Dan Wesson 715 revolver

[Love Life]

I am looking to get a new 357 Magnum revolver, and the Dan Wesson 715 has very much caught my eye. My only concern is there really doesn't seem to be much factory support in the way of extra barrels and stuff.

Has anybody shot the new Dan Wesson 715 revolver? If so, what was your opinion? Is the cylinder long enough to handle the 358429 crimped in the crimp groove with 357 Magnum brass?

Thank you.

[rancher1913]

didn't know dan wesson was still around. been shooting a dan wesson for beter than 30 years, have two barrels for it. don't know the model off the top of my head but its had reloads its entire life. there should be some specs somewhere on that model that will tell you how long the cylinder is.

[azrednek]

didn't know dan wesson was still around..

Neither did I !! Had to go and look and sure enough its back.
http://cz-usa.com/product/dan-wesson-715-revolver-cal-357-magnum-stainless/

Something I was told by a now deceased relative. He was very actively involved years ago with silhouette shooting. He claimed the Dan Wesson held up to the heavy hand loaded ammo better than S&W and Ruger D/A revolvers. His thoughts were the Ruger S/A was the strongest and Dan Wesson a close second.

I can't recall his 44 mag load other than him loading and shooting a home cast, gas checked slug weighing a little over 265grs. I know he used a stout load of 2400 but wouldn't want to speculate on the charge weight.

[Artful]

I have two Dan Wesson 357 of the older manf. (15 & 15-2) - I assume CZ kept the same dimensions but don't know for sure. You can get barrels but their cost is sort of steep at least in my opinion.

DW is most accurate 357's I have owned - I kept my S&W mod 29 as it was lighter than the DW 44 of same barrel length - If I need a tank of a 44 I use Redhawk.

[TCLouis]

Dial Caliper says

Cylinder 1.635 length
0.065 cut for rims

[runfiverun]

someone bet me to the CZ link.
but since they have taken over the Dan Wesson name stuff is still being produced at almost the same pace it was back in the day.
that has never stopped me from buying one though. [I have several of their revolvers and some spare barrels]
they are so simple you could probably make the broken part on your kitchen table.
in fact the first proto-types internals were made on a kitchen table with a file.

[Bullwolf]

CZ-USA is still making and selling Dan Wesson barrel and shroud assemblies at the Norwich NY Dan Wesson plant. Successfully navigating the CZ-USA website is something of a challenge however.

The new 715 only comes with a 6 inch barrel assembly, and a neat plastic case that will hold a few other different length barrel assemblies. You can order other barrel/shroud lengths from CZ easily, if they happen to be in stock at the time.

The older Monson, Palmer, and Norwich NY Dan Wesson barrels and shrouds will fit on the new 715. The older shrouds tend to look a tad different with the lines of the new 715 however.

Can read a bit more about that on the Dan Wesson forum, here's a good link about the old vs the new 715's with some comparison photographs.
http://www.danwessonforum.com/forum/revolvers/model-715-new-vs-old/

I recently purchased a new 6 inch 44 caliber 445 Supermag Barrel and shroud right from CZ-USA Dan Wesson in Norwich NY. I was quite pleased with the new barrel assembly. It was very high quality, much better than many of my older Dan Wesson barrels and shrouds. It also came with the newer style 4 point barrel nut.

The new 7445 shroud has the same laser etched caliber marking that Dan Wesson's from the Norwich NY era and the brand new CZ ones have.

http://www.danwessonforum.com/wp-content/gallery/bullwolf/2014/05/445-6-inch-BA-Close-Up.JPG


Here's a shot of a new 715, next to an old Monson 715. You can somewhat see the differences in the lines of the new and old shroud and frames from the small pic I hope.

.357 Magnum - (New style Laser Etching)

DAN WESSON ARMS
357 MAGNUM CTG. - (Old style Monson double roll mark)

New laser etched shroud is in the back (Norwich NY)
Older Monson Massachusetts double roll mark barrel shroud in the front.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_187904f5eb36726732.jpg


One thing to keep an eye out for if buying a new Dan Wesson 715 revolver.

For some reason CZ-USA decided to do an early release of the 715 and they were all blemishes. Brilliant marketing strategy right?

All the blem 715 revolvers have an upside down Y stamp by the serial number, and were supposed to come with a letter showing the blemish (like a pinhole in the shroud, frame or some other minor imperfection) Most were such tiny imperceptible defects that it wouldn't bother even the most OCD among us. The few I have seen have been undetectable other than the weird upside down Y stamp on the frame after the SN.

Here's an example of one of the Blemish 715 revolvers on Gunbroker right now.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=509799600

A few non reputable Gunbroker sellers conveniently "lose" the blem letter, and/or fail to mention it. Or, lets be kind and just say they are just uninformed. Make sure you are getting a new release 715, and not one of the early CZ pre-release blem revolvers, unless that's precisely what you are after for collector value or something. If you are after a blem revolver, get the letter and picture that identifies at as such, and be sure to hang onto it.



- Bullwolf

[djgoings]

Let me start by saying I am a huge fan of the Monson, Ma (older) Dan Wesson's. I have several 357's and 44's. This summer a friend of mine purchased a new 357 Dan Wesson. I was present the first time he shot this gun. The trigger pull is fairly heavy compared to the older ones, but doesn't have much creep. We put about 25 rounds through this new gun. The cylinder did not want to stay latched. The gun was sent back to Dan Wesson for repairs. When he received the gun back about 1 month later we inspected it. It looks like they tried to smooth up the surface where the cylinder meets the frame. Shot another few cylinders and unfortunately the cylinder still would not stay locked. Needless to say he's not very impressed with his new Dan Wesson. He sent the gun back again. We'll see how he makes out.