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That sounds like it will be a sweet one. Let us see pics when it arrives. 4 months will go by fast if you can keep from thinking about it every single day like I would.

A few pics of the Rugers (one 45 Colt and one 44 Mag) and FA .475 Linebaugh. If I had to start from scratch, I'd have the same .475 Linebaugh FA and another FA 454 Casull with a 45 Colt cylinder instead of the 2 Rugers. The 44 Mag just doesn't do it for me.






And I could have sworn I saw in this thread somebody said the Ruger cylinder is longer than the FA. Probably read it wrong and don't know if it applied to the Model 83, but here is a pic alongside my Ruger Bisley.

I think they were talking about the 97 cylinder being shorter than the Blackhawk.

VERY nice guns you have there. I have the same front sight on my FA .41 Magnum...FAs should put that one on instead of that stupid hard to see ramp.

Bob

Your photos show very well the different style of grip from the rugers to the FA.

I suspect that's why so many wind up slightly used for sale I've owned .44 mags for years - the first time I shot a 454, with 300's at 1600 fps, it was an eye opening experience!

They are beautifully made; I would still like to have one

Our guns are expected to be built in early June,but Tikka3006 and myself already have serial numbers for our model 97s.Now we just sit back and wait.

I had a reading of about 1.625 OAL on the 83 cylinder. Recessed rims? The Ruger 45 is 1.700, plus the .050 rim is 1.750, the custom ones I have to check.

The 83 was first right wasn't it? Haven't built revolvers for a while. I'll checks facts better next time.

The FA M83 cylinder on my .454 is 1.795" and it is recessed for cartridge rims reducing OAL a bit. The M97 (medium frame) cyl is approx 1.625 and is also recessed for rims.

Here's a couple of FA97s - both in .45 Colt. First is a 4 1/4" and the second is a 3 1/2" round butt with fluted cyl. A couple of light weight, easily packable power houses. They both handle recoil extremely well and are easy and fun to shoot.





Paul

Ahhhh. Wasn't thinking about the recessed rims. But still the FA should be longer as you calculated. But not by much.

I had to go to the web to get lengths, I'm at work and don't own a FA.Now I have to figure out where I got those lengths.........

Damn Quarter Bore People.............

I read the article wrong..........the 97 has the 1.625 length cylinder, on a medium frame...........

Mongo sorry.

A good buddy owns an FA97 in .45 Colt. It is easily the highest quality revolver he has, including a 3-screw Ruger massaged by a name 'smith. If you want quality, you want Freedom Arms. My only fuss about the piece is the relatively short cylinder. A fair selection of popular .45 bullets exceed the SAAMI spec overall length, and have to be deep-seated to be used. Slugs designed to remain within the SAAMI-spec overall length work just fine. That FA97 is a gem, and the grip frame fits my paw very well.

What are the legal uses for a handgun in Canada? Is any type of hunting allowed or is it strictly for target ranges?

Can you perceive a difference in recoil with the round butt?[b][/b]

Target use only in Canada.

Not sure how to answer that. For example, the 4 �� with standard grip frame is slightly less than 3 oz heavier than the 3 �� (on a 33 oz gun, that�s almost 10 percent). Also, the the extra �� of barrel mitigates recoil a bit. I was out shooting this afternoon. The load was a 300gr cast bullet over 21 gr of H110. My impression was that the 4 �� standard grip frame recoiled a bit less than the smaller gun. I wouldn�t necessarily attribute this to the difference in grip frames. I like both. You really have to personally handle these guns to appreciate how they feel in your hand. The 3 �� Round Butt was part of a package deal � I wouldn�t have bought it by itself. As it turns out, it is one of my favorite handguns. Not sure how well the round butt would work on anything over 4 ��. I have a 5 �� .357 that I don�t think would feel right to me with the Round Butt grip frame. If I had only one M97, it would be the standard grip frame model (in fact in would be the 4 �� shown above). Nothing feels more comfortable to me than the M97 platform (grip/grip frame, frame size, balance � it just works for me).

Now, with all that said � what works for me may or may not work for you or someone else (it is very likely it won�t). There are just too many variables to say how a grip/grip frame will feel in someone else�s hand.

Paul

Well, after a couple of weeks, I finally got a photo of mine:



The one on the left is a 5-1/2" 44 special I bought new; the one on the right is a 4-1/4" 357 mag I bought used. I had a clone of the 44 in 45 Colt, but it bit my knuckle too much so it went down the road. If I did it all over again, I would buy one - a 4-1/4" 44 special with micarta grips. But, I like both of these very much.

Tom

What do you like better about the micarta grips?

I like the looks of them, and they are slicker in my hand. Just the way they feel. Don't get me wrong, the rosewood are really nice, too.

Cool forum, glad I stumbled onto this place.

I have a question regarding the octagon barrels on the Freedom Arms revolvers. Is there any advantage to getting this option besides aesthetics? Thx