I have the opportunity to get a model 83 in 454 casull , I have noticed with the fa revolvers that I have seen advertised that it comes with a .42LC cylinder , does that mean you cannot shoot .45LC out of a .454 cylinder?

You certainly can shoot 45LC in a 454, but FA prefers you don't. If you properly clean the residue buildup after shooting the shorter cartridge all will be well.

No, you can shoot a 45 Colt out of a 454. The issue with doing so is that the bullet from the Colt round must travel a little distance unsupported to the throat of the cylinder, since the Colt cartridge is shorter than the Casull, which inhibits accuracy somewhat. With the 45 Colt cylinder, this wouldn't be an issue.

So the difference is cleaning the cylinder properly and consistently between the two rounds?

That is correct. The case length difference is about 1/10 of an inch so there will be stuff collecting in front of the shorter case. Years back I made a "scraper" out of a 357 case to clean after 38's. I took a 357 case and filed a few serrations in the case mouth and then drilled out the primer pocket for a bolt so I could use my cordless drill. Worked great and then once I started loading I just loaded down 357 cases to 38 levels for plinking. If you load I would suggest doing the same with 454 cases rather than messing with 45 Colts.

Man, you know some stuff about some stuff. I'm impressed.

It's really not a significant enough difference in case length to hurt accuracy. The issue FA has is with the residue buildup. If you keep it clean after shooting .45 Colts, there should be no issues.

My mistake. On that note, I've always found all of the residue from all of the chambers in my 460 can be cleaned up relatively easily with a single bore solvent soaked patch.

You may have had 460 on the mind, and on that note you would be absolutely correct. That amount of freebore can certainly affect accuracy.

Pay careful attention to the chamber/throat transition as there is a step there that stuff accumulates in.

If you do not clean that area very good, it will cause excessive chamber preasures and can cause your brass to seperate at the point where the base of the bullet is seated.

Don't ask how I know this.....

When I can, I'll post some pics for illustration purposes.

Found the pics...




What you see is the result of fire a 357 mag in a Freedom Arms M83 that had 38 special fired through it.
I bought the gun preowned and was told "no 38 special had been fired in it". I gave it a good "usual" cleaning when I got home. After ordering some new Starline brass and other usual components to start loading for my first 357 mag; I was ready to test....

As you can see, I got a few suprises. The seperated brass was going down range with the bullet and not very accuratly. At first I thought I got a bad batch of brass because all seperated at the same spot. Eventually, between me and a Starline Tech, I figured out the problem; carbon buildup at the chamber throat...It looked shiney and clean to the eye, but it wasn't. After some aggressive cleaning, the issue went away.

OK , thanks for the info guys. I think I am going to try and get it as I plan on shooting only .45LC through it.