well guys here it is. 5 weeks and 1650 bucks later, a 7.5 inch premier grade freedom arms 454 with an extra cylinder in 45acp. it had previously been fired only 6 times. i shot it 7 times tonight with factory winchester bullets. they where loaded with xtp bullets. the way this gun handles is amazing. it has a hefty recoil, but with the design of this grip, it didnt hurt at all ! im not used to this coming from the srh 44 which pounds my palms. and talk about accuracy ! from the little i did shoot it there is no question this thing is scary accurate. i shot at a fist sized rock at 125 yards resting off of my knees, i wanted to see how much the bullet dropped at that range, I hit the freakin rock on the first shot !
so now to work out loads. im looking into either h110 or 2400 probably. i really dont know which. i am gonna load it on the heavier side (around 1400-1600 fps) with bullets in the 240 to 300 range. i have a ruger 45 lc so I dont have any need to load it down, especially sense I have the 45 acp cylinder.
I was wondering how well the 200 or 225 45 cal ftx bullet would do, from what I read they are supposted to shoot very flat.
so in the next week or so I will go get the reloading stuff I need. for now I will probably get the xtps sense they are on the lesser expensive side for a practice bullet. here is a picture of my beauty !

I absoutly love it. I am very happy I decided to go with this gun. it is a blast. thanks for all the suggestions guys and let me know more about the reloading stuff. thanks again, SS

She's a beaut!

I know how you feel, I too had the bug. Only one way to cure it... Get one! They are awesome. I really like mine, and I am sure you will too.

Very nice! You won't regret it.

Wow... congrats!

Looking good SS!



Well, there is one drawback...they tend to multiply! Congratulations!

wow, i remember when i got essentially that gun with a 45 acp cylinder and it is still my go to gun, though now with a 10" barrel. congrats and i look forward to seeing what loads you work up.

Nice! Those look like the Win. 250 gr. bullets which are very accurate and are plenty capable for deer and hogs but they are well below the capability of the 454 with full-house loads. You'll find some factory loads with a roughly a 260 gr bullet will run close to 2000 fps, a little less with the 7.5" barrel. I don't load my hunting rounds quite that hot but they are in the upper 1800's out of my 10" gun.

Good shooting by the way. That gun should do under 2" (if scoped) at 100 with little difficulty.

"i shot at a fist sized rock at 125 yards resting off of my knees,"........."so now to work out loads." - really? lol congrats on the purchase, she sure is pretty!

Ss, congrats on a beauty! You have my Dream Gun! A top quality firearm and the best all around hunting caliber,IMHO! ENJOY!

Nice revolver!!!...you stated that you would load it heavier. 1400-1600 is the Gentle side of the 454. Your 7 1/2" will move the FA heavy jacketed 260gr JFP bullet to 2000fps. I would load it with the heavy jacketed XTP "Mags" the 240's shoot great. Those little pointed bullets have a terrible BC and I found that the 240's and 300XTP mags were much better. The 250 will work well out to 1500fps or maybe just a little more.

SS congrats on your new FA you'll love it,but like SChunter said, they really do tend to multiply. I started with one now i have six.

Silent,

Looks like a great gun. Not a bad way to start your first outting ;^) I too was surprised by mine when first shooting it. Even with 300 and 360's really moving from my 4 3/4 barrel, the recoil was not brutal or "snappy". More of a thump and concussion to let you know something significant happens when you pull the trigger.

The XTP's are an excellent choice, as pricewise they are pretty reasonable, and you will hard pressed to find a more accurate bullet across the spectrum of reloading.

Congrats,

Craig

SS, great gun.

I would recommend staying clear of the FTX loads. I loaded some 225's in my 7.5" SRH at 1500-1600fps and at 25yards was getting 5-6" groups. Also I did a little research (and from personal experience) into the 45cal FTX bullets and they need to hit at a minimum of 2,000fps for proper expansion.

Very nice

You`ll never look back....

Yes it is wonderful. I'm already thinking down the road I'm gonna need one in 500 wyoming and 22 lr. I don't think I will even be able to look at any other revolver the same. Tomorrow I'm going to go get my reloading supplies. I'm excited for that also. Now I need to try out the 45 acp cylinder

Thats a dandy SS. Glad to hear your so happy with it. FA builds the best. Enjoy it and show us all what you get with it.

Congrats! I got bit by the Casull bug late last year. Didn't mean to, I just couldn't help it. I picked up a 10" barrel for my T/C. $125, what was I to do? Anyway, I'm real glad I did. I bought some Hornady 240mag xtp's and they were Awsome (not like the 'this pizza is awsome' kind, but the real kind of awsome). I picked up some of those winchesters you have there at the local hardware store. They seemed more like "specials" than "mags" if we were talking .44's. Not quite that dreastic, but try some Store bought hornady's. I loaded 300 gr xtp (mag)'s with h110 (28.5 gr.) I've not clocked them yet, but they thump. Lyman's 49th has them listd as 1476 thru a 6" barrel.
Again, that is a sweet looking gun. I've probably bought 6 or 7 vehicles for less than that. :-) Funny how the price of our toys changes as we get more grey in our beards, huh?

Dogsbreath

I have had quite a few FA's and still have 5. The most accurate (full power hunting) load I have found is a 300 grain Sierra with 26 grains of 2400. Ive shot THROUGH moose, bears, buffalo hogs etc. I recovered exactly one bullet, that went thru a 400 lb hog, rolled him, and the bullet lodged 8" deep in the trail. my son found it, as there was a little disrupted spot where he was standing. the nose of the bullet was smeared flat, but I will reload it one day,(reduced load) take a pic of it, and shoot another hog with it, just because. my point behind the story, some folks say the sierras are too soft. I disagree, they penetrate and hold together fine. The best thing is they are really accurate, in my fA anyway.

Bearskinner

I agree with you on those Sierra 300 grain JSP's. One of the most accurate loads I have ever fired was with that bullet and 28.0 grains IMR 4227. The extreme spread on that load was only 18 fps with average velocity right at 1400. I have not used it on game because...well because I haven't I guess.

I really wanted to use that bullet last year for my bear hunt. The problem was availability. I went with a cast bullet of my own because I knew I could get them. I had a small supply of the Sierras and when I tried to get more no one had them. I don't live far from and often work in Sedalia MO, the home of Sierra. I tried going to the source and at the time there was no plan to run any handgun bullets. I was told to "just keep checking back".

Not wanting to start a "cast vs. jacketed" debate (lord knows we have done that enough) but it IS one plus for cast bullets. I don't have to depend on suppliers for my bullets. When I find a good jacketed bullet load I am at the mercy of others to be able to get them.

BTW I DO have a good supply of the Sierras now. When they did become available I purchased several boxes.

Dan

That is one beautiful revolver you got there! Congratulations!

Nice revolver in a great caliber. Congrats.