Model 97 Convertible - Statistical Data Included

Guns Magazine, Nov, 1999 by Dick Williams

WHETHER YOU LIKE. 45 COLT OR .45 ACP, THIS REVOLVER PROM FREEDOM ARMS IS FOR YOU.

While still coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, Pat Riley was asked if he thought Michael Jordan was the greatest basketball player of all time. Riley replied that Jordan probably had the greatest skills, but the measure of a player's greatness must include the duration of his performance. Thus, based upon his many years of league domination and team leadership in championship play, Kareem Abdul Jabar deserved the title of "best ever" in his opinion.

Given Jordan's subsequent years of stardom, it's possible that Riley's selection has changed, but applying the coach's criteria to the selection process of greatest handgun caliber of all time, the choice is clearly an American creation -- the .45! As is my want, I'm going to cheat a bit by including two different cartridge cases in the .45 caliber package -- the cavernous .45 Colt and the marvelously efficient .45 ACE

The duration of greatness is easy to defend by simply pointing out the 125+ years of delivering superb stopping power, both in human altercations and in the handgun hunting fields. The original .45 Colt was doing a stellar job long before we had heard of "terminal ballistics" or "high performance handgun bullets."

Freedom Arms has never been strongly associated with the self-defense market, but they do truly appreciate the .45, and they have been a dominant force in the handgun-hunting arena Recognizing that their large-frame revolver was larger than required for most .45 applications, they chambered their downsized Model 97 in .45 caliber.

Best of all, they chose to offer the gun with two cylinders, one in the traditional .45 Colt, the other in the slightly more modern .45 ACE The gun is a clear winner for a variety of shooters.

Family Resemblance

First and foremost, it's a Freedom Arms gun, built with all the quality components and care that make many shooters feel the Wyoming-made revolvers are the best built firearms in the world. Except for being 10 percent smaller than the large-frame Freedoms, the Model 97 feels much like its big brothers and delivers the same kind of precision performance. Fitted with two interchangeable cylinders, the incredibly handy gun utilizes the two most popular calibers in American history.

Despite frame and cylinder dimensions that closely approximate the original Peacemaker, the smaller gun can handle 300 grain bullets at 1,200 fps for that occasional large and antisocial wilderness trail threat This is made possible by reducing the cylinder's capacity to five rounds while maintaining Freedom's extremely tight manufacturing tolerances. The longer handle, still shaped very much (but not exactly) like a Bisley, allows a full hand grasp to enhance control when touching off the big boomers.

My gun is a 5 1/2"-barreled Premier Grade, which means it has adjustable iron sights, black micarta grips, and the "purty" silver finish. The 5 1/2" barrel on the Model 97 feels right to me, just as the 6" barrels on the larger revolvers feel right It is beautifully balanced with the factory iron sights.

For testing, I installed a 2x Leupold pistol scope which, because of its small size, didn't seem to "overpower" the little gun. If you plan to use the Model 97 primarily with a scope and want a bit more magnification or a larger objective lens, you might consider buying the 7 1/2" barrel version. The longer barreled gun still balances well and seems to encourage the use of larger scopes without being dwarfed in the process.

To date, the only scope base available for the Model 97 is the T'SOB from SSK Industries. It is a downsized version of the T'SOB base so successfully used on the bigger Freedom revolvers. With several lateral slots, the T'SOB allows shooters some flexibility in choosing a scope mounting location commensurate with achieving the best overall balance.

Here again, the 7 1/2" barrel offers more choices in scope location, while keeping the objective lens well back of the muzzle. The mounting technique is just like the larger revolvers -- the base fits into the same recessed slot in the top strap as the rear sight and is secured by three screws. Simple, solid and foolproof.

Who Says It's All Work?

Shooting the different brands of factory ammo proved to be educational as well as fun. Group sizes were the result of five shots fired at 50 yards with the 2x Leupold pistol scope. Velocities were the average of five shots measured on a Pact chronograph a few feet in front of the muzzle.

Some other observations were generated from "playtime" use of the gun with open sights, which is really the way I would use the Model 97 in these particular calibers.

I also used the gun in Blackie Sleeva's Woods Walk competition at the YO Ranch in Texas. This is a timed event in which the competitor tries to find and shoot approximately 60 "animal" targets hidden in different locations somewhere between 20 and 160 yards from a designated trail. In the dimly lit woods, on a rainy day, I did respectably well on the closer targets with factory .45 ACP ammo, but failed on the long range targets that really lend themselves to scoped revolvers and higher velocity ammo. Still, as a short range hunting pistol that's easily carried afield, the Model 97 in either caliber is an excellent choice.