A clean, consistent three-pound trigger pull and excellent adjustable sights contributed to groups like this.

"This gun is going back through. We like to see tighter fifty-yard groups," he said. Good grief, I thought.

You can order a Model 83 in .454 Casull or .475 Linebaugh, in .44, .41 or .357 Magnum, even .22 LR. "Or .500 Wyoming Express," said Baker. "It's our newest chambering."

He handed me a straight-walled belted round. "It hits as hard as a .454, with a heavier, slower bullet. The belt? That's because a rim on a .50-caliber case would have been too small if we sized it for a Model 83 cylinder. A belt also strengthens the case, and since forming a belt is part of the heading operation, this belted head is more uniform than a machined rim. The .500 offers great flexibility, long case life and enough power to flatten any big game."

At 1.37 inches long, .500 WE brass is factory loaded to an overall length of about 1.76. The head accepts large rifle primers and fits a standard Number 41 RCBS shell-holder. Freedom supplies dies, which should be adjusted to size the case down to within .10-inch of the belt.

"Seat and crimp in separate operations," advised Bob. "And do not exceed recommended charges. Belt expansion of .002 on first firings is common, but the belt should never be sized." He said that expansion up to .003-inch has no effect on chambering.

The .500 WE outshines the .500 Action Express, a rimless round developed in 1991 for the Desert Eagle Mk VII autoloading pistol. It challenges the .500 Linebaugh, predecessor of the .475 Linebaugh on the .348 Winchester case. Double-action fans can still say that Smith & Wesson, with its .500, markets the most powerful handgun. If you prefer the feel of a single-action, and a gun that scales closer to fifty ounces than seventy, you'll want an 83.

Fine fit and finish are evident in this custom revolver; the Model 83 is also well balanced and held to strict accuracy standards.

"I still like the .44 Magnum as an all-around cartridge," Baker said. "But shooters who want more muscle now have three great options: .454 Casull, .475 Linebaugh and .500 Wyoming Express."

Assessment
Bob offered me a Freedom Arms Premier revolver with a 71⁄2-inch barrel to fire factory-loaded .500 WE ammunition from Grizzly Cartridge Company. The 370-, 400- and 440-grain hard-cast flatnoses proved very civil at 950 fps. Loaded to 1,300, 1,250 and 1,200 fps, respectively, they were noticeably more frisky. Still, I preferred them to full-power loads in the .454. The Grizzly's hard-cast bullets are beautifully made. Their great weight, diameter and truncated nose will surely shatter an elk's shoulder and drive on.

I chose to shoot the revolver over sandbags. I wanted to feel the .500 WE, to learn how grip, trigger, sights and recoil affected my ability to shoot it accurately. With all three bullets, I printed five-shot groups of 21⁄2 inches at twenty-five yards--as tight as I can expect with iron sights. Predictably, the 440s struck highest on the target, because they spent more time than the lighter bullets in the barrel during muzzle lift. Switching to an ambitious 400-grain load, I punched holes directly below the 370-grain group, confirming that barrel time trumps the shape of bullet arcs in determining impact point from handguns up close.