Dan Wesson .44mag: Buy or not..

[GunNut]

Local guy has a Dan Wesson .44mag with what appears to be a 8" barrel. Gun is blued and looks in perfect condition.

Comes in DW soft case with tool, gap tool(?) and manual.

Probably can buy it for $300 + Tax. About $325 out the door.


I've been thinking about upgrading from my Mountain Gun to a .44 that can handle stronger loads.

So what do you guys think?

Steve

 

[Nightcrawler]

I'd e-mail Dan Wesson (the current company) with the serial number and see if they'll still offer repair service, and if any of their current parts or accessories (like barrels, grips) will fit.

Dan Wesson Firearms: clicky!

 

[Majic]

The new Dan Wesson will repair the new and old models. Designs haven't changed and parts still fit.
Dan's are very strong revolvers with a good track record for accuracy. If you plan on buying one make the decision to keep it as resale is very low and slow on them (most people keep them anyway). They are very flexible with the ability to change barrels. The big bores (like the .44mag) also can be had with recoil reducing barrels (ports or a recoil reducing system built in). Grips can be easily reconfigured as the grip frame is just a stub and you can whittle away on the wood to your hearts desire.
That is not a bad price for a Dan in good condition.

P.S. E-Bay is a good place to shop for used grips and barrel assemblies at decent prices. I once got a new barrel assembly for half the retail price.

 

[maytom]

At one time in the past Dan Wesson revolvers ruled the silhouette game!! Of the big name gun companies, they had it all over the others in the accuarcy department due to that threaded barrel/barrel nut assembly!!
Then they ended up going out of business for a time and now I hear they are back!! For that kind of money, I'd jump on it!!

 

[Fire1]

Get it! I bought my Dan Wesson 44mag used, and I love it. Mine's a SS with a ported 8in bbl, and it's very accurate. I would love to find a used .357 at a good price.

 

[P95Carry]

I do not own a ''Dan'' but have handled and shot several. To me they are up there with the Rugers in the sense of ''tough'' ..... good strong guns.

If the right one came along when the money clip was well filled ...... I'd easily consider a purchase.!

 

[Parker Dean]

Dan wesson Firearms has no info for guns manufactured prior to 1997. All that info went to the BATF. Basically what the current owner of the company bought was the intellectual property of the revolver and the name. As has been stated the currently manufactured parts interchange with the older guns and DW does repairs/smithing for a fee.

For the gun in question while you'll want to check it out thoroughly for fit and function if the gun was made in Palmer Mass you'll want to be even more thorough perhaps even have a smith check throat and bore sizes. Palmer was the end of the line for the old Dan Wesson Arms and apparently the tooling was worn out by then as those guns are the most problematical. Current production is in Norwich, NY.

 

[maytom]

Here's their new Web-site!!

http://www.danwessonfirearms.com/

 

[The Mighty Beagle]

Most shootable .44 magnum I've owned out of 3 or 4 Smith's and 2 Redhawks. It is an outstanding revolver if it is a Monson, Mass. gun.

Like anything, it has its pro's and con's ....

Pro's
1. very accurate, more so than the Smiths.
2. durable - built extremely large/heavy for caliber
3. recoil is almost easy on the shooter
4. Sights and grips easy to swap out, unlimited potential to make your own custom set-up
5. Company makes it the same way they always did - "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy. Great in case you need a part.
6. Barrel swap is easy once you learn.

Con's
1. Trigger is very Ruger-ish. I prefer a nice crisp Smith trigger, but you can't have everything.
2. Weight - it can suck to carry it. My 8" is so heavy as to almost be unshootable off-hand, so I bought a 4" barrel which is just right.
3. Never going to win a beauty contest, boxy and clunky looking
4. Lack of aftermarket accessories. I want Ashleys, LaserGrips and a Docter sight for mine, but that'll never happen.
5. SOME parts are of soft steel. I dropped my gun and bent my rear sight to one side, and suprisingly the hammer spur as well. I know you shouldn't drop firearms, but the damage was all out of proportion to the fall. What are these parts made of, pot-metal or MIM? Anyway, both problems were corrected without incident. I gather the factory is now using some more durable parts.

Hope this helps.

 

[Yo]

Maybe the old ones are more accurate

I like mine (2001 vintage), with 8" and 6" bbls, but as others have said, it is very nose heavy with the long tube. Surprisingly, even with a scope, accuracy has been very good, but not anything to brag about -- about 1.5" at 25 yards. I've seen some older ones that would do 2.5" at 100, so maybe the tolerances aren't as good on the new models.

The trigger is a little heavy too for target work, and not many smiths will work on these brutes.

The one real negative is that you have to do a serious disassembly to get the cylinder out for a thorough cleaning. On a SW, you just back out one screw and the whole crane assembly comes out. Not so on the DW--you have to go in and partly disassemble the trigger group.