I'm so sorry about your FA 454, I've had mine since the mid 90's and I agree...it is hands down the finest, most accurate handgun I've ever had. It even gives my rifles a run for their money. It will shot clover leaf 5 shot groups at 50 yds. day in and day out.

H110 is bulky and prevents you from putting a double powder load good for beginners immediately press in the lead slug

Indeed the lack of crimp can certainly lead to some headaches and it's amazing how much more crimp is required with the 454 Casull vs. say the 9mm Luger. Thanks for watching and providing feedback. --Jeremiah

First off thank you so much for watching! We really appreciate it. We do our best to show the results exactly as we get them and be completely open and honest in all of our productions. That is a steal on a Freedom Arms Revolver! They are an excellent company and I honestly don't have enough good things to say about there guns! I recently worked up a new .45 Colt load in my Freedom arms model 83 and using the dedicated 45 colt cylinder and it shot a 5 shot group into .3 inches center to center. It is truly amazing the accuracy you can get from these guns. Thanks again for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah

Thank you for watching, glad to hear that you enjoyed the episode. That sounds like a good deal to me especially considering the grips Ivory is extremely rare these days! Sounds like you have everything you need that is awesome! I can believe that these guns are amazingly accurate! I can imagine these are a staple for many guides and bear hunters up in Alaska and I have even know folks who take them to Africa as well. There are few things more comforting than a gun at your side especially a .454 Casull. I agree in full with you on the grip it has a very nice feel they point and balance very well. There may be more powerful handgun cartridges but there are few revolvers as fine as the Freedom Arms model 83. I was extremely impressed with the firearm and the cartridge. Thanks again for watching and sharing your experience it is always nice to hear others thoughts and experience. God bless you as well and good shooting! --Jeremiah

The .454 Casull is a good cartridge to have in Bear country I would not hesitate to carry it in Alaska or even Africa. It is amazing what it can do with cast bullets of proper construction. Those Barnes Busters are also pretty wicked!

You are most welcome! Thank you for watching!

Thank you very much for watching we greatly appreciate it and thank you for the kind words. I agree the Freedom Arms model 83 is one of if not the finest made revolvers today the quality, fit and finish and tolerances are all extremely tight and very well done and finely crafted! I appreciate the suggestion and I am looking forward to doing something on both of those Cartridges in the distant future. The .44 Magnum is slowly in the works I have the brass just working on building up the bullets and powder for the video! --Jeremiah

They definitely have very tight tolerances on these sixguns. pushing bullets through the cylinder is always a good idea prior to loading. Dick Casull is an amazing man and is achievements are legendary! He had a wealth of information in his head. I sadly never met the man but our writer Brian was good friends with Dick and I have learned a lot through him about Dick and his experiments. He truly had some innovative ideas. Some of them we are seeing come to light even today with companies like Sig. I agree It is very nice to see the Bakers continue the legacy behind the Model 83 and Freedom Arms!

Thank you very much, glad to hear that you enjoyed this episode! That is quite a line up! Gotta love sixguns there is just something special about them. Thank you for watching! -- Jeremiah

Thank you for the kind words and for watching I am glad that you enjoy the videos in spite of not handloading. I think there is a lot of knowledge you can learn from handloading even if you don't personally do it yourself. Thank you for watching!! --Jeremiah

Thank you very much for the kind words and taking the time to watch and comment! We really appreciate it and for you taking the time to share your own experience with the same gun! I think it adds a lot of value to the comments when others share their own experience. Thanks for watching! --Jeremiah

It really is amazing what they are capable of doing with these guns, some of the finest craftsmanship I have seen in a revolver. As much as I hate to admit it, Magna porting the barrel does make a lot of sense with this heavy recoiling cartridges such as the .454 Casull. That is very interesting about the scope but also not terribly surprising given the recoil. It is very nice to hear that they took care of you. I have a Burris I need to send in for work myself soon. Entirely my fault, I dropped it while out in the field and it just happened to strike the turret just right and messed with the tracking. We have that in common, I have no doubt that the model 83 will outshoot me every day of the week! Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah

Glad you enjoyed it and you are gaining information! Thank you very much for watching and for all your support! We will continue to do our very best to produce the highest quality, honest content possible.

Thanks for taking the time to share your loads with us here in the comments section, I feel it adds a lot of value and allows others to learn. Thank you for watching! --Jeremiah

Thank you very much, We were very impressed with the amount of accuracy that was displayed by this model 83 and the build quality is exceptional. the three different cylinders maintaining nearly identical point of impact is a true testament to the quality of the craftsmanship put into every part of these guns. Thank you for watching and for the feedback it is always appreciated!

Thank you for the kind words we are glad to hear you enjoyed it. Thank you for watching!

We agree in full with you there! They are extremely well made revolvers. The other cartridges such as 45ACP and 45 Colt are outstanding and performed very well for us. We can completely understand when it comes to the recoil of those cartridges. They are very stout and hard on the hands and wrists.

@@KJV1611AV It is a blast!

@@KJV1611AV Lol yes very true!

No problem! We are glad you enjoyed the video! Thank you very much for watching!

That is awesome, they really are magnificent revolvers and in my humble opinion some of the finest if not the finest on the market today. I appreciate you taking the time to share you personal experience and load data with everyone here. It is nice to know others are having good results as well! --Jeremiah

Ha ha I can certainly see where you are coming from with that one, I have said that the .45 Colt was really the first magnum handgun cartridge some folks get it and some don't. Thanks for watching! --Jeremiah

No Problem glad you enjoyed it, thank you for watching! We strive to provide the most accurate and reliable information possible in an easy to watch format. They are amazingly accurate revolvers some of the finest I have ever handled. I am a big fan of the Lee Factory crimp dies they work very well and use them in many different cartridges. That sounds like a great load, recoil is stout but it is manageable. Thanks again for watching and for sharing your experience It is always nice to hear what others are doing and experiencing.

Thank you very much for the kind words we are glad that you enjoyed the video thank you for watching! We do our best to be informative first and entertaining second. Our goal is to provide the most accurate and honest information possible! --Jeremiah

Indeed it is quite impressive! I can't tell you how many times I regret not buying guns at this point in my life I think it makes up the majority of my regrets. They never seem to go down in price at least not the good ones! Thanks for watching! --Jeremiah

@@HandloaderTV first time I've seen this gun in a movie, was a scoped variant in the 1988 sci-fi/action movie "Alien Nation", where the late-great James Caan uses one during the iconic gun range scene early on in the film

Indeed the wait can be killer but they sure are good guns! It is amazing how accurate they are. The hot 300 plus grain loads hit hard but I agree the recoil can be a bit much especially if you just want to take it to the range and practice all day. I will have to give that load a try! Thanks for taking the time to watch and share that info! --Jeremiah

That is very very impressive accuracy and score! We have been nothing but impressed with every aspect of this revolver it is always good to hear others are having equally impressive results and performance! Thank you for watching!

We did not try that we stuck with the .454 Casull expanding die. However it may be interesting to try the 44 Magnum and retry some loads to see what a difference it makes! You have perked our curiosity!

It really did have some favorites that is for sure! I was quite impressed with this firearm and the cartridge in general! Those Rugers are good guns I don't have anything bad to say about them. I do agree in full, this cartridge is a powerhouse and with handloading it really opens up a wide variety of options from light loads to heavy loads. Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah

Thank you for the kind words and for the feedback we greatly appreciate it. Most dies have a built in crimp feature and it usually works quite well but it is not as convenient as a separate crimp die. I do like the older style lee hand primer as well. I am not a huge fan of the RCBS one either it can be a little tricky to use. I have not tried their new model though. I have used the Frankford Arsenal Handprimer quite a bit though and it is my favorite by far mostly because of how organized the kit is and the excellent feel it offers. The brass is above the primers with the Frankford hand priming tool I would encourage you to check it out. I do love the Freedom Arms products they are of outstanding quality and their reputation is well deserved. I do plan on doing more testing at longer range at some point but I am not sure when as of yet. Thank you for taking the time to watch and comment! --Jeremiah

indeed, it is a rather rocky range and the berm still needed some cleaning up!

I hear you there, bigger handgun cartridges are not easy to shoot due to the amount of recoil. That is the wonderful thing about handloading you can tailor your loads to what you like. I agree however the 454 Casull is great for bear defense and things of that nature. We have done videos on the colt Python in 357 and the 44 special as well. The 44 magnum is on the list to cover but we are still sorting out what test gun we want to use. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah

Freedom arms makes .357 41mag and 44mag also so might check them out

Glad to hear you enjoyed it! Thank you for watching!

We do list all the bullets, powders, load data and other things like that but this is the first time I have heard anything about a gear list, we could probably do that easy enough provided enough folks are interested in it. If you have any questions about the gear used in this video don't hesitate to ask I am happy to answer any questions. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah

It looks like you use the Ransom Master Rest with windage base, remote cable pull, and that cool table. Is there anything else? Where can I get that table? Great job with videos.

@@petercastronovo9370 That is correct A Ransom Master series rest with windage base, remote cable pull and their master series base plate as well. The shooting bench is a Konig Jager and sadly they are no longer making those benches or anything similar. These days we recommend Stukey's Sturdy Shooting Benches, they are very sturdy and also portable. You can see this bench used in our 28 Nosler vs. 7mm Rem Mag and our video on the Oehler System 89. I'll post links at the end of this comment. Thank you for the kind words and feedback we greatly appreciate it and are always looking to improve our videos! --Jeremiah kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Z9tndKShttaxeGw.html Oehler System 89 video, kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ic1pi7uGv9TQc58.html 28 Nosler vs. 7mm Rem Mag

I do love the .454 Casull, I also really like the .45 Colt as well, there is just something fun about big bore handguns! Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah

@@HandloaderTV The cool thing is you can get 1 die and reload them both. That is what I do! I just always save the brass. It is hard to come by these days!

@@TheKentuckyPatriot I have not tried using my .45 Colt dies to reload .454 Casull to be honest, you don't have any issues using .45 colt dies to reload .454 Casull? Indeed brass is tough to find these days and it's not as cheap as it once was! --Jeremiah

@@HandloaderTV Nope, it works for 45acp as well! Matter of fact I have a few older videos where the .454 loads I was using were reloads. I reloaded everything from full wadcutter, to semi wadcutter, to these long KY blue rounds my buddy casted for me! I made several different videos' a few years back trying and testing different bullets that I had reloaded. It is the only affordable way to shoot 45lc or .454 for me. 🙂

@@TheKentuckyPatriot hmm interesting, that is something I will have to look into and give a try! That is very interesting to me and it certainly adds a lot of value to a die set. --Jeremiah

Thank you for the kind words we greatly appreciate the feedback. I always say it doesn't hurt to ask, he may say no but then again you never know and if you'd be willing to pay he may be willing to find a way, at least that is what I always say. Thanks again. --Jeremiah

@@HandloaderTV I did some research and found that the revolver must have been converted to Mainland UK spec in the factory, and therefor imported as a Section 1 firearm IAW Mainland UK laws. So it's dead in the water, sad to say. If I lived in Northern Ireland I could have it just the same as you can, but......there ya go, eh?

@@tacfoley4443 That is a shame I am sorry to hear that! The laws certainly make things challenging these days, even here we go back and forth on many different things and it all gets frustrating after a while. --Jeremiah

I must admit that that is the first time I have heard that, and I must admit I find that very very hard to believe. Using 50BMG powder would seem almost dangerous to me given the slow burn rate with a 7.5" barrel and a full case of that stuff you'd be hard pressed to hit 30,000 PSI and in that barrel length burn 15 percent of your powder before it leaves the muzzle. This would lead to an extraordinary flash as well. I think what would be more likely is that he blended a powder with the 50 BMG powder to create a unique burn rate to match the cartridge and barrel length. Such practices are not only very unsafe but is also unnecessary with the wide variety of modern propellants. Also likely why he was sworn to secrecy about the load data. I think that would make much more sense personally. Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah

That is a great deal, I can't tell you how many times I have kicked myself for not purchasing firearms when they were cheap! Tis the life of the firearms enthusiast! Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment!! --Jeremiah

That's awesome congratulations on your new firearm! The .454 is a wonderfully versatile cartridge and truly is a joy to shoot and load for, I know we had a lot of fun developing loads and working with this revolver! Thank you for watching and best of luck to you with the .454 Casull!

@@HandloaderTV been reloading hot 45 colt in my ruger vaquaro need to stay at lower pressure loads

@@wilmamcdermott3065 Very nice I have hyped up 45 Colt loads in the Model 83 but Pressure is of little concern this that revolver. I have a pair of Ruger Vaqueros and they are great guns as well. gotta love the good ol 45 Colt.

@@HandloaderTV mine is stainless steel 5 5/8 have had 1350 fps out of my vaquaro

@@wilmamcdermott3065 very nice that is a very impressive velocity figure! I am sure it is a pretty hot stout load.

It is an awesome gun for sure, probably one of the most accurate wheel guns I own! --Jeremiah

That is for sure a great around the ranch carry load without too much recoil. Thank you for watching it glad to hear you enjoyed it!

Yeah it seems to still be going strong, I think the major contributing factor to that is the fine reputation of the Model 83 and the performance the cartridge is capable of in a good revolver. Indeed I know many folks who have used it on game as large as elk at reasonable distances. Very impressive performance and ballistics. Thank you for watching!

Thank you very much I appreciate the feedback and the kind words! I would love to do something on the 500 Wyoming Express at some point I don't know when at this point given how difficult components are to get currently but hopefully soon! If I recall Nate started out with the .454 Casull before making the switch over to the .500 Wyoming. Thanks for watching! --Jeremiah

They are very accurate guns it's taming the recoil that seems to be the challenge! I too struggle with that shooting handguns is no easy task. Thanks for watching! --Jeremiah

It is indeed my poor dueling tree can attest to that and still bears the marks from how hard it thumps! It really is a beautiful example of fine craftsmanship! I too am a huge fan of Unique powder I have had great success with it in almost every cartridge I have used it in. It is a very versatile powder the only downside is that it is a touch dirty. But as they say there is no free lunch. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah

The only cartridge that I haven’t used Unique in is the 9x19. Due to it’s case capacity. Really enjoying learning about the 454 .

@@VitoBb1978 I have had decent success with it in the 9x19 but you are correct case capacity is a bit of an issue. Power Pistol powder is great in the 9x19 though! Glad to hear that you are learning and enjoying it that is what we are all about! --Jeremiah

I agree Power Pistol is a much better fit, in fact is does outstanding in Colt Super 38 Auto

@@VitoBb1978 Indeed I have also had good results with it in the 38 Super as well. It is always nice to hear what powders people are using and what they like. --Jeremiah

Thank you we appreciate the feedback, we were worried that it may be a little long but so far everyone seems to like it! Glad you enjoyed it and thank you so much for watching!

That is a very interesting result my guess is that the case capacity is different from the Federal brass that Shooters World used for their pressure testing. While shooters world manual does state 46.5 grains is a good load for the M1 Garand they state it produced a velocity of 2,720 and pressure is only about 45,000 pounds per square inch. While I know i have case capacity measurements for both Federal and Starline cases I can't recall the measurements off the top of my head. I would suggest working up to a max of 2,720 FPS or until accuracy is acceptable. I would blame case capacity or perhaps you have a lot with slightly slower burn rate. Either way it should be no issue to slowly work up to the stated velocity and watch for pressure signs. Thank you for watching and commenting hopefully that helps you!

That is really really cool! A very cool little something to remember Dick and his wonderful contributions to our industry!

@@HandloaderTV As a kid I spent every summer in freedom at their home. He was an amazing man to grow up around

@@aidenworld2755 I can imagine that is amazing it must have been a wonderful experience.

Very good glad to hear that you are enjoying the magazine, we appreciate your support! In all honesty they are very comparable I don't think you could go wrong with either. That said there are some things that the Redding has the advantage on #1 is the priming system if you want to prime on the press get the Redding with the optional priming system. It works much better than the Lyman. The Tolerances and quality control on the Redding are better. The Lyman has one extra turret hole, and should offer slightly more leverage. All in all I think it boils down to personal preference, what you want and what works with your budget.

@@HandloaderTV thanks very much for the reply. I hand prime so that’s not an issue for me. Thanks again and keep the videos and magazine coming! 😊

@@8626John No problem! thank you for watching and a great question. We will certainly keep them coming thanks to the support of folks like you! glad you enjoy them!

I apologize for the delay in responding to your comment! I did not get a notification for this one for some reason and only found it by digging through the comments today! I have had great success with Longshot powder and I truly think it is a bit of a hidden gem of a powder. If you compare the differences from 45 colt to 454 Casull you can start to see that there is more wiggle room there than most folks will give credit for. I would love to cover the 500 Linebaugh BFR, it is simply a matter of getting my hands on one that is the real challenge. Hopefully one day! Thank you for the kind words and taking the time to watch and comment! --Jeremiah

If used properly the use of a dial indicator is completely unnecessary. The Ransom rests are machined and the tolerances are checked by the manufacturer, they are indeed 100 percent repeatable and reliable. the addition of a dial indicator seems to be more of a headache than it's worth in fact adding one to a moving part like the rest under recoil I think it would be more likely to break the dial indicator, especially with a cartridge as powerful as the .454 Casull. I think the groups speak for themselves in the accuracy of the ransom rest and I have complete faith in it's reliability. I think you would be better off to ensure your setup is correct and the ransom rest, bench or grip inserts are not moving under recoil. I think that is the biggest mistake people make with the Ransom rest. While it may sound like a good idea on paper in reality I don't see any benefit to it to actually aid in the repeatability of the rest. Thank you so much for watching! Good shooting and happy handloading! -- Jeremiah

I believe there are a few reasons for this, the first is because if you shoot a significant amount of 45 colt cast bullets through the .454 Casull cylinder it is possible to have lead build up and cause the pressure to spike when you load a full power .454 Casull cartridge into the gun and fire it. This could potentially have enough pressure to damage the gun or the shooter. The second reason is the .454 Casull has slightly different dimensions most notable is the case length and in order to achieve the highest accuracy which is expected of these revolvers a dedicated cylinder is required. I hope that makes sense and if you have any further questions don't hesitate to ask! Thank you for watching! --Jeremiah

Thank you very much we appreciate the feedback, please share this with your friends if you think they would enjoy it! Freedom Arms makes very fine and well made revolvers. Indeed the .44 magnum is a very versatile cartridge and unique is a great powder. I like to compare it to engines you can get a small engine and push it's limits or you can get a big engine and throttle it back but should you ever want the extra power it is there. Handloading opens up the versatility of any cartridge and maximizes your potential.

Have you tried adjusting the sights? They are adjustable for both windage and elevation. That is just how ours shot out of the box. After zeroing we had no issues with the point of impact hitting left to where the sights were.

So I personally like H-110 with a CCI 350 magnum pistol primer for use with a 300 grain hard cast bullet, by hard cast I am thinking 22 BHN. So as far as winning combinations there is one suggestion I would like to make when it comes to primers. I like to use magnum primers with very few powders, they are as follows, H-110/W-296, Lil' Gun and Accurate No. 11FS. Those powders seem to produce the best results with Magnum primers pretty much the rest I will use standard large pistol primers, they generate less pressure and I have had better results with them as well. I would suggest starting your own experiments there and I think you'll find good results, Great question and thank you for taking the time to watch and comment! --Jeremiah

@@HandloaderTV Thanks for sharing your expertise Jeremiah. Ol' Elmer would be proud to know that his pet project is still garnering lots of handloading attention in the twenty-first century. Just got in from the range. I loaded several rounds of five 300 CPFN gas check bullets, using H110, AA#9, IMR 4227, and AA1680, for my Ruger Redhawk. Each was stoked with a Federal Large Pistol Magnum primer. No noticeable signs of excessive pressure, but none of them grouped all that well at fifty yards. The H110 loads shot okay, as did the AA1680 fueled cartridges. The H110 loads will probably be the keepers, for further development and testing. I'll save the other powders for future projects. I will be using these loads primarily for bear defense during my upcoming elk hunts in Colorado and Wyoming this fall. My 340 Weatherby will do the heavy lifting, with the .44 Mag as enforcer for any up close and personal work. Guess it doesn't have to be all that accurate, since he's gonna have to eat 1800 grains of lead and copper, instead of my leg. 🙁 One last question...when you sight in a scoped (laser red dot) big bore handgun, do you start at 25, 50, or some other yardage? Do you bore sight your handguns first? Thanks again my friend. Much respect and appreciation for what you do, and how you do it! Good shooting and happy hunting!👍🏿

@@bustabass9025 You are very welcome I am always happy to help out whenever I can! I agree in full, it is a great cartridge though and it is worthy of a lot of merit! I also suggest when using H110 to use a very stout roll crimp as it will help with consistent powder burn as well. If you are looking for top notch accuracy I also suggest trimming the cases and crimping as a separate step this ensures you are getting the most uniform crimp possible. That sounds like a good purpose for that handgun and I think you also selected the correct bullet for the job as well. It is pretty hard to beat a hard cast wide nose flat point! I typically sight my guns in at 25 yards, because there is not much difference between 0-25 yards as shot placement goes. With that said if I know i'll be taking longer shots say 50-100 yards I will sight in for 50 or 75 yards depending on the cartridge. I don't typically bore sight my handguns unless they are way off paper at 25 yards. No problem always happy to help thank you for all the support and taking the time to watch and comment! Good luck to you on your elk hunts and keep your powder dry! --Jeremiah

@@HandloaderTV Man, you don't know how much I appreciate this interaction Jeremiah! I have been a Handloader magazine reader, ever since I rolled my very first .340 Weatherby cartridge some thirty years ago. You and Handloader TV have elevated the practices of handloading, shooting, and hunting to a whole other level. You are a great ambassador for what they are doing to further the knowledge, art, and practicality, during these times of such heightened interest in these activities. Having this level of access to your expertise is invaluable. Also, your well wishes have elevated my confidence in returning from out west all tagged out this year. Tell 'em over there, I said to give you a raise. 💰👍🏿

@@bustabass9025 You are very welcome! Like I said we are happy to help! Especially since you have been a subscriber for so long we greatly appreciate it, if it weren't for good folks like you we would not be able to produce these videos. All the income comes from our Loaddata website and the magazine. KZfaq currently will not let us monetize our channel as we had originally hoped and we have no sponsors either. We want unbiased, honest information getting out there way too many myths repeated on the internet. I appreciate the kind words it makes my day to hear stuff like that. At the end of the day I am just happy to help others grow their knowledge and share good solid info on the hobby or obsessions we all love. I am very glad to hear that! I wish you all the best in your hunting adventures hopefully you can take home some game with you! Take good care of that .340 Weatherby that is a great cartridge! Again thank you for the kind words it is my pleasure! --Jeremiah

We have covered that cartridge quite a bit in Handloader magazine our print publication with lot's of good information in there. I have not done any videos on that cartridge and I sure would like to but sadly at this time I do not have a test platform in that cartridge. Hopefully one day though! Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah

The Model 83 is one fine Revolver and extremely strong and accurate. Given our 45 Colt and 45 ACP performance in this Revolver I would say that it still would be a good buy for either or both of those cartridges.

Would love it if FA produced this revolver in 45colt with a 6-shot arrangement, due to less need for general strength.

@@exothermal.sprocket Yeah that would be pretty neat to have a 6 shot cylinder! I think folks also like to hype up 45 Colt loads and reproduce Dick Casull and his experiments with modern powders and no fear of damaging the firearms. Personally I think it would be cool to offer both 5 and 6 shot cylinders.

@@HandloaderTV Understood. But people have been cranking loads near 40k psi or higher in Ruger Blackhawk 6-shot revolvers and nothing breaks. I'm thinking the greater diameter of the FA cylinder would offer even more strength in 6-shot vs. the Blackhawk. FA runs superior tolerances compared to the sloppy-by-comparison Blackhawks, and I'm a fan of the Blackhawk.

@@exothermal.sprocket That is very true I imagine if they wanted to they could easily make a 6 shot cylinder that could handle more pressure than the Blackhawks. It is amazing the attention to detail Freedom Arms puts into every revolver. I am a big Blackhawk fan as well but the Freedom Arms is in a totally different class when it comes to construction.

Unique is just a great powder all around it is one of my favorites not as clean as some of the newer powder but it just plain works well! It is nice to hear what other folks are experiencing as well. I am a big fan of the .41 Mag awesome cartridge!

@@HandloaderTV I'd like to see what kind of load could be worked up with a heavier cast bullet and Unique. Thinking a 360 grain at like 900-1,000 fps would pack a lot of whallup but still be reasonable in the recoil department.

@@demetriuscooksey7147 The recoil would certainly be less at that velocity than a full power load using H110 at 1,500+ FPS. We have not tried a 360 grain bullet with unique but we have tried a 325 grain bullet with unique and I would call it a mid range load but closer to the higher end of that spectrum than the lower end if that makes sense. It still packs quite a punch but I would consider recoil very manageable.

An impressive sixgun for sure! Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah

Glad to hear you enjoyed it and as always we appreciate the feedback! We try to provide as much information as possible. We were worried the video would be a little too long but so far everyone seems happy with the length to the amount of information offered. The Target was at 15 yards which is what we try to test all of our handguns at so you can compare different videos. We always mention it as soon as we get on the range, there you will find us talking about set up and range conditions. it can be found at 15:45 on the video. Thank you for watching and for your support!

First of all I want to thank you for watching and taking the time to comment! That is an excellent question and when it comes to 45 Colt there is quite a bit to talk about and generally speaking there are 5 ways to break it down or 5 categories of pressure to load to and it depends upon your firearm. The Freedom Arms model 83 is capable of handling the highest level of pressure even more so than the Blackhawks and Vaqueros. There is an excellent book by John Taffin called the book of the 45 and he details these unofficial pressure levels. Should you want to learn more I would highly suggest checking out the book of the 45. --Jeremiah

There is certainly nothing wrong with the 44 Magnum and I agree in full it'll handle most any situation especially when properly loaded. Indeed they do not only on the gun but also for the shooter as well. Thanks for watching and taking the time to share your thoughts! --Jeremiah

That is true the target was at 15 yards which is the distance we conduct all of our handgun testing at so it is comparable from video to video. We thought that was a fair distance for the broad range of handguns we test on Handloader TV. We like to show our results, We had some very good loads that grouped right around 1/2 an inch while some were closer to 1" but all groups we felt were respectable. Perhaps with more load development we could have gotten even better groups. The gun itself is capable of very good accuracy as displayed by load 5 and load 3. Yes that is correct Freedom Arms does not recommend using Lil' Gun Powder which is why there is a disclaimer in the video description. It can erode the forcing cone prematurely and cause accuracy issues. We believe this is caused from the high Nitro content in Lil Gun and it would likely apply to many other cartridges not just the Freedom Arms Model 83. Thank you for watching and thanks for commenting.

FA recommended NOT using Lil GUn,..In fact, didn't they state they would no longer provide warranty is Lil Gun was used and the problem was gas cutting? It's been a while since I read that, so I may be remembering wrong. I do recall I sold all my Lil Gun after that.

@@HandloaderTV Jeremiah, Are you aware of any other pistol powders that FA (or any other mfgr for that matter) recommend against? I also own a FA83 and don't want to use anything that would accelerate wear unnecessarily...Thanks!! Thankfully, I don't own any LG, but have used other Ramshot powders like Enforcer, which has a similar burn rate to 2400.

@@andrewhealy6182 As far as I know there are no other powders linked to the heat cracking and the stress that Lil' Gun causes, It is something that should be noted for other rifles and revolvers as well. After speaking with both Freedom Arms and Hodgdon the conclusion is the fact that Lil' Gun has a high concentration of nitroglycerin in it could be the root cause of this especially when used with heavier "full power" loads. I did shoot lil' Gun to see if it had any adverse effects on our test gun, the little amount we did shoot about 25 rounds back to back letting the gun cool between 5 shot strings showed no visible damage when inspecting with a hawkeye bore scope. So I don't think that in small quantities keeping the temperature of the gun low will cause any significant damage. To air on the side of caution I have avoided that powder for all of my revolvers. I do still use it with rifles and have not had any issues as of yet however I do not run a ton of rounds through the barrel without letting it cool. And as far as I know there are no other powders that seem to have this effect. Some theorize it is the type of steel that is used and that is what is causing the issues some sort of chemical reaction. That seems a little far fetched to me. I hope this answers your question and if there is anything else I can do for you don't hesitate to ask! --Jeremiah

That is a great question. If you shoot a significant amount of 45 colt cast bullets through the .454 Casull cylinder it is possible to have lead build up and cause the pressure to spike when you load a full power .454 Casull cartridge into the gun and fire it. This could potentially have enough pressure to damage the gun or the shooter. The second reason is the .454 Casull has slightly different dimensions most notable is the case length and in order to achieve the highest accuracy which is expected of these revolvers a dedicated cylinder is required. However if you are just shooting light loads and you are cleaning between cartridges I don't foresee that becoming an issue and I think you could continue to shoot .45 Colt through your .454 cylinder. I hope that makes sense and if you have any further questions don't hesitate to ask! Thank you for watching! --Jeremiah

Thank you sir

@@ulfberner4397 You are most welcome!

Hi, your question interests me because I want as much info as possible before I commit to buying a .454 myself. I was under the impression that a heavy recoiling cartridge such as the .454 Casull required the revolver to have grips that allowed the revolver to rotate in the hands on firing so as to dissipate much of the energy. Wouldn't a rubber grip prevent the rotation which would mean the recoil energy is transferred backwards into the wrists? I'm just looking for as much info as possible before I put a bunch of cash down on a .454 and someone's opinion who owns one is worth a lot imo.

​@@pete7413SORRY i didn't see the question, the recoil is not that much different to me but the feel of the pachmayr grips fit my hands better so it's a control issue. I have all three cylinders but 454 work for long range shooting/hunting, Freedom Arms is like the best minds in the business came together to build it and i'm in LOVE all over again 😊.

@@arthurholmes2210 Hey that's okay thanks for taking the time. Well since my question I've gone ahead and bought two Freedom Arms revolvers. I didn't get a .454 (yet) I bought a 7 1/2" .44 mag and a 10" .41 mag silhouette model (model 654 I think but same frame as a model 83). As to my original query about needing to have the revolver rotate to help with recoil, both of my revolvers came with Pachmayr grips and I am glad I have them as they take the sting out, certainly better than the smooth grips I tried with it.

It is a Konig Jager Super Bench sadly they are no longer in production, they are great benches but are somewhat of a unicorn these days. I would recommend Stukey's sturdy shooting benches as a portable stable solution. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah

That is a great question and to be honest I don't really have a good answer to that. It really all depends on what kind of loads you are feeding it and how hot you are getting it along with what powder you or the ammunition manufacturer is using. I would say generally speaking if you are not too hard on the gun it should be somewhere in the 2,000-3,000 range but it could go way up depending on the loads and cleaning routine. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah

Thank you for the reply, so these high pressure rounds are realy barrel killers, those are 60.000psi if I do remember correctly right?

I actually did around 28:05 into the video however I only fired one as I soon realized that it was severely cratering my steel targets and even bending where they attach to the dueling tree! Due to this issue I did not fire any more full power loads at the steel. I probably should have put up some paper targets hindsight being 20/20 just so folks could see what that looks like but sadly I did not think of that in time. I did fire about 50 rounds of Factory Loaded Freedom Arms ammo along with about 20 round of Black hills ammunition and both were full power loads. I also continue to shoot and hunt with this revolver using full power loads. The recoil is certainly significant though and it also gets tiring on camera. Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah

That is terrible I assume you must be living outside the United States. I know that some of our states have restrictions that would make the Model 83 illegal but thankfully for the most part these are legal in most of our states minus a very few. Thank you for watching!

@@HandloaderTV My bad, I thought by putting my comment in quotes that you would've gotten the reference almost instantly (John Candy-'Armed and Dangerous' 1986??? lol). Humble apologies if it went over your head, buddy. That same gun was prominently featured near the end of that movie too, that's why I couldn't resist! I live in California by the way, so it might still be illegal here though...

@@PeekaPeep Oh my gosh!! I should have gotten that one that's my bad!! Excellent movie reference it just went right over my head I should have caught that one though!! No need to apologize that was a good one! I honestly can't keep up with the California law I am unsure if it is legal at this time or not. Last I heard they were but that could have easily changed.

@@HandloaderTV I believe all single actions are still legal here but I wouldn’t quote me, it is ca after all Lol!

@@Mr1Alex91 I believe you are correct but don't quote me either! I can't keep up with their nonsense over firearms, which is sad especially considering we are in the industry. I do not envy those that have to figure out those laws and if the gun they make is legal in CA.

It is a Konig Jager Super bench sadly they are no longer in business so these days we recommend Stukey's Sturdy Shooting benches as an alternative. They make great benches and are extremely stable and also portable as well. Thanks for watching! --Jeremiah

It probably should have been noted that we fired 15 "settling shots" prior to testing loads. These loads were the factory loaded Freedom Arms loads with the 260 grain bullet. So a good stout load with heavy recoil. You bring up a very good point though, it should have been mentioned. Thank you for watching!

Indeed the quality is top notch without question. A very accurate revolver and cartridge.

Indeed! Thanks for watching! --Jeremiah

So there are a few options for sure, I agree that it is too much gun for self defense. The first thing I would recommend especially with the Freedom Arms model 83 is getting a .45 ACP cylinder and or a .45 Colt cylinder. Then factory ammo can be used for self defense easily. I am unaware of any ammo manufacturers that are making .454 Casull reduced loads. You can certainly use .454 Casull brass and just load lighter charges to duplicate .45 Colt, this can be done with relative ease. I would probably recommend a different cartridge and firearm for self defense against humans though. Great question though and thank you for taking the time to watch and comment! --Jeremiah

They do look similar to the Ruger Bisley although I think the grip feels slightly different than that of the Bisley and there are some distinct differences in function and finish.

@@HandloaderTV yup going to order grips that are not so slick and slipery checkerd probably

@@HandloaderTV its acttuly not bad to shoot one handed

@@wilmamcdermott3065 That sounds like a good idea, I did do a little shooting one handed just to see how it was and it was not as bad as I thought. Thank you for watching!

@@HandloaderTV btw iam dennis i use my wifes tablet

Indeed it has some pretty stout recoil!! Certainly not a load I would want to "plink" with but the performance is quite impressive! Thank you for watching! --Jeremiah

A great question! After digging through our notes the average velocity of 5 shots with 14 Grains of Longshot Powder was 1,307 FPS with an ES of 33 and an SD of 13. Thank you for watching!

@@HandloaderTV Thank you for the reply! I may have to try those out for something less harsh haha

@@grantstewart5453 You are very welcome they are much milder than the full power loads with H 110 or W 296 and similar powders. Accuracy was most impressive as well.

@@HandloaderTV If only I could find bullets!

@@grantstewart5453 That is the truth, last we checked Oregon Trail and Rim Rock had some in stock but that all changes so quickly it's hard to keep track! best of luck in your search.

It may only be a 5 Shot cylinder but it does feature a manual sliding bar safety so you can practically carry 5 rounds compared to having to "cowboy" load a single action army and leave an empty cylinder leaving you with only 5 shots anyway. It also is so much stronger than other revolvers out there, that is also partly due to the 5 shot cylinder. So it is a 5 shot cylinder and you just have to decide for yourself how much of a difference 1 round may make for your application.

39 grains of Winchester 296 powder is quite a bit, not saying this gun won't handle it but that is a lot of pressure. Hodgdon shows a max charge of 36.0 grains with a 260 grain Freedom Arms FP for reference. My wrists ache just thinking about it, I imagine that it's very effective though and likely flat shooting as well. Thanks for watching! --Jeremiah

@@HandloaderTV That recipe was on their website probably in the 90’s 39gr.296 260gr bullet. I loaded a box of 50. They were fun. The gun was new and I was young. It hurts to shoot 36grs. Now 😂

Look at the time the wildcat was announced, 1958 Dick Casull developed the .454 Casull, one year later articles are published and it isn't until 1983 that you get the Freedom Arms revolver and it isn't until 1997 that the .454 Casull is SAAMI approved. So yeah it actually took it over 30 years, more like 40 years from introduction until SAAMI standardized the .454 Casull. However by the 30 year mark most of the development had been done and powder and bullet combinations were sorted out. At any rate thank you for watching and taking the time to comment! --Jeremiah