Dan Wesson revolvers??

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glocks rock

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Are the new DW revolvers any good? I found a 357, not sure what model , at a gun show for 450. Is the quality good and is that a good price for a new DW?
 
Dan Wesson

I dont believe they are makeing new D.W. revolvers Though there are some older guns out there that still look brand new.
 
Nope, no more DW revolvers, but they do service them. The last one they made (post CZ) was the 445 supermag. Since you are talking about a .357, look for Monson, Mass. as the place of manufacture. If was made somwhere else, check it out closely.
 
Dan Wesson made, in my humble opinion, some of the finest revolvers ever made. I've owned a couple of them in 22, which is built on the same frame as the .38/.357s. Still own one. Great shooting guns. About the only thing I can say "bad" about them is they are BIG, HEAVY guns, especially in 22. They're actually about the size of an "L" frame Smith and Wesson. Also the sights on the adjustable sight models need an Allen Wrench to adjust them. Not a real problem as long as you have the/a set of Allen Wrenches with you.

Dan Wesson's have interchangable barrels, that you can change out with just a wrench and a go/no go gague. (Automotive feeler gagues will work fine.) Their grips are also interchangable. They're one piece and can be shapped just about any way you want them. Some DW's came with an extra block of wood to "carve your own."

I paid $350.00 for my current one last year, they were asking $400.00. The same dealer has a couple of .357's now and they're asking about the same for them IIRC, so $450 might be a little high, or not, depending on the area, condition, barrel lenght, etc..

The "Monson, Mass guns are generally considered to be the best of them.
 
Good accurate, solid, well made and reliable. That is my take on my over half a dozen DW's.

They are just unloved in the industry.

It is a "cult" thing. There is no formal "cult" running around saying DW's are great like there is for Ruger, S&W, Colt etc.

My last DW was a supermag that was unfired for $800. I was oiling it yesterday and I am still tickled to have it.
 
If its a monson or palmer made gun get it if in good or better shape. It will be a gun you will never sell. Don't know anything about the last,(cz) made guns but the early ones are great.
 
Very, very accurate, owing to the barrel-in-shroud setup, which has the barrel under tension.

Supposedly some can experience frame-battering around the firing-pin hole due to the hammer's impact. Someone informed on that subject should comment, so that you know what to look for.
 
They are excellent revolvers and very accurate. The build and design is strong enough for numerous full house loads without any loosening. Like the guy above said, buy it and you'll never sell it. I've never heard of any frame battering. After numerous thousands of rounds there's no sign of it on my DW guns. The best place to ask about any battering is the Dan Wesson forum: http://www.danwessonforum.com/

I can tell you that Dan Wesson revolvers owned the Silhouette competition for years due to not only the great accuracy but the build quality of the guns. Silhouette shooters needed heavy loads to get the rams down. Most other brands of guns would shoot loose and also weren't as accurate at long ranges that are out to 150 meters for the pigs and rams at 200 meters.
 
I never could figure out why the Dan Wesson revolvers didn't catch on. I have a Monson made 15-2 VH8 that I bought new. It is the most accurate revolver I've ever owned or shot. I've never had a minutes trouble with it. I was shooting a S&W mod. 14 when I bought the DW and it was a sweet gun. It just wasn't as accurate as the DW.
 
Always wondered if jerry miclik was shooting a DW with if the company would have killed someothers custom shop off. To bad cz could care less . They should and could have some shooters running both there Dan Wesson revolver and that other semi-auto they glued the DW name too on the competition trail. Hay Beagle, i have shoot thousands of rounds , many them maxed out in my DW 15-2 and it is still just as tight today as when new.
 
I paid 400 for a real nice 44 couple months back and no it was abit to much but i had to have it ,,,know what i mean. I have seen couple 15-2 models for sale at 400 to 350 and turned down a 22 with a 8" barrel for 400 that i know i could have bought for less, the owner was to stupid to have the wrench or even clean the gun in the 2 1/2 years that he had it. Beat 200 would have got it. but!!!
 
Oh, I don't mean to say that they don't stay tight. What I had been lead to believe was something to the effect that on some of them, the part of the frame containing the firing pin is impacted by the hammer, eventually causing it to bend inward, presumably leading to some kind of problem or another. Whoever it was that told me this also made it seem like it was something that could be both fixed and prevented.

I tried to do a Google search on this, and came up with squat, so pay no mind to my second-guessing.
 
It's true that nowadays you'll find just the revolver for this range, depending on locality.
However, the DW products have had a lot of time to disseminate into the hands of non-enthusiasts and experience life in the hands of the broke and stupid. So, you'll find everything from pistol packs to single revolvers sans tools with heavy wear and beat up finish. This doesn't even get into the cob jobs done by trailer park gunsmiths and such.

So, the prices do range all over.

A DW with issues in the action or on the frame is a bit of a pariah. If you find a smith willing and capable of working on one, you'll be on a waiting list for at least a year or so, for the most part. Being able to work on the DW products myself, this isn't such a concern for me. I even pondered setting up a business for doing them commercially for a while, but didn't want to deal with the red tape or the ATF.

This is what bumps the value of a good one. Some guy may say "I can get a better one on gunbroker" or whatever, but the reality is that hardly any two Dan Wesson's are the same at this point in time. If you find a good one, it's worth paying extra for the good finish and unmolested action to have a solid example of the gunmaker's art.

This is why $450 won't buy mine. Where the heck would I find one in as good or better condition than the one I have? I've been looking for a couple of years and have only found less worthy examples at gun shows. And, I'm sure as heck not buying one unexamined off the internet.

You're not buying a Big Mac in a drive thru. You're buying a Dan Wesson. If you find an exemplary example, it's worth the extra money (50 bucks? seriously?) to have one even if you pay above what some guy says you "should."
 
I've owned a number of the Monson guns and still have a .357 and a .22 with multiple barrels.

Great revolvers - period...
 
beagle, Maybe just maybe there were some guns that gave trouble but if there were they would not have been of the monson and palmer made guns,just a top end firearm. What hits harder ?? The round setting back against the frame or the hammer stricking a transferbar that then stikes the fireing pin. I know mine has had many thousand rounds through it in 30 years and it is still a very tight and very fine shooter. Maybe when Dw built those long range versions, the 357 maxinmum,445 supermag and some 375 super some guys could have been max'n them out but you could have had a s&w 44 and those with just maxed 44mags could twist a frame enough to make the gun rotate the cylinder backwards when fired.. Got to look good at a used gun but thses are better than any others.
 
wheelgunslinger-What a lot of people don't know is that Dan Wesson will still work on any of the older revolvers you just need to call them and ask for Genny in the parts dept. I had this one reworked(timing,new hand and cylinder refacing) and bought 2 new barrels for it and their prices for gunsmithing were more than reasonable. DSCN0919-1.jpg
 
I have two Monson-produced DW 15-2 revolvers. One I bought NIB over 30 yrs ago for the princely sum of $125 and another I picked up from a coworker in need of cash about 12 yrs back for $200 in VG-to-Ex condition.

For several years, the older one was my only CF handgun, and carried daily working a small cattle ranch in SW MO. Lord only knows exactly how many rds have been through it. It has to be at or close to five figures by now but it still shoots better than I do, the timing is still 'spot-on' and everything locks-up positively and reasonably tight. Nothing's worn-out or broken, although the exterior finish shows a good deal of holster wear.

The 'newcomer' shoots every bit as well. The action hasn't been smoothed-out as nicely with use as yet, as I'm kinda saving it for parts in the event that I ever actually need any.

I've had a good many other .357 revolvers since. Most have come and gone in fairly short order, as I could never seem to get the groups from them that I'd grown accustomed to with my old friend.

I recommend buying a nice example highly.
 
mainmech-I think the biggest reason people shy away is the misconception that you can't get service on the old Dan Wessons. Hell I got the 357 supermag pictured above from a LGS for 300 because the guy thought ammo wasn't available anymore, went straight home and ordered 4 boxes of PCI 180 grain jhp from ammo bank for 39.00 a box, while not cheap it's certainly not overly expensive for new 357max loads.
 
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