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Freedom Arms

Freedom Arms Inc.
Company typePrivately held company
Industryfirearms
Founded1978; 46 years ago (1978)
FounderWayne Baker, Dick Casull
Headquarters
Freedom, Lincoln County, Wyoming
,
United States
Area served
worldwide
Key people
Bob Baker (President)
ProductsPistols, revolvers
Websitewww.freedomarms.com
Freedom Arms revolvers with a Colt 1873P above.
Freedom Arms Belt-Buckle Revolver, .22LR, on display at the Cody Firearms Museum, Buffalo Bill Center of the West Cody, Wyoming.

Freedom Arms is a Freedom, Wyoming–based firearm manufacturing company, known for producing powerful single-action revolvers. The company was founded in 1978 by Wayne Baker and Dick Casull to produce a mini-revolver, then later a revolver chambered in Casull's powerful .454 Casull revolver cartridge. This five-shot revolver was the Model 83. Freedom Arms currently makes a single-shot pistol in addition to their revolvers.[1]

Models

Freedom Arms' first offering was a five-shot mini-revolver in .22 Long Rifle known as "The Patriot". It was later offered in .22 Short and .22 Winchester Rimfire Magnum. A beltbuckle holster version was patented by Richard J. "Dick" Casull (U.S. patent 4,450,992) to accommodate the small revolver. A boot pistol model was available with a longer barrel.[2] A four-shot mini-revolver was produced by Freedom Arms, but production ceased in 1990,[1] and the design was sold to North American Arms.[citation needed]

Co-founder Dick Casull had been experimenting with several prototype revolver cartridges since 1956. Casull felt he could offer a more powerful version of the .45 Colt and .44 Remington Magnum and built a number of five-shot prototypes on Ruger Super Blackhawk frames. Freedom Arms was the first commercial producer of revolvers chambered in this caliber, the .454 Casull, in 1983.[3] This model is still manufactured today as the Model 83.[4]

Several variants of the Model 83 have been produced, all with five-shot cylinders. The first was a .45 Colt in February 1986 (of which fifty-four units sold between 1986 and 1989), followed closely by a .44 Magnum version.[5] In 1991, Freedom Arms introduced the Model 252 in .22 LR and in 1992 the Model 353 in .357 Magnum, including a nine-inch variation produced to meet the four-pound maximum weight requirement for IHMSA Silhouette competition. In 1993, the Model 555 was introduced in .50 Action Express; .41 Magnum and .475 Linebaugh chamberings were introduced in 1997 and 1999, respectively.[1][6] Freedom Arms introduced their own .500 Wyoming Express in the Model 83 .500 WE in 2005.[7]

At least two variants of the Model 83 with a three-inch barrel and lacking an ejector were produced in .454 Casull and .44 Magnum. These variants, named "Marshall" and "Packer," have symmetrical frames, made possible by the lack of an ejector.[citation needed]

The Model 97 design, with a smaller frame than the Model 83, was introduced in 1997, originally with a six-shot .357 Magnum cylinder (a .38 Special cylinder was available). A five-shot .45 Colt chambering was introduced the following year, as was a five-shot .41 Magnum in 2000. Six-shot revolvers produced with .22 Long Rifle sporting- and match-grade cylinders available, as well as .22 Winchester Rimfire Magnum from 2003.[6] A five-shot .44 Special chambering followed in 2004.[8] In 2009, Freedom Arms announced the .224-32 FA and began producing a six-shot in this chambering.[9]

The Model 2008, which was introduced in 2010, is a single-shot pistol with interchangeable barrels, available in various rifle chamberings.[10]

Proprietary Cartridges

.224-32 FA

The .224-32 FA is a wildcat cartridge designed and produced in 2009 by Freedom Arms for use in their Model 97 revolver. The .224-32 FA was designed to provide a high-performance .22 caliber centerfire cartridge that would work in a revolver, and is capable of taking varmints and predators up to the size of coyotes.[11]

.224-32 FA
TypeRevolver
Place of originUnited States
Production history
DesignerFreedom Arms, Inc.
Designed2009
Produced2009–present
Specifications
Parent case.327 Federal
Case typeRimmed, bottleneck
Bullet diameter.224 in (5.7 mm)
Case length1.12 in (28 mm)
Overall length1.6 in (41 mm)
Rifling twist1–9 in (2.5–22.9 cm)
Primer typeSmall pistol
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy
40 gr (3 g) Hornady V-Max 2,295 ft/s (700 m/s) 468 ft⋅lbf (635 J)
Test barrel length: 10 in (25 cm)
Freedom Arms M83 Revolver

References

  1. ^ a b c Hartink, A.E. (2003). The Complete Encyclopedia of Pistols and Revolvers. Edison, New Jersey: Chartwell Books, Inc. pp. 132–134. ISBN 978-0-7858-1871-7.
  2. ^ Jerry Ahern (2010), Gun Digest Buyer's Guide to Concealed-Carry Handguns, Gun Digest Books, pp. 21–22, ISBN 978-1-4402-1383-0
  3. ^ John Taffin (February 2003), "Flat-shooting trail gun: Casull 3800", Guns Magazine
  4. ^ Barnes, Frank C.; Skinner, Stan (2003). Cartridges of the World: 10th Edition, Revised and Expanded. Krause Publications. p. 528. ISBN 978-0-87349-605-6.
  5. ^ John Taffin (September–October 2008), "Freedom arms: 25 years of sixgun perfection", American Handgunner[dead link‍]
  6. ^ a b John Taffin (May–June 2004), "Freedom Arms Model 97 - The Sixgunner", Guns Magazine
  7. ^ "Freedom Arms' biggest big bore: the 1/2"-bore fan gets a new cartridge and a stellar one it is", Guns Magazine, April 2006
  8. ^ John Taffin (May 2004), "Freedom arms Model 97 .44 special", Guns Magazine
  9. ^ "New 224-32 FA cartridge -". The Firearm Blog. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  10. ^ Shideler, Dan (7 August 2011), Gun Digest 2012, Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest, p. 251, ISBN 978-1-4402-1447-9
  11. ^ "Freedom arms" (PDF). 2011-05-16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-16. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
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