Dang Freedom Arms 83 454!!!

[bigbore475]

It’s so good to see talk of the FA83 454 Casull. My premier grade 454 also has the 45 colt cylinder. One of my absolute favorite big bore revolvers.

[shorty500]

Haven’t found a revolver yet that will surpass my FAs for acurracy although I have been lucky enough to find a few that can equal them!
S&W has a chamber to bore relationship that is a marvel of mass produced tolerance get, this comes from experience firing them as well as being a toolmaker/machinist/production machinist/ CNC operator-programmer-setup guy since early 80s.
The BFR is yet another marvel!!
Rutgers are very capable and while I have personally been extremely lucky in regards to both throat diameters and thread choke issues in Rugers they do often suffer from various mass produced maladies that hinder acurracy until have been tuned. And before any one accuses me of hate lol am a firm believer that the various Blackhawks/vaqueros offered and built since roughly 2005 are the best yet out of box

[alamogunr]

Since this is a thread extolling the features and quality of the FA83, I'll add my 2¢. I did find a used FA83 with .45 Colt and .45ACP cylinders at a very good price. My gun was manufactured(doesn't adequately describe the building of such a fine gun)8/30/91 according to Freedom Arms. I have never fired it with maximum .454 loads and most of my use has been the .45 Colt cylinder. I am constantly amazed at the accuracy with the .45ACP cylinder.

Due to a dumb screw up on my part, which was covered in an earlier thread and I won't repeat, I ended up with an extra .45ACP cylinder. In one of my several conversations with John Carey, he suggested having that cylinder rechambered to .45 Win Mag. This was done in a separate transaction by Jack Huntington. I must admit that I have never shot the gun with this cylinder. I have Starline brass just waiting and maybe I'll get around to it some day. I might prefer a barrel shorter than the 7½" barrel that it wears now but, if I ever shoot full power .454 loads, I may appreciate the extra distance between my muffed ears and the muzzle blast.

John
W.TN

[shorty500]

I have a very early m83, 4-3/4 from before there was a field grade so it’s not marked as a premier. Has all the bells and options sensible for that length gun. Only thing I skipped was a replaceable forcing cone bushing and since am a hard cast kinda guy I never needed it. But I ordered it with all 4 cylinders. With the .454 cylinder It’s primarily been a chrono note gun for short barrel data with some sight in and hunting use. Similar usage on the Win Mag cylinder but it truly is a great caliber. I love what insanely accurate results even at long distance that the ACP cylinder delivers with 99.9% of ammo tried. It’s real usage is as my .45 Colt belt gun though. I swap front blades for elevation and go from black powder ballistics using 250 gr cast, then to Ruger only levels with 335g cast over W296 then top out for big game such as the Northeast Ms bull armadillo they require 360g Seyfried design over a ton of W296 at 1400fps to kill them reliably.

[magnum314]

I just missed out on a VERY nice FA 83 .454 6" Field Grade...but with the wood-laminate grips! (Not a huge fan of the rubber grips selection) I don't really have the cash on hand right now but they have a layaway option that just so happens to meet my cash flow needs! I called on it...and missed it by about 10 minutes...and it was sweet, as new, and definitely very affordable (well...in FA language anyway!) So I keep looking...

[spillway]

This too is one of my favorites, mine came out of the safe at Dakota Arms after Don Allen passed.

[jfs]

The model 83`s can be addicting..... 357- 41- 44- 454 w/Colt and ACP cyl.- 475 w/480 cyl and 500WE. The 475 can shoot 100 yard groups with cast bullets like nobody`s  business.... The 41 is no slouch either...

[cas]

The last few days I've had a craving for a short barrel .475

I wouldn't shoot full powered loads for sure. A Ruger 480 would be a smarter buy. But I don't need one either. It think it has more to do with the fact that I don't use my 83 454 and planned to sell it. But I like it too much. But it's unused and sort of redundant at this point. But a 475 wouldn't be redundant, so it makes sense! Sort of. Kinda. heck I dunno. I'm also thinking of buying other things I don't need and selling things I really like, none of this makes much sense. Then I think maybe I should shorted the 454 and just use it as a 45 colt. But then it would be really redundant. I guess I just need to find the one person who owns a 475 and just doesn't like it, but for some reason wants a 454!! I better watch my emails, I'm sure the trade offers will be here any minute. A 357 maybe?

[bigmuddy]

cas

You could do what I did. I sent a M83 454 to Jack Hunnington and it came back as a 5 1/2" 475.

Dan

[paul105]

The older I get, the more I'm a fan of the shorter barreled guns -- here are two. Both bought used. The 500 is a Huntington conversion.



Paul

[Snyd]

The more I fondle mine the more I want a bigger one... I mean.... uh.... wait... another one... a 500Wyo

gotta love these guns...

[cas]

Oct 12, 2018 14:40:48 GMT -5 bigmuddy said:

cas

You could do what I did. I sent a M83 454 to Jack Hunnington and it came back as a 5 1/2" 475.

Dan

Hmmm.... hadn't thought of that one. at this point it might be cheaper than starting from scratch. As long as I don't compare 2001 dollars to 2019 dollars.

[firedude]

I am with paul105 on this one.  Older I get the more I shoot my short barrels more.

[paul105]

And Fiber Optic Fronts.

[firedude]

Oct 26, 2018 8:22:34 GMT -5 paul105 said:

And Fiber Optic Fronts.

Amen to that.