Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Freedom Arms Revolvers

I owned a 4" 97 chambered in .44 Special. Round butt and ebony micarta.

When I found it and bought it I thought I had found nirvana in the single action world, but after shooting it and carrying it a good bit, it started to leave me cold.

The tolerances were (for me) too tight. You cannot thumb them as casually as you can a Colt or Ruger. They are tank like and by all accounts will remain that way for a long, long time. The chambers are cut so tight that I would often have to push on the cartridge HARD to get it fully seated to the point that the cylinders would rotate. This annoyed me greatly.

The tight tolerances are like any aspect of engineering. While annoying, they also yield extreme accuracy that you'd not expect from a 4" single action. However, I cannot take advantage of that type of accuracy because I can't hold 1" groups in the offhand with a handgun. And I'm an exceptional shot with a handgun.

Another aspect that I found irritating was that I needed a different front sight to get it zeroed. And Freedom Arms don't drop that schit in the mail for free. I promise... LOL

Yes they are worth what they cost. Anything built to those standards is worth the price of admission. But it was not worth it for me because I'd much rather drop my rounds into my well worn Flattop and shoot the hell out of it in a way that I think a single action should be shot.

in summary: Worth it? Yes. For me? No.

This is as honest of an answer I can give you.

Every time I handle or shoot my 83 it astonishes me.

After a couple years, you'd think I would be used to it. But after nearly 50 years of using "normal" handguns, the FA still stuns me with its precision.

Had the itch for years for a light(er) weight .45 Colt. Have a 5.5” Ruger Bisley that Hamilton Bowen tuned up years ago that I love, just want something a bit more “packable”.

I can’t seem to get a S&W Mtn. bought (and they’ve doubled in price in the last decade), a Bowen lightweight would likely cost more than the FA 97.

A little 4” round butt flinging 260-280’s at 950ish would pretty well do all I’d need it to and still be fun to shoot. It’d just get toted around the lease and under a coat in the winter on occasion just because. The fact that by all accounts they shoot like lasers doesn’t hurt.

DeFlave made some great points to be aware of, but sometimes you just want to try something because you can.

Every time I handle or shoot my 83 it astonishes me.

After a couple years, you'd think I would be used to it. But after nearly 50 years of using "normal" handguns, the FA still stuns me with its precision.

I think every serious handgunner ought to have at least one in his life.

If you decide it is just too much of a good thing, sell it. They don't depreciate like a Wal-Mart gun.

Yeah, they are pretty tight.

I saw one guy using a pair for cowboy action shooting. They’re sorta tight for really fast shooting, though he did pretty well.

To me a looser gun is what you need for CAS. You don’t need FA precision to succeed in that sport. It’s more about speed and there are smiths who specialize in making Colts, clones and Rugers run really fast. That’s not where the FA shines.


DF

Outside of the round butt, check out the Ruger Blackhawk in 45 Colt with the 4.6 inch barrel.

Had one years ago. Plowhandle. Great pistol. Just want a little more…..

I just read an article about a Freedom Arms Model 97 in one of the gun rags. The author made the gun sound like the best thing since sliced bread, as if he were simply a shill for the company.

Is the Freedom Arms revolver worth the nearly $3K they are charging for it? I'm a casual shooter, and do not compete, but i do appreciate excellence. I've read a number of comments from folks who love their FA revolvers, but does anyone have anything less than stellar to report about them? Any downsides, other than their hefty price tags?

Vacillating over whether I should put them on my "gotta have one" list. I have a tuned Ruger Blackhawk that shoots lights-out, and i wonder if the FA is seriously worth four times the Blackhawk.

I bought a 454 Casull in the early 90's and fired A LOT of FULL POWER loads through it.
The thing broke three times and had to go back to FA for repair. After the 3rd trip, I sold it.

I currently have a model 83 475 Linebaugh and a 97 in 41 magnum. I have not broken either one of those, but I don't shoot them much either.

Tony