Dan Wesson opinions good/bad??

[218bee]

Hey all, looking for opinions on Dan Wesson revolvers. Back in the 70's I always wanted on of them Pistol Pacs thinking it would be cool. Never did buy one or shoot one. I got to view an upcoming auction and saw two Dan Wessons both with a box one in 22LR and another in 357mag. Decent shape though I did not handle them. Both had 6" barrels. Seem to remember a 'smith tellin me a while back he did not like the way they locked up puttin the barrels on....not quite sure and dont remember what he meant. Neither of these had any extra barrels I saw. I know they were popular when mettallic silhouette??? first started, maybe because of choice of calibers and barrel length?? But figure they must have shot ok.
So anyone with experience with these please give me your opinion, good or bad. What would these be goin for now? any ideas? I guess I'll peruse GunBroker but figured I'd look for opinions here.....So what say ye.

[Dframe]

The dan wesson was high quality revolver with a reputation for accuracy. I bought one back in the 70s and shot ppc with it. Good solid gun. The barrel attaching feature was unsettling to some old timers but proved it's worth and durability over time. The company has been through several reorgs since that time and I'm not familiar with their late offerings. The guns from Monson were excellent.

[stubshaft]

I shot a few DW in the 70's and 80's in sillywett. Buying one was a gamble, you could never tell whether or not it would spit because of chamber misalignment. I went through a few until I found one in 375SM that I kept for competition. I had one of the first 445SM ser#088. It went back to the factory four times and QC in those days was a joke. They did come in great calibers and were accurate when you could find a "shooter". I have no desire to own another one though.

[Old Caster]

About 10 years ago we formed a league where we shot revolvers or semi- auto's at 100 yards bench rest- any barrel length, any sights. It was scored 10 shot group center to center 30 shots total. The winner for the year wound up being a Dan Wesson .357. There were about 20 of us, mostly bullseye shooters that did everything we could to win. We did have some that were silhouette shooters. I would think that the total number of guns that were tried was probably in the neighborhood of about 60. This was a period of about 1 year. I tried 4 different guns but the DW almost always got me by enough to win. His record group for the year was four and something inches, I don't remember exactly. None of the rest of us broke into the 4's but I remember many times having groups from my Python in less than 2 inches except for 3 shots which would put it in the 5's along with many others. Something many of us learned was that shooting from one chamber really didn't make any difference. All of us had numbers taped on the cylinder but no one paid any attention after a short time.

[mongo]

I bought a used one in the eairly 80's .357 with all four barrels. I still have it. Super accurate, Great gun, otherwise I would have sold it years ago lol.

[lylejb]

Depending on when it was made, several different owners / companies were dan wesson.

I have a 8" DW 357 mag from the Monson plant. I've read repeatedly about the stellar reputation of these guns. myself, I'm not so sure.

Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad gun, I'm just not so sure it's anything super. But then again, I've only owned it 20 years.

Maybe I just didn't get one of the "shooters".

It is accurate, but it's no match gun. Maybe it could be made into one, but I haven't done that.

The single action trigger pull is ok, but not stellar. Cocking the hammer for single action is kind of "clunky", but if your going to target shoot single action, that doesn't really bother much.

The double action pull is not as good as my S&W 629, not even close.

All of this, of course, is just my opinion based on one gun. Maybe another example would be better, I don't know.

I'm not sorry I bought the Dan Wesson, but I do wonder if I would have been happier with a Smith 586.

[ihmsakiwi]

Hey all, looking for opinions on Dan Wesson revolvers. Back in the 70's I always wanted on of them Pistol Pacs thinking it would be cool. Never did buy one or shoot one. I got to view an upcoming auction and saw two Dan Wessons both with a box one in 22LR and another in 357mag. Decent shape though I did not handle them. Both had 6" barrels. Seem to remember a 'smith tellin me a while back he did not like the way they locked up puttin the barrels on....not quite sure and dont remember what he meant. Neither of these had any extra barrels I saw. I know they were popular when mettallic silhouette??? first started, maybe because of choice of calibers and barrel length?? But figure they must have shot ok.
So anyone with experience with these please give me your opinion, good or bad. What would these be goin for now? any ideas? I guess I'll peruse GunBroker but figured I'd look for opinions here.....So what say ye.

I have a 357SuperMag which is a safe-queen now days. I shoot silhouette and never got past a score of 32 with it. Not too much load developement went into it though. I was shooting a load all the other DW 357SM shooters were with the Lyman 215gr boolit.
First outing with the F.A. 357Mag revolver was a 38 so never shot the DW again. Peter.

[rintinglen]

I had two back in the 70's-they were good guns, but not any better than the Ruger security sixes that they competed in price with. They were cheaper than the comparable S&Ws, and usually better. (Remember Bangor Punta?) The double action was not that hot and was not very amenable to lightening, but they were very accurate single action guns. I found that using a .004 gauge rather than the factory .006 gauge gave me better accuracy. I almost bought one last year, though more from nostalgia than merit.

[Kraschenbirn]

One of my "I wish I'd never traded" guns was a DW 741.. stainless .41 Mag with an 8" VR barrel, custom (wood) Hogue stock, and a Wolfe spring set. Was one of the later Monson guns and I (literally!) put thousands of rounds of full-house CB loads downrange during practice and IHMSA matches. At the worst, it was one of the three most accurate revolvers I've ever owned (I still have the other two).

On the downside, I knew a few sillywhet shooters who just couldn't get their DWs to shoot worth beans...no matter what they tried...but never heard of anyone having mechanical problems like the S&Ws were at that time, though.

Bill

[357shooter]

I bought a 357 Monson made DW revolver the end of last year. I was looking for an accurate gun to outshoot my Taurus 66. After some time of testing and even getting a new barrel and contacting DW directly, I sold the DW and still shoot the Taurus, which is more accurate than the DW.

Just my experience.

[Artful]

I have had a couple of Dan Wesson's back in the 70-80's a 15 and 15-2 - both shot well provided I gapped tight and retension-ed barrel the same each time. I think the trigger isn't as good as S&W but they make a heck of a "only" gun due to change of barrel shrouds - mount a scope on one and leave the other as iron sight - have a short or snubby and have a long time 12 or even 15 Buntline special if you want it. Change grip shape to what you need - never a more versatile handgun IMHO.

[subsonic]

I looked hard at a bunch of them, then bought S&W.

[218bee]

Kind of what I thought I guess. Maybe if I can get a deal on the 22 I may go for it. Wouldnt mind another 22 to play with and it seems they are generally less finicky than centerfires.

[Caster Blaster]

If you can find a Monson gun, pick it up. you can still get barrel/shroud combos new from CZ/Dan Wesson on their website if you want versatility from one gun, it can't be beat, shorter barrel & shorter grip = carry piece (although heavy) longer barrel & larger grip, you've got a hundred yard shooter. My avatar is my Dan 44 mag w/ 8" barrel. The full underlug gives it enough weight to tame the recoil of my heaviest loads. I picked mine up a year and a half ago at a pawn shop for $450 and its in 90-95%. I see them at gun shows with mis-matched barrels in 75% condition for $500+. Like any brand there are some duds (non-monson) of the 3 I've shot, all have been really tight, good guns. DA does leave something to be desired but as a target gun thats not a big deal. You can also get the barrel wrench new from CZ/DW's site, thats where I got mine, I set it to .004 and it hasn't loosened up after 1k rounds. I know I'll end up owning more when funds loosen up and the right deal comes along. Good Luck

[Stick_man]

I picked up a Monson made .357 back in '93, traded a S&W model 19 for it. I had picked up the 19 for about $200 and never did care much for it. The DW is a totally different story. I have fired a few thousand rounds through it and it is still as tight as ever. I do need to replace the springs in it now though as it doesn't fire reliably in DA mode. I put a Hogue grip on it and life is good.

Now, I'd love to find another in .45LC pistol pak.

And, no, my .357 isn't for sale. Some guns are pure pleasure to fire, and this is one of them.

[rockrat]

I had a 357 max that I ended up selling and got a 445sm. Later got a 22. Shot both in silhouette. Both very accurate, but nothing compared to a friends 44mag, which would shoot better than his Contender

[Buddy]

I've owned a 744VH8 for a lot of years and it's more accurate than any of the Smiths, Rugers, or whatever I drag out of the safe in 44mag. It will shoot under 3"@100yds. all day. A good shooter could probably do better but at 57 my eyes don't focus so well. On the other hand I've had DWs that won't shoot as well. A Monson gun in good shape is worth buying for the right price.

[gofasttodd]

what you need to know about a dan wesson is to set the air gap at 3 thousandths not 6 like the factory and your groups will shrink alot put a wolf spring kit in it http://dwcollectors.org/dwca-content/articles/1977_annual_article.PDF

http://dwcollectors.org/dwca-content/articles/1980_may_article.pdf

[Buddy]

I used the gap as a tuning aid to get mine to shoot well. I also played with barrel tension but didn't seem to get any significant improvement. I'm trying to fight off the urge to buy one of the new 15's.

[rwsem]

I own a few- all Monson, MAss era except the AGS.
http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/SANY09901.JPG

Everything you want to know about DWs can be found here:

http://www.danwessonforum.com/forum

Best Regards, Ron

[Ziptar]

I've got a High Standard Crusader 45 Colt on my bucket list.

They were actually produced by DW in Monson, a rebadged 745 as the story goes and are apperently a very strong action. I saw a piston a forum once from some that claimed he'd been shooting "Ruger Only" loads out of one for years.

I don't know if its true but, if it is, its impressive. Problem is given the cost of one and the rarity, I don't know if I could bring myself to shoot it. Let alone feed it "Kruger Only" loads.

[subsonic]

Let alone feed it "Kruger Only" loads.

Sounds like a nightmare! :mrgreen:

[Ziptar]

Sounds like a nightmare! :mrgreen:

Hahahahah!! Thats what I get for posting from my Droid. Tiny on screen keys and big fat sausage fingers are a bad combination.

[fatelk]

My first handgun was a used Dan Wesson 15-2 with a 15" barrel. I paid $250 for it in '89 IIRC.

It had minor issues over the years, but enough so that I got to where I wouldn't trust it. It went back to the factory for repair of an endshake problem at one point. The tiny piece that keeps the cylinder from coming back when you push out the shells fell out. The barrel nut had a habit of coming loose at the wrong time.

I got tired of the long barrel and bought a heavy 6" barrel and shroud; practically gave away the 15" barrel.[smilie=b: I eventually sold it. The friend I sold it to still tells me it's his most accurate revolver and he loves it.