I have several Vaqueros in 22/357/44/45 but all of them are factory. I was toying with the idea of sending a vaquero in 44 mag into Gary Reeder or someone to have it customized with a 4 5/8" barrel and a birds head grip and a good trigger job (little engraving),I do like Gary's black chromex finish as well. But then I thought about just ordering a FA in 44 or 45. Can anyone shed some light on a good direction to go before I spend a bunch of money? I hunt antelope and deer, and I keep going back and forth on 44 mag or 45 colt, either one does the job I just like shooting the 45's better. And I am pretty green on the custom guns, maybe their is a better option you guys know about?

Go with a FA 83 in .454 Casull. You can use a light load equal to .44 mag recoil if you don't want full bore .454. I am a big fan of .44 mag and probably don't need more. The quality of the FA speaks for itself. I am also a big fan of Rugers as they are true work horses. But . . . if you have a hankerin for something more you will be pleased with the FA. I find the lazer like trajector of the .454 very useful and don't mind the recoil for hunting. A little practice is all that it takes.

I agree with FA834ME. With as many FA 454's on the used market, you can find one for much less than a custom will cost. I have not found a FA that will not shoot - you won't be disappointed.

Both FA834ME and KRal are correct in the 83 being top of the line. As much as I really like the 45, and would like to have an 83 or 97, finding one in my price range is difficult. If you can find a 454 in your price range then go for it. It is an accurate round and with a full house load there is more recoil. You can sedate it some and still have a useful round. With the cast bullets there is lots of selections. I don't think you could go wrong with a FA.

I'm going to suggest another option that won't set you back a lot of money but that will pretty much out shoot any factory offering and that is a BFR. Not as aesthetically pleasing as an FA, I have yet to meet one that won't shoot, and you can safely carry it with all five chambers loaded. Plus, they can be had new for around $800.00 or thereabouts. I love my FAs, but a BFR is a true workhorse that performs on a high level.

Interesting, you would take a BFR over having a Ruger customized or getting an FA? I see the value if they are good and of course I like saving money. I sold a Noveske AR-15 I had so I have a little cash to play with. I am "fairly" happy with my stock Rugers (except the triggers) but I know their are better options.

Thanks for the replies I don't mind spending the money, but I don't want to spend it twice and I don't know if anyone close that has an FA or equivalent to try out.

I have to agree with Max. If the BFR feels good, I think you will be impressed with the performance.

Well I am going to suggest that you seek out a gun show or perhaps there might be some place that has one or two of the gun suggested. They them feel them se what you like best. Then you can either buy or save more money whatever the case may be.
Triggers and "grips" ( factory feels like a 2X4), are the very first things I addressed on my Rugers. Without doing that they would have gone down the road for sure. The barrels were canted on them also. this affects accuracy. Look your gun over real close and decide, you might just want to settle for doing a little work on them by a good smith.

BFR"s are well worth the$, they are built like a TANK, they are a step down from the Freedoms, you will not go wrong with either!

The BFR is one heck of a gun. They can be a little heavy, but my BFR in 45-70 is one of the most accurate weapons I have fired. You won't go wrong with picking one up.

Check Freedoms website for their preferred dealer list to see if there is a dealer near you in Colorado. A phone call to the factory may produce the name of a small dealer near you. A visit to the factory would be a hell of a road trip to handle one if you are not to far away. My Redhawk has served me well for many years and I would not part with it but if you are looking for the best available the FA's are it. My only regret is not getting one sooner. Whatever you decide on shoot and enjoy!

Maybe a step left or right, but definitely not down. From a point of practicality, I find losing a round in capacity a real bummer. I also judge on accuracy and reliability and both of those go to the BFR in my humble opinion. However, to each their own.

The BFR is an excellent option, for sure.

Beside it being a 45, what are you really looking for? Certain level of accuracy at a given distance? Certain trigger pull weight?

Ernie asks a good question, what do you want out of it?

I have a little bit of everything and will comment from the perspective that this is a difficult decision to screw up. You have many options and most of them are good.

Freedom Arms is as good as you will get out of the box. I have a 7?" .454/.45Colt and it is as well made as legends suggest. However, it is also just like everybody else's standard 7?" gun, or will be until I get grips fitted. Anything you want, as long as it's stainless steel.

If BFR's are a step down, it's a difficult step to detect. They are extremely robust and well made guns with accuracy rivaling that of Freedom Arms. They are also ready to go out of the box, except for maybe some grips which you can also get when you order it. Usually stainless steel but other options exist too.



The beauty of the custom Ruger is that from mild to wild, it can be whatever you want it to be. It can be made to shoot at least as well as the other two but may cost more to get there. With that said, Reeder would be my last choice. His work can be best characterized as semi-custom production guns with more of an emphasis on flash than substance. Here's a Huntington for contrast:

My personal preference would be for a Freedom Arms 454 or 44 Magnum regardless with a 7.5 or 10" barrel. I've got Rugers and have owned BFRs. I've yet to see a custom Ruger or BFR with trigger work that will compare to the FA trigger with an action job. The FA M83 trigger is closer to that of a nice bolt gun. Then there is the grip. I've handled a bunch of Bisley style grips that have been fitted and some with grip frames re-worked and I have not found one that feels as right as the M83, especially under heavy recoil, but to each their own. The front sight on a BFR is an abomination. The Ruger sights are ok but benefit by replacing them with sights from Bowen. The FA premier grade sight with fiber-optic front is close to perfect in a hunting sight. If you're going to scope the gun then it doesn't matter as much but the Rugers are difficult to scope unless you get the Hunter.

Ill add my 2 cents. We have 4 bfrs. The latest, a 460, which has a good trigger,
A 500jrh with a good trigger but not great, then.a 454 with a not good trigger and another 454 with an ok trigger. All of my freedom arms needed to have a trigger job or they were just ok. All but one bfr were better than any stock ruger and none were as good as my sw guns. Not even close. My reworked fa have very good triggers but theyre not great. The srh i got back from jack huntington has as good a trigger as ive had except my smiths. Youve gotta ne specific when you talk about best. Best fit and finish is def is in freedom arms corner. It is a work of art. Best in function is my huntington tunes srh. Accurate as hell now. Goes from night sights to red dot to scope in less than a minute and holds zero. Also holds six. Not much can compete with that, but when you look at single actions, the bfr bs fa is an interesting question. Function wise. My bfr's havent thus far given up much if anything to my freedoms. Not finished as nice nor as tight. But they can carry a full cylinder. My latest bfr's are fitted nicely with a sight that is basically like a bowen rear. The front is equivalent to the fa in sighting but that fiber optic fa sight is just excellent and the beat front available imho. I can get to put a fa base on the bfr and i can use their sight, do a trigger and now get a bisley grip and an action job and still get 2
Both cheaper and quicker than a freedom arms. If ya hunt dangerous game then the bfr gives the advantage of not
Only a full 5 loaded cylinders and the ability to counter rotate the cylinder if you jump crimp and tie the gun up. Also the bfr has a longer cylinder in the short cylinder and theres numerous bullets in 454, 44, 475 and 50 cal that can ised in the bfr that are too long to load in the fa, and
Standard bullets give a lot more room in case of bullet pull under recoil. Plus they come with a really well made and fitted scope base stock with the gun. The choice is yours but i havent yet found the equal when cutting hairs with accuracy and theres a reason fa owns every imhsa record. The fr wasnt born yet though. I will post more accuracy comparisons soon. The bfr has a distinct function advantage and fhe fa is the obviously "nicer" gun. Oh yeah. The bfr is stronger but a slight bit bulkier.

I have yet to feel an FA trigger that can compare to a properly tuned Ruger or BFR. You can't seem to mask that rubbery tightly wound spring feeling. I'm sorry, but Bowen, Huntington, Harton, etc. can tune a Ruger/BFR to the point that they really have no equals. The only thing smoother -- potentially -- is a Smith & Wesson.

I am looking for a little better accuracy, better trigger, and better fit/finish then the Rugers with less sharp edges and better fitting grips.


I am considering a 475, I wish I could shoot one first.

Ive never shot a birdshead grip....they do look cool....but wouldnt it be abusive with heavy recoil?

I have a normal vaquero 44 with 5.5" barrel and the birds head grip Vaquero with 3.75" barrel and I prefer shooting the birds head grip even with hotter 44 mag loads.

This is my latest BFR. Hands down the best trigger on a production gun that I have ever experienced. Fit and finish is pretty good on this one as well.

When the trigger is professionally tuned to a crisp 2lbs, I can't turn up my nose at any of them. Although I think New Model Rugers need a little more spring tension to maintain crispness. Whereas a Colt, USFA or Ruger Old Model can have the lightest springs that will still set off the primers and still feel like a glass rod breaking.