[NGIB]

The snub barrel arrived today for my DW .357 and installed it and snapped a quick picture. This is the same gun with a change in barrel & grips, a 3-4 minute job. May have to get an 8 inch barrel just for fun...

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj183/dave_dgf/IMG_DW357-X.jpg

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj183/dave_dgf/IMG_DW357S-Z.jpg

[micky692002]

I have the 8" barrel on mine, you can get one up to 15 inches haha

[rklessdriver]

Nice looking DW, I miss my .357 (but I still have my .44). The Pacmyar's were my favorite grips on my .357, they seemed to balance the gun out perfectly with the short barrel (it always pointed a bit high with the factory grips). Mine also had a DA/SA trigger pull that put all of my Colt's and S&W's to shame.

Too bad CZ isn't making any more of them. Maybe some day we will once again be blessed by one of the finest and most innovative revolvers ever.
Will

[yhtomit]

rklessdriver --
Too bad CZ isn't making any more of them. Maybe some day we will once again be blessed by one of the finest and most innovative revolvers ever.

I think it's a handsome gun, but can you explain what makes it esp. innovative?

(Trivia: Dan Wesson is also the brand favored by Carlito Brigante ;))

timothy

[NGIB]

One of the things that makes them innovative is the tensioned barrel makes them very mechanically accurate. The action on DWs is unique with a short stroke that feels very different from S&W, etc...

[doubleh]

Don't forget the cylinder lockup.

[fearless leader]

I have had a Dan Wesson D-14 that's been in the family since the '70s and I use it sometimes when I re-qualify. I usually turn in a 240 out of 240 with mine.

The short hammer travel helps a lot, I think.

I don't know where to get barrels for mine, as it is the older version, where the barrel shroud extends downward and makes up the facade on the front of the frame. New ones are straight, mine looks like an "L".

Pachmayer grips help, I found the factory standard grips uncomfortable.

Good luck with your new toy:)

[rklessdriver]

yhtomit

As the 2 other posters have said. Dan Wessons were quite innovative because of the interchangable barrel system that allowed one gun to many things, then the fact that the barrel is under tension from both ends, and the way the Crane and Cyl locks up in the frame (you see this system partly copied by the Tarus Raging Bull some 30yrs later). The internal lock work is quite unique as well. And the way the Grips are attached to the frame.

All of this added up to one of the strongest most accurate double action revolvers ever built. These guns ruled long range hand gun competitions for over 20yrs. Dan Wesson was also building towards the "Uber Mags", chambering guns for the .357 Maximum and the 445 Super Mag long before anyone else ever thought of a 454 Casual or the Linebauls or the .500 Smith.

The later ones are quite handsome looking revolvers. It took them a few years to get that way thou... The first ones looked... well different. With the exposed barrel nut and a rear site that looked like it belonged on a star trooper gun more than a revolver.

Not many people know what they are and for that reason they are quite under appreciated by the general shooting population.
Will

[NGIB]

I had ordered a snub barrel for my .22 as well as it gives me cheap trigger time with the exact same frame, size & weight of the .357 snub. Took it to the range today as I wanted to test out the Sig Pro I took in on trade. At 10-12 yards, it was freaky accurate and oh so much fun to shoot. To have a .22 with the exact same dimensions, weight, grips, and action of the .357 is very cool as it provides for very cheap trigger time that will exactly duplicate shooting the big caliber except for recoil...