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BD
10-18-2005, 07:20 PM
I'm going to look at a Dan Wesson .357 Pistol Pack on Friday. The current owner bought it used and doesn't really Know it's age. I know that there were certain years of pretty shaky production from DW. Anyone know how to tell just what I'm looking at? I have a newer 744 which I really like and I'd love to have a .357 of the same quality. I will give it a good looking over and I'm bringing a range rod along. However, knowing the "poor" serial number range would be a help, and maybe save me a trip. BD

7br
10-19-2005, 06:49 AM
I have had three Dan Wesson Revolvers and still have two of them. MY experience has been that the Monson, Mass. revolvers are pretty darned nice. I love my .41. The Palmer, Mass. revolvers were probably fair. My old 722 shot okay for silhouette, but had some serious machining marks. I have a Norwich, NY 722 that is the bees knees. If I do my part, I will give any freedom arms owner a run for his money.

BD
10-19-2005, 07:37 PM
Thanks for the reply 7br, How do you tell them apart? Do they all have the address of manufacture on the frame? My 744 say's Norwich NY and it's a real shooter. BD

BD
10-19-2005, 09:04 PM
I Talked to the seller tonight and it's a Monson MA gun. The guy wants $500 with a 6" barrel and an 8" barrel with a Bushnell 2.5 mounted. I'm thinking it's worth the $$ but I'd like a 4" barrel for IDPA. I'm assuming I can still get a 4" barrel from DW? BD

7br
10-20-2005, 07:01 AM
Dan Wesson is now owned by CZ. They basically bought them for their 1911 lineup and haven't gotten around to firing up the revolver line. That said, there might have been parts in inventory when CZ bought out DW. A while back, I was looking for stuff on the Numrich arms site and came across a couple of barrels. I have a contact for a guy that used to have a bunch of DW stuff including barrels.

You can figure on adding an additional $75 - $125 for the extra barrel assembly. My calculations would be about $325 for the revolver itself, $100 for the extra barrel assembly, and $50 or so for the scope. Sound like you are right in the ball park. Note: I tend to be a real cheapskate.

475/480
10-20-2005, 12:21 PM
Hi,
You can still get parts from DW,I got a 7414 Pistol Pack -4-6-8" bll,from them right before CZ bought them out,and I just sent my 7414 in so they can fit a non-fluted cylider to the 7414.

Sean

BD
10-20-2005, 07:23 PM
Wow, I've been looking for a DW .357 for about a year with no luck and now there's two. I found another Monson MA. gun with a single 6" barrel for $350, and its 200 miles closer. As I'd rather have a 4" barrel than the 8 incher I may go for the closer deal. Thanks for the helpful responses

Tigger
10-21-2005, 06:59 AM
The original DW plant was in Mosson and ran from 68 to late 88 or 89. Quality was decent. I have a 375 Super mag and it's a good gun. In 90 the plant was moved to Palmer Mass and quality control was not good. I have a 357 Max and it's had issues. The factory closed up in 94. The in the late 90's Bob Serva (sp) bought the company and moved it to Norwich NY. Quality was greatly improved, maybe the best under the DW name. I have a 445 from Norwich and it's a very nice piece and shoots great. CZ bought DW in January of this year. I had e-mailed CZ a few times to see if they were going to still produce the revolvers because I had heard rumors that the 1911 clones were all they were going to produce and that's all their web site shows as available. I finally got a reply about 3 weeks ago. They state that the revolvers are going to be made again. Look for them sometime after the first of the year. They also said that there were some components still available from the stock, such as barrels and shrouds. If you want barrels and shrouds I suggest that you check e-bay regularly. Sometimes you can get the barrel and shroud for less that just the shroud would cost from DW.

As far as identifying which factory made the gun it will be on the right side of the frame just above the serial number. All three of mine from the 3 different plants are marked this way.

Most DW 357's around here are from $200 to $250 for the basic gun with barrel wrench and feeler gauge depending on condition. I see barrel shroud combos go from $50 to $100 on e-bay as an average. Once in a while you will see the rare 12” and 15” barrels; they go for $400 and up!!

I was just up thru Norwich a few weeks ago and I saw the DW “plant”. Its a couple log homes with a small Morton building attached to one. On my way back thru I stopped in and rang the doorbell a few times. It was Thursday afternoon about 4 and nobody answered. I was bummed.

475/480
10-21-2005, 07:16 AM
Hi Tigger
If you ever want to sell the DW 375 I would like to buy it.

Sean

Bullshop
10-21-2005, 01:14 PM
I dont know much about these but I have one here a friend is letting me play with. He has some kind of trade in mind but as yet hasnt said what. This one is stainless about a six" but is in cal 32/20. I had never heard of a DW in this cal. What do ya know about it? If I find time I would like to work out some loads for it as I think it should do right well. I have a customer in Nome that hunts with a Freedom Arms in 32/20 and he gets great accuracy with a 115gn fngc from an NEI mold. I had a box left over from the sale of a 92 Win with 90gn loaded fairly hot for the rifle but they didnt do that good in the hand gun. There were no pressure issues just not great grouping. I think this DW will handle any loads a 92 Win will handle but may show a preferance for for loads more in the hand gun range. No matter it seems like a nice gun and fun too, very little recoil.
BIC/BS

onceabull
10-21-2005, 01:41 PM
Dan: That one you are trying out is the 4th one I've heard of,one of which is mine..I believe it will take all the pressure a sane person would put in a Win 92...GregP42 posted some of his loads in a post dated 9/20/05// Enjoy--Onceabull

Tigger
10-21-2005, 05:26 PM
475/480, I'll bet you would. :-D But I don't ever have any plans of selling it.

I have a small problem, seems I never sell a handgun, I colllect them. :-D

I have seen 375's come up on Gunbroker and AA from time to time. They usually are around $500 to $600 in price. Just make sure the dies come with the gun for that price. Redding made the dies and it's not a stock item, so I can imagine that if they made a custom set it would be "pricey".

45nut
10-21-2005, 09:12 PM
475/480, I'll bet you would. :-D But I don't ever have any plans of selling it.

I have a small problem, seems I never sell a handgun, I colllect them. :-D


And I know how that works,I am glad people DO sell guns but I won't do it myself. If I bought the gun in the first place it was because I wanted to keep it. Therefore to my flawed thinking I won't sell them later,I would just have to pay more later to replace them. I have done that a few times now. :Fire:

BD
10-23-2005, 08:25 PM
Well I bought the more local DW .357 for $300. It's a Monson MA gun and I'd put it at 99% condition, the best blueing job I own for sure. It was dirty and gummy with old oil which fits the story of the owner, "bought it 20 years ago and put one box through it and it's been in the safe ever since", and it wouldn't admit the range rod due to a small burr on the end of one land from having been cleaned from the muzzle with no guard. I cleaned it up and it's sure a beauty, although the double action trigger is stiff and somewhat stagey. I can easily hear a spring being stretched, (or compressed ?). My 744 has none of this in the trigger. I gave it a good blowing out with break cleaner and re-oiled it, but the spring noise is still there. It's like you can hear the individual coils passing by an edge or something? Sounds like it's under the side plate. I've only had the side plate off the 744 once, and I remember it being a complicated action for a revolver. Any ideas? BD

475/480
10-23-2005, 10:35 PM
[QUOTE=Tigger]475/480, I'll bet you would. :-D But I don't ever have any plans of selling it.

LOL-------Thanks

Sean

AZ Pete
10-28-2005, 12:17 PM
If anyone is interested in a Monson Mass. DW .357 (mfg. about 1976) with 4", 8" barrels, DW Target stock, Pachmeyer gripper stock, Nikon 2x scope, B-Square Mount, and original steel tools, all for $450 + shipping, please pm me. pwlibby@yahoo.com

I am not an expert at condition but I would place it in the mid 90's.

Bear4570
11-03-2005, 02:56 PM
GA# 976644472 $795.00 DAN WESSON 357 PISTOL PACK. 10",8",6",4" INCH VENT RIB BARRELS. BARREL TOOL, SPACER TOOL, EXTRA SIGHTS, EXTRA GRIPS, 3 SPEED LOADERS, ORIGINAL CASE WITH KEY. CONDITION IS 99+%. FFL REQUIRED. MONEY ORDER OR CSAHIER,S CHECK ONLY. SHIPPING AND HANDLING $45.00.

Just saw this on gunsamerica.com if anyone is interested

762cavalier
11-03-2005, 10:31 PM
I have one of the Monson Mass Dan Wessons in 357 with a 4 inch and a 6 inch barrel and I love it. great trigger pull and easy to handle. the only thing I didn't like was the factory grip. It felt too large( which is un-natural cuz I have some pretty big meat hooks) to get a handle on it. I replaced it with a hogue custom wood grip and it changed it into a whole new gun. Now even my 14 yr old son loves to load up some lead and give the wesson a workout