improve one?
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Post by sixshot on Oct 3, 2018 21:40:09 GMT -5
I had a 10" model 83 back in about 88-90 & it was superbly accurate, the only problem was it was a fixed sighted gun & I couldn't get used to that. A .452" cast bullet would not fit in the cylinder, they had to be .451", no problem with that but I couldn't stick with a "one" load gun. I traded it for 5 new TC frames.
Dick
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Post by bigbrowndog on Oct 3, 2018 22:46:18 GMT -5
Snyd, I’ll help by taking your 45 colt BisHtr, if you need to recoup some funds???.........just sayin’
Trapr
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Snyd
.375 Atomic
The Last Frontier
Posts: 2,392
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Post by Snyd on Oct 4, 2018 0:07:51 GMT -5
Snyd, I’ll help by taking your 45 colt BisHtr, if you need to recoup some funds???.........just sayin’ Trapr It's a good thing I got the BisHunter before I got the FA! That's all I can say! Oh, and I don't think I can legally sell the BisHunter now anyway since I "defaced" it by grinding the lawyer speak off it singleactions.proboards.com/thread/23481/another-billboard
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