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Freedom Arms … Not only made in America, but made in Wyoming, and better yet, built
right here in Freedom, Wyoming. It doesn’t get any better than that! – June Johnston, author
had become partners in the coal mining
business with Art providing the funding.
This business flourished and produced
record amounts of coal at the time.
While living in Price, Wayne became
associated with a gun manufacturing
company there. Dick Casull was their
designer and Wayne liked his work. The
gun company needed backing and this
time it was Wayne that supplied the funds.
The owner, however, “knew how to spend
money but not make it.” The company
eventually went broke and Wayne became
owner of the gun manufacturing equipment.
When Wayne and Mariam moved back
to Star Valley they wanted, and could
now afford, to start a business that would
provide employment for the younger
generation so they would not have to go
elsewhere for work. He states, “Mariam
has always been a major player in
everything we have become involved with,”
and they decided that manufacturing guns
was the logical thing to do.
Wayne and his family constructed a 40
x 100 foot building on his property near
Freedom, Wyoming for sales , research,
and development. Dick Casull had designed
a .454 revolver that would be the most
powerful revolver ever built at that time.
They tried various manufacturers but none
of them could build it well enough to satisfy
Wayne and Dick. Eventually they decided
they’d have to build it themselves.
Adding a 40 x 150 foot addition to the
existing structure for manufacturing was
the first step. They were able to use
much of the machinery from the previous
endeavor and bought the additional
equipment that was needed. There is an
interesting machine in the plant that makes
the grips. It was originally made to make
high heels for women’s shoes. That’s repurposing at its best.
Realizing the .454 was too complicated for
unskilled workers to build, they started
with a mini-revolver and Freedom Arms
was born. They hired the best people
they could get and trained them in the
gun making business, then had them train
others, and built the work force to 85 by
1979. They stopped production of the minirevolver in 1988, building over 100,000
revolvers.
The first–production Freedom Arms
.454 Casull caliber revolver was built in
1983. Since then they have produced the
world’s most powerful revolver, 2.25 times
the power of the .44 mag. The .454, 7.5”
barrel, will shoot a 260 grain lead bullet
through a quarter-inch steel plate. This
has brought down elephant, rhino, hippo,
cape buffalo, and water buffalo. It has been
designed with a well- shaped grip that
causes less abuse to one’s hand. Ladies that
have brought down various game animals
say it is more comfortable to shoot than
rifles of the same power.
Two more powerful calibers have since
been introduced – the .475 Linebaugh
and the Freedom Arms .500 Wyoming
Express. Freedom Arms has also
produced several special edition guns
including the Dick Casull Signature,
Wyoming Centennial, Wyoming Centennial
Wagon Train, U.S. Marshall Bicentennial,
Larry Kelly, Primus Inter Pares Edition, and
the Shiloh Sharps Edition.
Freedom Arms has enjoyed many unique
experiences – a few gems:
Wayne and his banker flew to a
correspondent bank in California in 1981
for an appointment with the Vice President
who wanted to see the guns. They carried
several gun cases up the elevator to his
office and were busy displaying them when
several men from security rushed in. After
understanding what was going on they
enjoyed looking at the guns themselves.
They did, however, escort them out of the
bank at the conclusion of their business.
In 1984, Wyoming Governor Edgar
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