Freedom Arms is a

Freedom, Wyoming Freedom is an unincorporated community in both northeastern Caribou County, Idaho, and northwestern Lincoln County, Wyoming, in the United States; the Wyoming portion of the community is also a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 247 ...

–based firearm manufacturing company, known for producing powerful

single-action A trigger is a mechanism that actuates the function of a ranged weapon such as a firearm, airgun, crossbow, or speargun. The word may also be used to describe a switch that initiates the operation of other non-shooting devices such as a t ...

revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...

s. The company was founded in 1978 by Wayne Baker and Dick Casull to produce a

mini-revolver North American Arms is a United States company, headquartered in Provo, Utah, that manufactures pocket pistols and mini-revolvers, also called mouse guns. The company was originally named ''Rocky Mountain Arms'' when it was founded in 1972. In 19 ...

, 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.

Models

Freedom Arms' first offering was a five-shot

in .22 Long Rifle known as "The Patriot". It was later offered in .22 Short and

.22 Winchester Rimfire Magnum The .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, also known as the .22 WMR, .22 Magnum, .22 WMRF, .22 MRF, or .22 Mag, is a rimfire cartridge. Originally loaded with a bullet weight of delivering velocities in the range from a rifle barrel, .22 WMR is now ...

. A beltbuckle holster version was patented by Richard J. "Dick" Casull () to accommodate the small revolver. A boot pistol model was available with a longer barrel. A four-shot mini-revolver was produced by Freedom Arms, but production ceased in 1990, and the design was sold to

North American Arms North American Arms is a United States company, headquartered in Provo, Utah, that manufactures pocket pistols and mini-revolvers, also called mouse guns. The company was originally named ''Rocky Mountain Arms'' when it was founded in 1972. In 19 ...

. 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. This model is still manufactured today as the Model 83. 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. In 1991, Freedom Arms introduced the Model 252 in .22 LR and in 1992 the Model 353 in

.357 Magnum The .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum, .357 S&W Magnum, .357 Magnum, or 9×33mmR (as it is known in unofficial metric designation) is a smokeless powder cartridge with a bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. ...

, including a nine-inch variation produced to meet the four-pound maximum weight requirement for

IHMSA Metallic silhouette shooting is a group of target shooting disciplines that involves shooting at steel targets representing game animals at varying distances, seeking to knock the metal target over. Metallic silhouette is shot with large bore rif ...

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 Model 83 .500 WE is a single action revolver manufactured by Freedom Arms chambered for the .500 Wyoming Express round. In the 1986 film '' Armed and Dangerous'', John Candy John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canad ...

in 2005. 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. 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

from 2003. A five-shot .44 Special chambering followed in 2004. In 2009, Freedom Arms announced the .224-32 FA and began producing a six-shot in this chambering. The Model 2008, which was introduced in 2010, is a single-shot pistol with interchangeable barrels, available in various rifle chamberings.

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 Two rounds of .357 Magnum, a centerfire cartridge; notice the circular primer in the center A center-fire (or centerfire) is a type of metallic cartridge used in firearms, where the primer is located at the center of the base of its casing (i. ...

cartridge that would work in a revolver, and is capable of taking varmints and predators up to the size of

coyotes The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely relat ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Freedom Arms Inc Firearm manufacturers of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Wyoming Manufacturing companies established in 1978 Derringers