What is your round count?

[SM]

I've had my FA .454 for almost a year now and I've shot 1460 rounds. About 85% of those have been factory level loads. My goal is to shoot about 2000 a year with my FA in addition to my other guns. Although I'm pretty new to shooting over .44 level loads, it's very clear to me that one has train regularly to master these guns.

I'm especially interested in calibers from .44 and up. What kind of ammo you shoot (most of the time) and how much per session. Have you had to repair or change anything on your FA when the round count has gotten high?

I assume that many of you shoot quite a bit, but I'm anxious to know more.

[Graybeard]

I've never been much of a round counting person really. The best count I ever have is my reloads as I do keep a reloading log and write down in it the recipe used and how many of each was loaded but I just don't keep up with the number of rounds fired in any of my guns.

When shooting big kickers in the class of .454 Casull and .480 Ruger up I find it best to keep the rounds per day down to 100-150 or so or it begins to add up on the old body. Back when I was doing a review of the FA83 and Raging Bull both in .454 Casull I'd often go out and run from 150-200 rounds per day down range with the two guns and it really began to get to me after I'd do that a few days in a row. Some days I'd go over the 250 mark and my hands, wrists and arms would ache from it. I have arthritis pretty badly and it really worked on me badly.

On the other hand shooting several hundred rounds of .44 Magnum never seemed to bother me particularly. I've shot over 500 rounds per day of them thru my S&W guns with far less problems than the 100-150 per day with the FA83 .454 Casull.

My best friend Billy Doss now deceased used to say that 20 rounds per day shot properly making every single shot count and concentrating fully on each was about the ideal number for improving your shooting. It would be hard to agrue with his process as he was one of the best handgun shots I've ever known. I preferred to shoot more and hardly ever stopped at less than 50-100 per shooting session but he shot 20 per day every single day and stayed in top form doing it. He shot most of it with rimfires as he hated heavy recoil really and avoided it when possible. He never went above the .44 magnum but he shot it extremely well and it was all he ever needed for anything he shot.

I remember once he fired a full 50 rounds of .44 magnum thru his 14" iron sighted Contender barrel free hand at 50 meters. The target that day had a black bull about 2.5" or at most 3" in diameter and he literally cut the black out of it. There were a few outside that black but darn few.

It's not in my opinion so much about how many rounds you shoot as how you shoot them. Make every round you shoot count shoot it like it's the single most important shot you'll ever fire. Shoot it like your life depends on the result of that shot some day it might.

[Carlislegr]

I bought my first Casull in 1978 and am still shooting it today.  It's been dropped in rocks, water, etc., one guide ran over it with a Jeep, stepped on by a Moose (that's an interesting story), and a few other things.  I have thousands of rounds through it.  The only thing that has ever been done to it is to tighten the screws occasionally. Oh, once I sheared the rings off of Buehler mounts using some experimental loads from Pete Pi at Corbon.  I had Freedom check it over but they couldn't find anything wrong with it! They will stand up to many, many rounds.

[SM]

I'm trying to get to shoot on weekly bases. On some weeks I'll manage to get out to the range a couple of times, but usually only on the weekends. During the fall it starts to get dark pretty quick around here, so there's not much time to go shooting after work on week days. There is an indoor range very close by, but I prefer to shoot outdoors as much as possible.

I've been shooting handguns for 20 years and I'm shooting more and more the last few years. I've been competing in IPSC for almost ten years now, so the round count gets pretty high from competing and training for competitions alone. When I'm training the seriously I also do approximately 30 minute dry fire sessions a day about four times a week.

I was shooting only IPSC for a couple of years, but now I'm getting more fascinated by the FA and the challenge that it offers. Besides, the FA is so accurate, that it makes some of my other guns head for the bench

My shooting sessions with the .454 are usually about 50 rounds or so and I usually shoot other guns (.22, 9mm, .45) as well when I'm on the range. I started slowly by shooting 10 - 20 rounds and began to increase the amount bit by bit. I didn't want to learn bad habits right from the start. The common wisdom is to start with the light loads and go from there, but my only option was to shoot factory ammo at first. I didn't have my reloading equipment yet and the casings cost almost as much as the loaded rounds With the softer rounds there's pretty much no limit to how much one can shoot per day. 

I've had two Smith .44's and shot about 100 per session with them at the most. The FA, however, is easier for my hands on recoil. I was a bit nervous about how the grip would fit me in heavy recoil, because I didn't have a chance to shoot one before I ordered mine...Luckily, I was in for a pleasant suprise. My friend's Alaskan felt just plain nasty after that. I know that some, like Graybeard (I've been spending a lot of time here on the forum), prefer the DA grip configuration, but the FA works for me.       

[Lloyd Smale]

I have to admit my 454 has seen more then 200 rounds. Ive been layed up with back surgerys since i got it or im sure it would be in the 1000s.

[paul105]

I’m retired, and decided that I’m going to go as hard as I can for as long as I can because you never know when you ain’t gonna be able to do it anymore.  I’m also fortunate in that I have a great range about 10 miles from the house in addition to untold hundreds of thousands of acres of public land within a short drive.  Anyway, I shoot 2 to 5 guns on average 5 days a week year around.

I really never counted anything until Dec of ’06.  I was having some problems with a couple of Smith & Wesson 329 PDs and wanted to keep track of the number of rounds fired between problems.  Before that, I could only go by the number primer sleeves (5,000) that I used.

In August of 2007, I bought a used FA757 .475 Linebaugh.  I set a goal to shoot 10,000 rounds thru it in the first year.  Didn’t quite make it – I’m at 9,600 as of today.  The majority of those loads were 360 to 420 gr bullets at a chronoed 1,100 to 1,160 fps.  I’ve probably shot another 300 or so 400gr+ loads at 1,300 fps.  I ramp up the number of the hotter loads as I get closer to hunting season.  For me it takes a lot of concentration to shoot the full house loads, and fatigue sets in fairly quickly (usually around 25 to 30 rounds), so I don’t shoot them for pleasure.   I went back and divided the total round count by the actual shooting days and came up with an average of 35 rounds per outing.  I've actually spent more money on cast bullets than what the gun cost me.

I bought the .475 used, and don’t know how many rounds the previous owner(s) fired, but it didn’t appear to be many.  The only problem that I have had with this gun was a broken firing pin -- easy fix (I now keep extras on hand for both 83s & 97s).

I bought a 4 ¼” Model 97 .45 Colt from Mark Hargrove in Dec of 2005.  I’ve shot over 10,000 rounds thru this little beauty (mostly 270gr SAAs at a little over 900 fps).  Don’t know how many rounds Mark put thru the gun (probably a bunch knowing what an avid shooter Mark is).  I had to replace three springs (hand, trigger, bolt) and the transfer bar.

FWIW,

Paul

[MarkH]

The transfer bar, eh, Paul?  That's the first one I've heard of that hasn't been on an action that was cooned with.  Your gun didn't really have all that many rounds through it ... I would guess about 2,000 when I sold it.  At that time, my 357's were what really got the workout.

I'm curious - have you had any spring breakages in the last year or so?  FA revamped spring production and I haven't had any break since.

-

I did 10,000 +/- through my 454's a couple of years ago.  Last year shot nothing but rifles, and single shots at that (for the most part) ... you don't go through quite as many rounds in a single shot rifle.  This year, everything is more modest.  My guns are sighted in for hunting loads; I play with the .22 97, and use my 3.5" 97-45 daily.  I only shoot a fraction of what I used to, but spend as much time with a gun.  Go figure.

[paul105]

Mark,

Haven't had any spring problems recently.  Never messed with the action on that gun.  It was weird.  It looked like the top of the transfer bar was peened by the hammer.  If you really yanked on the trigger, the gun would fire.  It you would just press the trigger, the transfer bar wouldn't cover enough of the firing pin to fire. It was real subtle.  I shipped it off to FA with an explanation.  FA replaced transfer bar and when returned, it started doing the same thing.  Sent it back and talked with John, they ultimately replaced the hammer (IIRC).  There is a cam (or?) on the hammer that actuates the transfer bar -- it was out of spec from wear or?

I have got to say that dealing with Freedom Arms is an absolute joy (not being sarcastic) -- they go out of their way to make it right.

[MarkH]

Heck yes ... as much as I have shot my various FA's - well over 200,000 rounds all told - the minimal problems compared to the top-shelf customer service is, well, as close to perfect as I'm worried about.  I broke one trigger by abuse; had a couple of hammer related issues that were probably also abuse; a broken firing pin that was definitely abuse; and that is just about it.  All easily and professionally fixed.

Once they make the new single shot into a rifle, I may just give up all other guns.

I am still shooting the .45's ... currently a 3.5" round butt and a 5.5" standard butt, both with express sights.  For whatever reason, I am shooting the express sights a little better and certainly faster.  Have lately been tinkering with the fiber optic blades too.  I was out hunting hogs tonight and noticed that I still had a good sight picture about half an hour after I would have given up on regular sights.

[SM]

While I have always believed that FA's last and last, it's good to read comments supporting that. Even though the FA's are durable I've been thinking of getting atleast one more, so if the first needs new parts etc. there's still a FA (or a few) to shoot with. Isn't that an excellent way to give a reason for my future purchase(s) to the wife? 

Keep the information coming!

[Wiking]

Yeah I saw you said most interested in over .44 but I wanna play too, he he....

I have a M83 357. Last sommer I took it to a shooting in the field, I think I landed somewhere in the 350-400 area. I think thats the most I've ever shot with one gun on one day. I use heavy loads and 158gr and 180gr, and 125gr for fun & flames!

Well anyway, normally I never shoot under 150 rounds with the FA. Every saturday at the range I like to shoot a lotta different stuff, I guess I could give more attention to the FA. But it's just so hard when it's fun to shoot everything. And I first recently startet reloading to my rifles, so I spend much time finding good loads to them as well..... 

[SM]

Wiking, every info on this subject is very welcome. How much have you shot with your .357 since you got it; the total count?

BTW, I remember reading about your long wait for your FA; mine took also 5 1/2 months to arrive, but it was well worth the wait!

[Wiking]

SM, oh yeah she's worth the wait that one. In Denmark a FA ain't something you find at every gun range, I don't think the guys in my club had ever seen one, let alone shot one before... they're all thrilled like little boys when I take her out of the bag.

As to the total round count, judging from the number of primers I've used the number is somewhere between 1500 and 1800 since December last year... did I mention I love shooting single action, he he.

The first 500 rounds or so I fired was with 180gr Hornady XTP and 15gr of Bludot. A reliable and accurate load. At the above mentioned shooting in the field, using this load, I hit a 2 by 3 feet target at 100 yards 3 out of 5 times with iron sights... which I find to be pretty good!

The Hornady bullets are pretty expensive, so I have recently switched to H&N 158gr and 125gr, which cost about a third, and so far I'm satisfied with them.

[SM]

It's not that common here either. The serious silhouette shooters are no strangers to FA, that's for sure. It's probably THE gun to have in those circles here in Finland also; in the right class of course.

My friend and I ordered ours at the same time. Couple of other guys in our club got real excited after trying out my .454 or my friend's .44. The .454 has been a bit much for some and as of now I'm hesitant to let anyone who hasn't shot much with heavy caliber revolvers try it out with real Casull loads. That .44 is such a nice revolver to shoot with if you compare it to ANY other .44 I've owned or tried.

One of the guys in our club already ordered one for himself (should receive it in a month or so) and before he's even got it, he's thinking about getting more Other friend is getting money together to order one some time soon, but he's a bit undecided about what kind of a 83 he'll want. I hope we started a trend...

Some people find it hard to justify buying a revolvert this expensive, but I for one value true quality. When one shoots a lot the components etc. cost a lot of money, so I figured a long time ago to get the absolutely best platforms to launch my bullets from that I can afford. Only problem is that I'm wealthy, so I'm not buying guns as frequently as I'd like

I've also used H&N bullets for the .454, but the Finnish importer didn't have them the last time I checked. The 250 grain bullet works better for me than the 300 grain since it has a crimp groove.

When I got my FA I thought that I'd shoot about 1000 rounds per year with it, but now I've shot about 1500 and it's been under 11 months. The more I shoot mine, the more I like it.