Revolver ID

[andrewg]

I got a couple of revolvers from my grandfather and I was wondering if anyone here could tell me anything about them.

One of them is a Dan Wesson, blued, 6in barrel with a red insert on the front sight and adjustable rear sight, 22lr, and on the right side under the cylinder it says Dan Wesson Arms Monson Mass, USA. I looked around for some pictures of this gun, but all of the ones I found have a different style barrel.

The other is a single action 22lr, also blued, with about a 5 1/2 in barrel. On the right side of the barrel it says Frontier Six-Shooter Model, and on the left it says:
Hy Hunter Inc. Firearms MFG. CO
HollyWood, California
Made in Western Germany 11206.

Anything anyone could tell me about these would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Starter52]

1) Dan Wesson Arms made a fair number of revolvers back in the 1970's and early 80's. Their big selling point was the interchangeable barrels, although some fixed-barrel model were produced.

Early DWA's had a exposed locking ring at the end of the barrel. Ugly. This was later changed to an internal locking system that was much more pleasing to the eye. I'm not sure which one you have. I hope it's either a fixed-barrel gun or the second model system.

DWA's were heavy, accurate revolvers that were popular with long-range silhouette shooters. They didn't have a smooth double-action like the S&W and Colts of their day, but for single-action target shooting they were often unbeatable.

The .38/.357 were more common than your .22. DWA also made some beafy revolvers in hunting calibers. DWA's are not the quality of S&W guns, but they are reliable and still have a market. A decent USA-made revolver.

2) Back in the 1950's-60's "Hy Hunter" was an importer of low-cost European handguns. Your gun is a cheaper German-made revolver likely imported before the Gun Control Act of 1968 banned guns of that type. Not a bad gun necessarily, but not able to pass the "dropped gun" safety test. They were widely sold mail-order (legal back then) and at Sears and other discount stores. Not much value today except as a shooter.

The Dan Wesson is likely the better of the two guns. Hope this helps.

 

[andrewg]

It looks like the Dan Wesson I have has the ring at the end of the barrel. I took both guns out to the range yesterday. They both shoot pretty well. Thanks for your help.