Freedom Arms
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| Industry | Firearms |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1978 |
| Headquarters | Freedom, Wyoming |
| Products | Revolvers |
| Website | http://www.freedomarms.com/ |
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 the Mini revolver then later a revolver chambered in Casull's powerful .454 Casull chambering. This 5-shot revolver was the Model 83. Freedom Arms currently makes a single-shot pistol in addition to their revolvers.
Freedom Arms' first offering was a 5-shot mini revolver in .22 LR known as "The Patriot". It was later offered in .22 Short and .22 WMR. 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. A 4-shot mini revolver was also produced by Freedom Arms. Production of mini-revolvers by Freedom Arms ceased in 1990. The mini-revolver design was sold to North American Arms.
Co-founder Dick Casull had been experimenting with several prototype rounds since 1956. Casull felt he could offer a more powerful version of the .45 Colt and .44 Remington Magnum and built a number of 5-shot prototypes on Ruger Super Blackhawk frames. Freedom Arms was the first commercial producer for revolvers chambered in this caliber, the .454 Casull, in 1983. This model is still manufactured today as the Model 83.
A number of variants upon the Model 83 have been produced, all with five-shot cylinders. The first was a .45 Colt in February 1986 (54 examples sold 1986-1989, serial numbers E7201-E7254), followed closely by a .44 Magnum version. In 1991, Freedom Arms introduced the Model 252 in .22 long rifle and in 1992 the model 353 in .357 Magnum, including a 9 inch variation produced to meet the 4lb 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. Freedom Arms introduced their own .500 Wyoming Express in the Model 83 .500 WE in 2005.
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