Dan Wesson revolvers vs Smith vs Rugers

[Jaymo]

I'm a lefty and don't have to switch hands to quickly reload a DW.
My right middle finger operates the cylinder latch. I can also use my right index finger.
My right thumb pushes the cylinder out.
My right index finger pushes the ejector rod.
If I shoot it RH, it's even simpler.
LH thumb pushes cyl latch.
LH fingers push out cyl.
LH thumb pushes ejector rod.
About a quickly as I can reload a Smith.
With practice, I could do a lot better with either.
The big thing about SD is remembering which one you're using.

BTW, the factory DA trigger pull of the Smith sometimes is smoother, but the DA pull of the DW is shorter and smooths up to a VERY slick pull, with less work than is required to smooth a Smith trigger.

Karl Lewis the designer of the DW revolver, also designed the Colt MkIII lockwork.

 

[Nom de Forum]

I sure hope a DW shooter with some fast shot to shot reload times posts them to this thread. I am really curious just how fast a DW can be reloaded. If the DW is as fast as a S&W and Colt why don't we see more of them used by top shooters in the Game Games of the last 40 years? Sure less DWs were made S&W or Colt but that cannot be the only reason. If they were equal or superior in reload speed where are the YouTube videos demonstrating it?

 

[Saleen322]

My guess is most of the Dan Wesson owners who competed in competition were not factory sponsored and the sport DW owned was silhouette before DW went out of production. That was an accuracy game and no reloading was required. Add to that the real fast folks are factory sponsored and if Jerry Miculek was paid by Dan Wesson not Smith & Wesson, I am sure you would see some fast times with a DW. Come to think of it I don't see many Colt revolvers used in speed events either as Colt revolvers are out of production and worth way too much stock to alter or even use hard now.

The older Dan Wessons made in Monson were all about being accurate. I have had one for years but the only revolver game I got involved in that required reloading was PPC. The revolver I used there was a Smith 625 mainly because the brass was easy to pick up with the moon clips.

 

[9mmepiphany]

We used to see some DE revolvers in PPC, but I wouldn't say that reload speed plays a major factor in that game...but the shooters didn't feel that they were at a handicap to the S&W shooters.

One of the advantages of the DW in PPC "Stock Gun" matches was that their easily removable front sights made adjustments for distance more consistent.

The great weakness of the design, in competition, was that there weren't a lot of pistol smiths who tuned them.

IIRC Massad Ayoob campaigned a DW M15 for a while and wrote a rather interesting series of articles about them in American Handgunner

 

[MrBorland]

the real fast folks are factory sponsored and if Jerry Miculek was paid by Dan Wesson not Smith & Wesson, I am sure you would see some fast times with a DW.

Meh. There are a lot of really fast folks on the competition circuit, of which only a select few are S&W sponsored. JM's the most visible, so many automatically believe all "the real fast folks" are factory sponsored. T'aint so.

S&Ws are just more common in the marketplace, are easily tunable and fixable, and lots of people know how to tune them, they have lots of aftermarket parts available, and are what most are used to using. You really don't see all that many Rugers in competition, either. If new DWs were as common as Rugers in the marketplace, you'd likely see some.

Also, most revolvers in runNgun competition are moonclipped and used in USPSA. Until recently, that meant a .45acp, though 8-shot 9mm and .38/.357s are now allowed to play as well. In either case, a S&W is the only viable option.

Speedloader-fed revolvers in runNgun comps are limited to IDPA SSR and ICORE Classic. IDPA and ICORE are less popular than USPSA, and within IDPA, SSR shooters make up a small minority.

 

[Nom de Forum]

Back in the late 70's and early 80's before full-moonclips were being used in revolvers fired in IPSC the Dan Wesson was readily available for sale at the LGS. Every week I saw guys at or near the skill level of Brian Enos speedloading S&W and Colts in IPSC. I think if those guys thought the DW could give them an edge it would have been seen more. Until someone can show through demonstration comparable speed, I believe the ergonomics of the DW prevent it from being reloaded as fast as a S&W or Colt.