S&W frame/Dan Wesson barrels?

[uabfan]

I'm on the hunt for new revolvers for the Service and Distinguished matches for PPC events. I've been trying to love a new-to-me Dan Wesson 15-V6 for the Distinguished, but can't get used to the trigger. The DW's accuracy is right where I want it, though.

I saw an "experimental" model on the Dan Wesson Direct Sales page on Gunbroker. Either a K or L frame (can't remember which right now) Smith modified to accept DW's barrel system. One of these with a 4" and a 6" barrel would be perfect. The best attributes of each make in one package. One problem, the "experimental" gun is over a grand....ouch.

I'm sure it's a lot more complicated than I think and requires major surgery on the Smith frame. Got any thoughts, suggestions, ideas on why this wouldn't be cost effective or sane to get a 'smith to do for me?

 

[uabfan]

Ok, found the link on Gunbroker.
http://gunbroker.com/auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=25101613

Alright, "buy it now" for $1,595.00....they only made 6 of them in .357. It has historic/collector/sentimental value but that's still an awful lot of cash. Is there that much gunsmithing involved to make it work?

 

[Jim Watson]

I'd have to see a strong factory letter (Two!) about that being a collaboration between S&W and DW. Might be worth the money if it had the provenance.

It has been done as a gunsmith conversion. I recall a picture in an old magazine, Dean Grennell called it a Smith and Smith and Wesson and Wesson because it was a S&W action with a Dan Wesson barrel, installed by a gunsmith named Smith.

Jack Weigand sold a similar setup but dropped the product and has been blowing them out for some time. Nothing left but 2.5 and 3 inch, though.

But would one pass as PPC Distinguished? It has been a while but I thought a Distinguished gun had to have factory barrel, cylinder, and frame.

 

[uabfan]

Hmm, good question....I'll check on that. Off the top of my head no external mods such as sight ribs, bull or slab barrels. I guess my confusion is whether they distinguish between factory configuration (which could be done with aftermarket parts) or factory configuration with the OEM parts.

I'll have to dig out my PPC rulebook.

 

[500swmag]

Yes it's true, back awhile we did run some revolver frames for DW.... for whatever reasons managment decided not to follow through with it.
BC

 

[Old Fuff]

Setting aside the question of rules, If I was in your situation I would forget about using Dan Wesson parts, but set up a S&W revolver using the D.W. system - which is want Danny himself did where he started experimenting. A skilled machinest (wouldn't have to be a gunsmith) could cut the threads on a barrel blank to fit a S&W frame and clean out the threads in the frame (Brownells has taps and dies - at least for the K-frame). Then the original barrel could be bored to make it into a shroud. The muzzle end of the tube could be threaded and fitted with a nut.

If you could get a D.W. barrel blank that was longer then 6 inches it could probably be shortened at the breech end and threaded to fit whatever S&W frame you chose to use. Again, the original barrel could be bored to make a shroud.

I don't know about the cost, but it should be well under one thousand bucks.