The fit, finish, and attention to detail is second to none. Anyone own one?

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Sure you did

Two, but only have pics of the 454. I wish they would make a double action.

I have the same gun, single cylinder though. Quite a handful.

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Hi Mike!

Here is a picture of mine. I am having the barrel cut back to 6" at the factory as soon as money allows. Caliber .475. I shot it quite a few times yesterday with full on loads.

G4F, it's a beauty. I have a 7.5 inch barrel, that I've had since 94'. Couldn't find any other barrel length back then, though I wanted a 6 inch. I've been thinking about sending it back to Wyoming to be cut down to 5 inch.

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I generaly like the 5.5" barreled single actions, but on a F/A, the 6" seems to balance so nicely with the longer grip frame.

I have never shot a .454, but I would really like to. I am curious about the differnces in recoil. I know this one lets you know it's there. I know that a lot of guys are X frame fans, but those don't have the classy lines that these F/A's do, and they are too big in my view to be hip carried.

Got any pictures of your gun? Which grips do you have, etc.?

BTW, if you send it back, you may as well go with the 4.75" if you want a 5". They charge a premium to cut to non standard lengths.

I've got a .357. It's all they are reputed to be. FWIW it's got the same cylinder as the .454 but with smaller cylinders so you can imagine how strong it is. I can post a picture later if you want to see it?

Jeff

The only limiting factor in your gun is the strength of the brass, but John Taffin in his book "Big Bore Handguns" lists some loads that are impressive to say the least.

Pictures are always a welcome addition here.

I have the same grips that you have on yours, rosewood??
When hunting I use Pachmayrs, mainly because I'm afraid of denting the wood grips. I'll get some pics up later.
I may just order another FA in 4.75 inch, though maybe not in 454. I think alot of energy and velocity gets lost in the short barrel version, defeating the purpose of the gun, though the looks are awesome.
BTW,the gun is very "snappy" when fired with 300 grainers. You have to be prepared for the recoil also. My friend had one a couple years before me, and one day at the range he fired his 454 for the 1st time. The gun came straight back and the hammer hit him right in the middle of his forehead, drawing blood and a pretty nasty cut. Since that day, he's gripped the gun a little better.
I bought one just because I feel it's the finest handgun made.

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Mike,
I hear ya! I hung on pretty good to mine the first time I fired it.

Also, in the book I mentioned above, there are several loads clocked in a 4.75", 7.5", and a 10" model 83. There isn't that much difference between the 4.75" and the 7.5" which suprised me a little bit with the .454.

BTW, the grips are indeed Rosewood, though they are made of laminated Rosewood, since F/A says not too many other types of wood will hold up under the recoil.

I have a 6" octagon convertible 454/45. Nice gun but it's for sale. I'm sticking with Bisleys.

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wtb 329 / 325 ti cylinder

Got any pictures? Price?

sort of have/had one; had it exported to Belgium in 1997 when the govt banned them here in the UK.

A 7.5" 454 Premier Grade. Awesome - as good as the gun mags said it was. Wish I'd taken some pictures, but this was before digital cameras and taking GOOD photos I found difficult whilst having them developed was a drawn out expensive process, so it wasn't something I regularly did.

OK - very powerful - 303 if not 308 power in a 3 pound handgun, but for me, the attraction was that everything about it was built from the ground up to be superlative in terms of quality and performance - the silhouette models do 1" at 100 yards - including the brass - only available from FA when I shot it.

I owned four Model 83's; three chambered in 454 cassul and one in 500 Linebaugh. When I bought the first one, only FA produced ammo and at the cost of $52 per 50-rd box. I was so impressed with these that I joined the FA Collector's Association. Unfortunately the last one I bought displayed workmanship that even Ruger would never have released. The screw holes for attachment of the grip frame to the main frame were improperly countersunk with the result that the screw heads protruded. The grips were about 1/32 in undersized. At the breach face, the area around the firing pin was properly machined flat. Away from this flat machined area the surface fell away in what was an obviously unmachined casting surface. It looked as though the casting from which the main frame was machined was simply too small. I sold them all and have never owned another.

Correction:
Actually the FA Model 83 referred to above was chambered in 475 Linebaugh and not 500. I simply typed the wrong number. This one was called the "Grand African", or something very similar, and was only available to members of the Freedom Arms Collectors Association.

Well, if you bought them new, you should have returned the bad one to the factory for service/replacement. The lifetime warranty would have covered any premier grade gun, while the 1 year warranty would have covered the "bad" gun.

Since they have never made a model 83 in .500 Linebaugh, at least that one was customized, so is it possible that the "bad" one had been messed with?

Oh, yes. A 500 Wyoming Express with a 4.75" barrel.



It is quite compact, as seen here with a 686 3" for comparison.


And darn accurate, too.

As she came from Wyoming:

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What a good lookin' gun! I may have to have a couple!

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Ted Nugent in 2013!