Wyoming factory makes firearms strictly by hand

FREEDOM, Wyo. — Western Wyoming remains a raw, sparsely settled place where guns are a way of life. Wildlife is thick, and people hunt to eat.

Gaunt peaks rise sharply on both sides of the Salt River as it coils through silent fields that surround the town of Freedom (pop. 100). A sign along a two-lane road makes a bold statement: "Freedom Arms, World's Finest Firearms."

Inside a plain metal building, a dozen workers at the Freedom Arms factory carve revolvers from blocks of stainless steel. They say they're proud to make what many experts regard as the world's best revolvers. And they're proud to do it here — in a place where not so long ago, frontiersmen relied on guns to survive.

Freedom Arms is one of just a handful of companies in the world where workers meticulously fit and finish guns by hand, the old-fashioned way. Larger revolver manufacturers use modern manufacturing techniques that reduce the need for costly handwork.

The joints between the fitted metal parts on a Freedom Arms revolver are all but invisible. The metal surfaces immaculately polished. Working the action of a Freedom Arms' revolver reveals the feeling of tight, hand-honed precision that can only be imparted by master craftspeople.

"They are absolutely the finest factory-produced revolvers made at any time, anywhere," said John Taffin, one of the country's pre-eminent gunwriters and author of several books on handguns. "Their accuracy is unbelievable."

Freedom Arms revolvers carry price tags that start at roughly $2,000 each, about two to three times more than mass-produced guns. The people willing to pay the price for these specialty handguns range from devoted gun-fanciers of modest means to jet-setting big-game hunters who use them to kill animals such as cape buffalo in distant corners of the world.

Freedom Arms doesn't offer public tours, opting instead to keep details of its production techniques secret. Behind those closed doors, however, its manufacturing and assembly rooms reveal a combination of state-of-the-art computer technology and old-time, handcraftsmanship.

The rooms are organized for work, not show. Shelves and work surfaces are packed with drill bits, cutting tools and gun parts. Proprietary blueprints depicting gun dimensions line the walls. No matter how the raw parts are produced, the guns are all finished by hand.

Tool-room machinist Mark Weeks, a 20-year Freedom Arms employee, handles much of the company's research and development.