Trio Of Treats From Freedom Arms
What would the state of the sixgunning world be without dreamers? Those who looked at what was and saw what could be. While Keith (one of those dreamers) was touting the .44 Special, Phil Sharpe was working with Colonel Doug Wesson on what would eventually become, in 1935, the .357 Magnum. Wesson promoted the first Magnum by using it to take several big game animals. So we had the heavy loaded .44 Special and the .357 Magnum; what else did we need?
A young Utah gunsmith by the name of Dick Casull wanted something more. In the early 1950s solid head .45 Colt brass, as opposed to the older, weaker balloon head style, had just become available and Casull saw what could be. After blowing up several Colt Single Actions in his quest for a 230 grain bullet load at 1,800 fps, he built special 5-shot cylinders and then designed and built his own sixgun. After several false starts all this work culminated in the opening of Freedom Arms in 1983 and the production of the premier single action sixgun, now known as the Model 83, chambered in .454 Casull.
Wayne Baker was president of Freedom Arms and not only offered the .454 Casull Model 83 but also offered other chamberings such as .44 Magnum and for the silhouette crowd, .357Magnum and .22 Long Rifle. Virtually everyone agreed these standard production revolvers were the finest ever manufactured. The Model 83 could have been Freedom Arms’ only offering, but Baker and his son Bob saw what could be and in 1997 began offering a second revolver, the smaller Model 97.
While the Model 83 is a serious big bore hunting sixgun chambered in very heavy duty cartridges, the Model 97 is more of an everyday Perfect Packin’ Pistol, especially when chambered in a 5-shot version such as the .45 Colt, .44 Special and .41 Magnum as well as a 6-shot .357 Magnum. All was definitely well at Freedom Arms, however manufacturers cannot maintain the status quo; they either go forward or backward. With Bob Baker as president they decided to go forward and greatly increase their list of offerings. Thanks to Bob’s leadership we now have a Trio of Treats from Freedom Arms.
Freedom’s new 16" Model 2008 chambered in 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser.
Something very new and exciting from Freedom Arms!
Freedom Arms Model 97 with 4X Leupold scope mounted with Freedom
Arms scope mount and with three cylinders: .327 Federal Magnum, .32
Magnum and .32-20, making a very versatile combo.
100 yard groups shot with the Freedom Arms Model 2008 “Swede” — proof this gun is a shooter!
Maxi-Mouse Magnum
First Bob saw several other possibilities with the Model 97 and began chambering it in .22 Long Rifle and .32 Magnum. What more could anyone want in a smallbore sixgun? Well, to make them even more versatile the former is available with an auxiliary .22 Magnum cylinder while the latter can be had with a second cylinder chambered in .32-20. Both of these sixguns with all their possibilities have proven to be superbly accurate. What more could be done?
The answer to that question was the .327 Federal Magnum. This cartridge was originally introduced in the Ruger SP101 pocket pistol as a self defense offering. Baker was the first to see the possibility of its use in a quality varmint hunting sixgun. At first the .327 was offered as a auxiliary cylinder in the .32 Magnum Model 97, however this has now been reversed and the Model 97 is manufactured as a .327 with extra cylinders offered in both .32 Magnum and .32-20.
To me the .32 Magnum, a great little cartridge by the way, is the Mighty Mouse Magnum while the much more powerful .327 is the Maxi-Mouse Magnum. Factory ammunition is available in three weights of JHPs, 85, 100 and 115 grains. Freedom Arms and I both realized the .327 was a hunting cartridge worthy of a long-barreled single action, so when Baker contacted me about the .327 chambering I asked him to make mine with a 10″ barrel. It also came with two extra cylinders in .32 Magnum and .32-20.
I expected a real boost in muzzle velocity by going to the longer barrel and I was not disappointed. Federal’s American Eagle 100-gr. JHP clocks out at 1,760 fps from the 10″ Model 97 and that is Magnum performance by anyone’s standards. Federal’s load with the slightly heavier Speer 115 GDHP comes in at 1,540 fps while the little 85-gr. Hydra-Shok is just slightly behind the American Eagle load at 1,709 fps. Groups average 1″ at 50 yards while my handload of Hornady’s 100 XTP-JHP over 12.5 grains of L’il Gun does 1,555 fps and groups five shots in 5/8″.
Groups shot with the Freedom Arms .224-32FA. Another tack-driver
and further proof a best-quality revolver can shoot too!
Breaking New Ground
In 2008 at the Shootists Holiday Baker unveiled his newest creation with a proto-type Model 2008. This latest pistol is unlike anything previously emanating from Freedom Arms. It’s not a sixgun, or five-gun if one prefers, such as the Model 83 and Model 97, but instead is a single-shot pistol using the grip frame of the Model 83. It’s a single-action, break-open pistol with a rebounding hammer with the frame designed to accept interchangeable barrels in other calibers, and an extractor designed to handle both rimmed and rimless cartridges. As all other Freedom Arms offerings this one is stainless steel with a grip frame and forearm of the same impregnated hardwood as found on the Freedom Arms revolver grips.
The barrel attaches to the frame at the front by use of a transverse round pin which is held in place by the forearm, and the action is opened by either pulling back on the top slide or pushing on the top slide lever located on the left side of the frame. Operation is simple and the action opens easily and smoothly. The hammer must be cocked for firing and this operation is also quite smooth and easy aided by a hammer shaped for easy access with a scope in place.
If the hammer is cocked and one then decides not to fire, it can be lowered carefully to the safe position once again. Freedom Arms recommends this operation be practiced for proficiency before ever loading the Model 2008. For those interested in shooting long-range silhouettes special optional target sights are available, however I assume most shooters will approach this as a long-range hunting handgun. To this end the barrel is drilled and tapped to accept the Freedom Arms scope mount.
Action of the ground-breaking Freedom Arms Model 2008 opened.
Steps in making .224-32FA brass: Factory .327, formed
RCBS die, trimmed to length and the loaded round.
One of my favorite chamberings in rifle or single shot pistol is 6.5. I have hunted extensively with my Thompson/Center Contender chambered in J.D. Jones’ 6.5 JDJ. With the 120-Speer SP at 2,400 fps it is absolutely deadly on everything I have taken with it from deer up to and including Waterbuck and Zebra. One of my favorite rifles is a bolt action Mannlicher stocked CZ chambered in 6.5×55 Swedish Mauser, so I combined the two and ordered my Freedom Arms Model 2008 with a 16″ barrel chambered in the 6.5 Swede.
Groups hovered from around 7/8″ to 1¾” at 100 yards! This new design is a real shooter! Accuracy is excellent, especially when one realizes all the groups were shot in windy winter weather. I am definitely at the time of my life when I am a fair weather shooter.
The Model 2008 will be offered in a range of chamberings, and my next barrel will be a 10″ .357 Maximum.
