Freedom Arms Quality

[rsmith99]

I am just wondering if anyone has any experience with Freedom Arms.

I am thinking about buying one. Just wanted to know if the quality is still as good as it was.

Thanks!
Ron

 

[picturerock]

It's as excellent as in the "old days." Get one and never look back.

 

[powder smoke]

There is no better commercially manufactured revolver on the market. ps

 

[I_Like_Pie]

They really don't have much of an equal unless you get to super custom stuff. They are really that good.

 

[Brules]

Quality is top notch, as is accuracy.
I have a Model 83 (454) and Model 97 (357).

 

[David Bradshaw]

The Freedom Arms Model 83 is built they way Dick Casull intended, precise, tight, strong, and accurate. No revolver turns higher velocity for a given cartridge and load. Select a cartridge you will shoot, for this revolver begs to be shot.

If you select a .454 Casull, consider a cylinder in .45 ACP, possibly another in .45 Colt. The .45 ACP cylinder should come with any single action .45 Colt and .454 Casull. Order the revolver with trigger stop, and the Premier rear sight.

My hand dislikes the grip on the Model 97. Which points up the advisability of trying a like-model gun before you order or buy.
David Bradshaw

 

[GP100]

A friend of mine has one in .357 Magnum. Darn nice revolver if you ask me. But expensive as all get out. I can't afford one, as he told me that everything on them is a "option" that you pay extra for. I'll stick to my GP100 thanks. Great revolver at a reasonable price. But if you can afford a F.A. they are worth the cash outlay.

 

[Hammerdown77]

The best Freedom Arms is one on the used market that someone else is losing money on!

I love mine, wouldn't trade it for the world. Alaska Master Guide series, 454 Casull. She'll shoot, I'd say...

 

[RaisinRiverRon]

I have to agree with everyone else, the finest production handgun made. And the best kind is one for sale shot 5-10 times. Got my field grade with a SSK T'SOB scope mount with a 3X Burris in it for about 40% of retail of the gun alone. Looked brand new. Solid as a tank put together like a Swiss watch. Don't like to tell people how well it shoots, if they don't know anything about FA's, they give you that "sure, uh huh" look.

 

[flatgate]

I concur with the other posters. Damn fine revolvers.

I know a guy whom worked there for a while....... :roll:

flatgate

 

[Bear Paw Jack]

I agree, they are a fine gun and I've had 4 of them but the thing I don't like is that they have no transfer bar. So if you are carrying one as a bear gun it goes from a 5 shot to a 4 shot. In many uses that is not a problem. But it is something to keep in the back of your mind. Years ago I didn't follow through with the 4 in the cylinder with the hammer on an empty chamber. I had it in a sea bag as I had just come in from a hunting trip and went back up north. The wife didn't like where I left the bag laying and as it was heavy picked it up and swung it out of the way and let it drop. The gun went off in the bag. My fault completely :roll: but let me tell you she was not happy about it and asked if I would get rid of it. That particular time was a good time to say "yes dear" and I did. One of the nicest guns I've owned, an Alaska Guide Series that Joe Andariese did. I've had a few more sense then for one reason or another but up here you never know when you might need more than 4 rounds. For me there are a lot of other guns that will do the same thing.

 

[David Bradshaw]

Bear Paw Jack.... Don't suppose I need remind you a loaded revolver in a sea bag waiting to get flung is a bad deal. Fact is, with a caper like that, no way of telling whether the revolver got cocked by the clothing, and the trigger pulled by the clothing. Or, if the hammer was restrained by a strap, whether the safety bar was properly engaged.

If the hammer bar is properly between hammer and frame, I suspect it'll take a mean sledgehammer to smash the hammer into the firing pin.

I looked closely at some suits filed against Sturm, Ruger, regarding Rugers with the Peacemaker lockwork, and in all instances found negligent gun handling.

Way I see it, the Casull/Freedom Arms safety bar is manually engaged, whereas the New Model Ruger is "automatic"----or what is described as "passive." Whether a safety engages passively or is manually engaged, it all comes under "RESPONSIBILITY," which is a human character that cannot be assigned to an object.
David Bradshaw

 

[Ale-8(1)]

I concur with the other posters. Damn fine revolvers.

I know a guy whom worked there for a while....... :roll:

flatgate

I know that guy . . .

 

[cas6969]

They are very bad. You will never look at the rest of your firearms the same way again.

"All my other stuff is crap!" :lol:


I carry my 83 with fire rounds, firing pin between the case heads.

 

[Ladobe]

Another ditto.

Don't have mine anymore, but to give a clue a friend I shot IHMSA with for years had something like 16-17 of them last count that I remember several years ago, and intended to get more.

 

[David Bradshaw]

Bear Paw Jack.... I would add you are correct to carry what you are comfortable with. And I am very happy to hear no one was hurt.
David Bradshaw

 

[rsmith99]

The only thing I am wondering about is the base pin screw. I have never had a revolver that I had to remove a screw to remove a base pin. I am wondering how long the screw will last and how often most people remove the cylinder for cleaning.

Ron

 

[David Bradshaw]

Ron.... I've loosened the base pin screw to pull the cylinder pin many times, as I tend to clean guns. An old school habit. Allows one to check on equipment. One reason Freedom Arms screws stay tight longer than some other makes... better thread fit. The Casull base pin screw is heavier than various clones.

If you worry, slap some fingernail polish on the threads, or soft LocTite.
David Bradshaw

 

[29aholic]

No finer gun has ever been made...period. This is an early FA 83 with the removable forcing cone. Shipped originally in 454 it was sent back by a prior owner and had 45 Colt and 45acp cylinders fitted to it. One raged hole at 30 yards with the 45acp is not uncommon.

 

[rsmith99]

Does the base pin screw actually screw into threads in the barrel? Or is it just a set screw that pushes against the barrel?

 

[29aholic]

Does the base pin screw actually screw into threads in the barrel? Or is it just a set screw that pushes against the barrel?

No, there is a recess in the bottom of the barrel that matches the end of the screw.

 

[David Bradshaw]

29aholic.... which makes your FA .454 Casull 4-3/4" predate the FIELD GRADE, therefore predating the PREMIUM. Since, when your revolver was made, there was only PREMIUM.

The forcing cone insert traces directly to erosion in IHMSA revolvers. After pushing for this insert, it basically proves redundant, as erosion in the Freedom Arms is tiny. The insert acts as a short freebore, another redundancy on the tightly aligned FA. The .454 Casull with extra .45 ACP and .45 Colt cylinders is a given, in my book. .45 ACP from the 4-3/4" is a Sweetie Pie.
David Bradshaw

 

[callshot]

I have always wanted one also, but was born good looking instead of wealthy. I have also wanted my own 747-500 and a tropical island. I have met some of the workers there also. I can see the quality, but have never shot one, yet! NOW, I am about to wake up from another dream about them started by this post. Steve

 

[cruzerlou]

I don't own one but bot to shoot R.A.'s 5.5' at ty's place last year .Very possibaly the finest S.A. I've ever fired .I must admit though that the .454 is a bit too much gun for me .I and make my hand hurt almost as bad with my 7 1/2" SBH with hot loaded 300 gr XPT's in it .I bet the F.A. would be a real sweetheart with just some regular .45 L.C in it though .If I ever have the money it's one of my dream guns ,but I'd load wimpy loads for it LOL.
Lou

 

[29aholic]

29aholic.... which makes your FA .454 Casull 4-3/4" predate the FIELD GRADE, therefore predating the PREMIUM. Since, when your revolver was made, there was only PREMIUM.

The forcing cone insert traces directly to erosion in IHMSA revolvers. After pushing for this insert, it basically proves redundant, as erosion in the Freedom Arms is tiny. The insert acts as a short freebore, another redundancy on the tightly aligned FA. The .454 Casull with extra .45 ACP and .45 Colt cylinders is a given, in my book. .45 ACP from the 4-3/4" is a Sweetie Pie.
David Bradshaw

David, thanks for the extra info. I know if it came to it FA wont just replace the inset anymore they would replace the whole barrel.
One of the guys at FA has the extra 45 Win Mag with his gun and he says it actullay shoots better than the rest of the cylinders. I may have to add one some day. I really would like the ivory micarta grips they offer, but you have to ship the gun to them.

 

[David Bradshaw]

Polishing of the grip frame and then grips-on-grip frame is a skilled labor. Good polishing is a skill akin to tuning a Steinway. The bean counters in a factory do not understand quality that is not on a billboard. Bean counters LOVE grip spikes and bead blasting.

When Elgin Gates ordered a special edition IHMSA Thompson/Center Contender, I insisted that the sides of the frame be plain, that any IHMSA marking be applied elsewhere. Figured the plain frame would at once be elegant and save money. Warren Center said that he would supply the plain frames, then explained that the puma logo etched on the sides hid investment casting blemishes. Warren Cenetr later told me T/C had to eat a rejection rate on our limited edition. However, the IHMSA guns were beautiful, as perhaps a few readers here can attest. You may recall the early Contender barrels, tapered octagon. Polishing those flats was a skill.

The unbelievable blue on early Colts and Smith & Wessons began at the polishing wheel, not in a barrel of bone charcoal.
David Bradshaw

 

[29aholic]

I cant agree more. The fit of the grips to the frame is flawless. I own/owned several older Colts and S&W's and you're dead on, there is nothing like the early finishes.

 

[rsmith99]

I received my new Freedom Arms model 97 yesterday. It looks great! Except...
I noticed on the right grip panel thre is a small gap where a little too much wood was taken off the grip and it doesn't quite meet the frame.
I have owned enough revolvers to know grips don't ever fit perfectly. But I thought for this price maybe they should.
Other than that, the gun looks great!
Am I being too picky, or should I ask FA for a better fit?

 

[29aholic]

I wouldn't let it bother you, once you shoot it the smile you'll have will cancel out any trivial matters.

 

[David Bradshaw]

rsmith99.... I wouldn't let it bother. Despite the laminated wood, it is possible the wood continued to shrink. I am not the authority, but is can happen, even on impregnated wood. The laminated wood on my Freedom Arms .44, the first non-.454 Casull, has drawn a bit over the years.

I was told at Ruger that all the plywood stocks used by American manufacturers come out of a plywood factory in Rutland, Vermont. Laminates I've shot are stabile, a little heavier than new growth walnut and beech, and strong.

As for the Freedom Arms base pin screw, it seats against the little countersink under the barrel.

Getting back to why Dick Casull's revolver resists loosening better than some other breeds, consider the effect of tightly fitted parts under recoil. While sound travels around 1050 fps in air, 5000+ fps in water, sounds waves travel 14,000+ fps in steel. I have a feel that it is not just "recoil" causes screws to loosen. When steel parts, note cylinder with endshake, hammer back and forth, a symphony of sound waves roars through your revolver!

Gold is an inert material; its quality remains over time. Freedom Arms is the closest thing we have in manufacturing to a gold standard. That is what I have to say about the manufacture of Dick Casull's Model Model 83 revolver by Freedom Arms.
David Bradshaw