By Jim Dickson | Contributing Writer
Freedom Arms makes precisely machined revolvers for maximum accuracy, and at an MSRP of $3,000, their M1997 is intended for the dedicated shooter who wants to squeeze every last bit of accuracy out of his sixgun.
The .45 Colt version has its cylinder throats tightly machined to .452 diameter, enabling exacting alignment with the bore. These tight tolerances mean that if you are using cast bullets sized over .452, you may have trouble chambering them and unless the rims are flush with the rebated cylinder, the cartridge rim will bind on the loading gate.
A simple way to test your bullet’s diameter is to take the cylinder out of the gun and insert a bullet nose into the front of the .452 diameter cylinder. If it goes in freely and stops on the case wall you’re good. If it stops short of the case wall, it is over .452 diameter and you will have problems if you try to use it. This is the price you pay for getting the most accuracy possible out of a revolver.
While SAAMI specs call for a .452 diameter bullet some commercial lead bullets may measure .453 or be deformed on one side resulting in that side exceeding .452 diameter. As most of the buyers of Freedom Arms revolvers are reloaders, this is important to make note of. Be sure to size your bullets sufficiently.
Unlike the Colt Single Action, you cannot glance at the side of this gun to see if there are any cartridges showing because the cylinder covers the case rims and fits tight against the frame. The cylinder is made without flutes like the percussion cap Colts. I have always liked the way an unfluted cylinder looks. You can also get a spare cylinder in .45 ACP which gives you an advantage as you might find yourself in a place where they had .45 ACP ammunition but no .45 Colt cartridges.
I had a spare .45 ACP cylinder timed to the .45 Colt Single Action Army revolver that I use on my farm many years ago. SAAMI specs for the .45 ACP call for a .451-.452 diameter projectile with FMJ loads generally being .451 diameter so this is going to be a reliable choice for this tight fitted revolver.
While Freedom Arms makes a .454 Casul single action, the Model 83, that gun is 10% larger than the M1997 so don’t think you can safely use .454 Casul loads in the M1997.
By being 10% smaller and lighter than the .454 Casul version, the M1997 handles faster and is a bit less tiring to wear all day.
It also means that you can carry it in any holster designed for a Colt Single Action Army revolver of comparable barrel length. The M1997 weighs just 36 ounces, with a 5 ½-inch barrel and is 11 inches long, 5 inches high, and 1 5/8 inches wide at the cylinder.
Modern Design
The Freedom Arms M1997 has a modern hammer block safety like a modern double action revolver enabling it to be carried safely with the hammer down on a live round, unlike the M1873 Colt where you load one chamber, skip one, load four, then cock, making sure that the cylinder has not moved out of place by looking at the side of the cylinder as your hammer is let down on an empty chamber. The M1997 has a 5-shot cylinder which is all that you can ever safely carry in a Colt M1873 so the number of available shots has not changed.
The receiver, cylinder, and internal parts are 17-4PH Stainless Steel while the barrel is 416R Stainless Steel. There are some carbon steel springs in the pistol.
The grip is like the Colt grip at the top but is a bit longer, more like the M1860 Army Colt, and it does not flair out at the bottom as much as the M1873 does. It is small enough at the top for you to easily get the gunfighter’s grip on the gun for precise instinct shooting at extreme range. The hammer spur is not sharp on the end like most single actions so you do not have to file and stone that sharp edge to a slightly rounded end to prevent it puncturing your hand with a high grip. After all, blood is very corrosive and you don’t want any getting on your gun.
The gunfighter’s secret grip was to hold the hand as high as possible with the top of the hand jammed against the hammer spur and the palm of the hand as far behind the grip as possible as opposed to beside it like you would grip a M1911 pistol. Cock the gun with the thumb held crossways on the hammer where it cannot slip off easily like it can when you cock a double action revolver with the thumb held long ways. This also facilitates maintaining a high grip.
Engage the trigger with the first joint of the trigger finger instead of the tip of the finger. To fire, squeeze the top of the grip between the thumb and the ball of the trigger finger at the base of the finger to align the gun with where you are looking and press the trigger finger against the thumb letting this action fire the piece.
The exposed pins for the hammer, trigger, and cylinder lock have internal retention so that they will not loosen or back out under recoil.
Test shooting
Upon receiving the gun at Reeves Ace Hardware in Clayton, Georgia, I was anxious to fire it. This gun had a good feel to it and I wanted to try it out quickly. I had the following ammunition for field testing:
- 500 rounds of Black Hills .45 Colt 250 grain RNFP Cowboy Action loads at 725 FPS.
- 80 rounds of Black Hills .45 ACP 135 grain Honeybadger @ 1250 FPS
- 80 rounds of Black Hills 200 grain lead SWC at 875 FPS
- 200 rounds of 45 ACP 230 grain JHP @ 850 FPS
- 140 rounds of Black Hills 185 grain JHP @ 1000 FPS
Black Hills Honeybadger ammunition combines the penetration of a solid with the wound channel of an expanding bullet by forcing the blood and tissue through gutters on the side of the slug that are wider at the front than the rear thus concentrating the flow like a garden hose nozzle so that it is now 35% faster than the velocity of the bullet and forced outward to the sides where it forms a cavity in the target like an expanding bullet would.
I also had 60 rounds of Steinel .45 Colt 250-grain XTP JHP at 850 FPS out of a 4¾-inch barrel with nickel plated cases so that they won’t corrode like bare brass will in a leather cartridge belt. These are the only nickel-plated .45 Colt loads that I know of which are currently available. I consider the bullet weight and velocity of this load to be ideal for this caliber.
There was 100 rounds of Remington Performance Wheelgun with a 225-grain lead SWC at 830 FPS and also 20 rounds of Remington HTP (High Terminal Performance) firing a 230-grain JHP at 950 FPS. Just 50 FPS shy of the U.S. Army load for the .45 Colt M1909 New Service revolvers which had a 230-grain round nose bullet, later used in the M1911 automatic, at 1,000 FPS. Remington ammunition has a long standing, well-earned reputation for quality and these rounds further that reputation.
Eight hundred rounds of Armscor 255-grain LSWC ammo at 850 FPS represents the ideal .45 Colt ammo for all purpose use. If you are confused by all the different .45 Colt loads out there and just want one load for everything, this is it. Why they label this powerful load as “Cowboy Action” loads is beyond me as it implies a lighter target load which this load most assuredly is not. This is the proper full power load and bullet for this caliber.
I also had 100 rounds of Hornady 185-grain FTX at 920 FPS. This is a hollowpoint with less recoil due to its lighter bullet weight.
That’s a total of 2060 rounds. A sizeable test firing.
The M1997 is extremely comfortable to shoot and accurate. I really enjoyed shooting this one.
Founded in 1978
Freedom Arms was founded in 1978 with the first guns being produced in 1979. In 1983 they introduced their M83 in .454 Casul. This was scaled down 10% in 1997 to produce their M1997 in .45 Colt and .45 ACP. These come with either a 4½-inch or a 5-½ inch barrel. You can have fixed or adjustable sights and there is also a dovetail front sight option allowing for adjustment of the front sight if desired. Wood grips are standard but as an option you can get either black or tan micarta grips.
The guns are made in an 18,000-square-foot factory by 15 highly skilled employees. Every gun is test fired and inspected before leaving the factory. This is not as common a practice as it should be with some of the biggest names in gunmaking being the worst offenders here.
With the MSRP of $3,000 Freedom Arms does not cut corners and makes sure that you get your money’s worth. You pay more for this level of precision and hands on gunmaking but you get what you pay. Quality costs but in the long run it is cheap as it outlasts the cheaper products. It is better to buy one quality gun than several cheaper guns that have shorter lifespans and thus are more likely to fail you right when you need them most. This is particularly true with .45 single-actions as these guns have a long history of defending their users from man or beast being chosen for their speed and accuracy in life or death encounters.
Stainless steel is rust resistant, not rust proof so before returning the pistol to Freedom Arms I cleaned it with Shooters Choice bore cleaner and patches then lubricated it with Ballistol oil, the oil Germany developed for all the soldier’s metal, leather, and wood maintenance. It forms an emulsion when it hits water and as long as there is 5% Ballistol the water will evaporate off without rusting the metal.
This is the oil they wouldn’t give us in Viet Nam that would have worked in the rain when everything else didn’t. As a former licensed Alaskan trapper now living in the Appalachian rain forest, I really appreciate its ability to keep rust at bay while continuing to lubricate.
