Dan Wesson Arms opinions (.44Mag)

[mtnman31]

I am looking at getting my first 44 Mag revolver. While I would love a Freedom Arms, I have too many other projects to justify the cost.

I would like to get some opinions (good and bad) of the Dan Wesson pistols. I really like the ability to change barrels and they look like they have a very stout frame. While I like the massive frame of the Ruger Redhawk, I personally can't stand the look of the revolver (yes, I know that aesthetics take a back seat to performance and function). How do the Dan Wesson revolvers stack up against the Rugers, Smiths and other more commonly seen 44 frames? My priorities are - resonably priced, strength, and accuracy potential. Stainless or blued, makes no difference.

Thanks in advance for your input and opinions.

[DanOH]

I bought one in 1981. Still have it. But I gotta warn you, the cylinder got a little sloppy after
about 15,000 full house rounds. Sent the thing back about 4-5 years ago to whoever it was that owned DW at the time (not CZ). They worked it over good as new. As I recall the cylinder hand (?) thingy also had to be replaced, wasn't fully rotating to lock up.
The single action trigger is beautiful...double action is heavy but smooth.
More accurate than me, especially with the full tilt magnum loads. Strong but subject to wear.

[missionary5155]

Greetings
I have Dans in 357 mag, 41 mag, and 375 Supermag. Goona put together a 41 Supermag when I return up NORTH soon. I am very opinionated about them but that comes from competing with them in my hand and winning at steel shooting.
The Monsen Dans are fine shooting tools. Many may be wore out by now BUT if you can get a NITB or shot little you will most likely have a 1st rate 44. The NORWALK and CZ are good shooters also from what I read. The changable barrel assemble gives you the versttility to play with cylinder gap (all mine shoot best set at minimum .001) but also you can increase barrel tension with the front nut and play with harmonics and find that sweet tension point.
I would shoot my 41 mag against ANY other revolver out there. I did in IHMSA and won the Illinois AAA class 1984. If I could have double entered I would have won Revolver International with my score.
The Smiths fall apart in steel shooting. I own a S&W m57 41 mag and it is a nice revolver but they do not take the constant mag pounding and go loose. I knew 2 fellers that bought 10 Ruger 44 mags yearly and kept the 2 best shooters for matches and 2 for practice. The other 6 were regects. I own numerous 41 mag Rugers and they will not shoot as well as my Dan. My 41 mag S&W m57 will not shoot as well as my Dan.
But Dan Wesson Revolvers were the winninest Revolvers in steel shooting and still give the $1300+ revolvers tough competition.
Me I would not hessitate to buy a Dan 44 EXCEPT.. I personally like 41 mag 10x´s more.
Mike in Peru

[Kraschenbirn]

Dunno 'bout the later production guns but the older models (say, pre-1992 or so) locked up like a bank vault and were Hell for stout. At various times I've owned three of their large-frame (.41/.44/.445 etc.) revolvers; two in stainless and one in blue. I shot IHMSA with a stainless .41 Mag for several years and it only went back to the factory once for retiming...after something over 6000 rounds of full-house silhouette loads... and was still tight and accurate when I sold it 4 or 5000 rounds later. Didn't keep my stainless .44 long enough to really pass judgement on its durability but it shot every bit as well as the .41. However, a buddy still shoots one he bought in the late 1980s.

From a practical standpoint, an M744 in good condition is probably as strong and durable as any .44 Mag revolver out there. (Note that I say "good condition" 'cause many of the used DWs out there have been someone's sillywhet gun and possibly shot any number of "borderline insanity" loads.)

Bill

[fourarmed]

MTNMAN, missionary's advice is good. The big frame DWs are massive guns. For silhouette, the 10" ones can be excellent (I too prefer the .41s.) but they are a lot of gun for regular holster use. If you are going to be packing it around a lot, and not always with full power loads, a M29 or Ruger SBH are much more svelte.

[BD]

I own a Monson .357, and a Norwalk 744. The monson gun is a beauty, and very accurate. The 744 had some chamber depth issues when I bought it. I sent it in to the DW shop along with a few of my favorite 265 grain WFNs and for $50 it came back with all chambers identical and perfectly throated for my boolits. They both shoot way better than I can hold.

I've killed a fair amount of stuff with the 744. I'll never let it go.

BD

[DanOH]

I think I should amend my earlier post about my DW 44 that I gave and give the disclaimer
that it WAS my 1st centerfire handgun. I was 20 years old and the gun handling training that I had received from my dad was focused on shotgun and 22 rifle for hunting. He didn't care for handguns and I didn't have a clue.
Some of the slop in the cylinder was surely from the abuse of tv inspired gun handling...I cringe at the thought and were I confess them here i might be banned from this forum. I'll just say that the fact that the gun was ALWAYS accurate dispite my youth/stupidity is testimony enough to the strength of the gun. If you can get one, buy it. I'll never sell mine though.

[dubber123]

I'm not sure under what owner my brothers SS .44 was made, but it was a lemon out of the box. It was a ported barrel model, and looking down the bore, it looked like they just Black and Deckered the ports in the barrel, visible metal intrusion into the bore. It shaved jacketed material off so fast, 100 rounds FILLED the sleeve full of jacket material, and required both of us to remove it. Barrel replaced with a non ported.

3 sets of factory wood grips broke while shooting, replaced with Pachmayers. Action never locked up right, (still doesn't, even after 3 trips back). The locating pin for the shroud was drilled in the wrong location, leaving the shroud tipped off to the side, requiring a noticeable amount of windage adjustment to center.

Accuracy is OK, but nothing to shout about, 2" or so at 50 yds. (scoped). Many people rave about Dan wessons, but this being the first I ever handled, has kept me from ever buying one. Check it out VERY well before plunking down the cash.

[44man]

I'm not sure under what owner my brothers SS .44 was made, but it was a lemon out of the box. It was a ported barrel model, and looking down the bore, it looked like they just Black and Deckered the ports in the barrel, visible metal intrusion into the bore. It shaved jacketed material off so fast, 100 rounds FILLED the sleeve full of jacket material, and required both of us to remove it. Barrel replaced with a non ported.

3 sets of factory wood grips broke while shooting, replaced with Pachmayers. Action never locked up right, (still doesn't, even after 3 trips back). The locating pin for the shroud was drilled in the wrong location, leaving the shroud tipped off to the side, requiring a noticeable amount of windage adjustment to center.

Accuracy is OK, but nothing to shout about, 2" or so at 50 yds. (scoped). Many people rave about Dan wessons, but this being the first I ever handled, has kept me from ever buying one. Check it out VERY well before plunking down the cash.
Very true, DW went through too many owner changes. Some years they were as perfect and accurate as a gun can be but they made a lot of BAD guns too when taken over by people that were more concerned with a fast profit. I bought a bad one and seen many at IHMSA shoots. Barrels pointed sideways, internal parts that did not work and cylinder fronts that wobbled changing the gap for every shot.
I have no idea how they are now but they earned a bad rep. They are also a HUGE gun.
My friend has a DW .45 auto that is PERFECTION but I do not know when it was made. I shot several 1/2" groups with it at 50 yd's.
Any gun will wear if treated badly but my SRH has just passed 59,000 heavy loads and shows NO wear except some sandblasting of the forcing cone. Someday I will set the barrel back.
One friends .44 Ruger Hunter is shooting 1/2" groups at 50 yd's so if I were to buy another .44, that is the one I would buy. Or another SBH.
Since you don't like the SRH, you are missing out on a great gun. I was shooting coke cans at 200 yd's with mine. My friend talked me out of it because I needed money for a BFR. He sits in my ladder stand and punches the center out of targets----But he can NEVER hit a deer, missing by 10 FEET. :mrgreen: Buck fever in the extreme. :Fire:
I would love to have video's of his hunts, you guys would laugh like mad. :drinks:

[Irascible]

For the price, and if you can put up with a long 10 1/2" barrel, the Ruger silhouette model is great. The Freedom Arms is better but 3 times the price. I have 2 Dan Wesson silhouette guns a 10" 22 and a 10" 44 mag both are Munson guns and not the greatest but not at all bad either. The later guns were better made. They are not as accurate as a Freedom Arms, but more accurate than most S&Ws. Probably on par with the Ruger Silhouette model. The 10" gun also has a 6" brl and 2 shrouds, one with a 2X Leupold and the other with open sights. This gun is quite old and is starting to develop the sloppy cylinder and needs to go back to the factory but it has 20+ years of silhouette matches with a least 7 matches per year. Also 2 Whitetails and a Boar. I bought it from Elgin Gates in the early IHMSA years and it has my IHMSA membership number as a serial number. Yes they are big revolvers, but very comfortable to shoot and they have very strong frames.

[Four Fingers of Death]

It's funny how tastes are different, I would have said the Wessons are generally fine pistols if you can stand the dorky looks :)

My mate was very fond of them and he used to sell a lot as a club armourer/gun dealer. He sold one in 357 to a guy and it had a lot of problems. After a few goes at trying to get it right, he offered the guy a refund or a new pistol, he didn't want to muddy the water with a bad deal so he took it back. They guy ended up buying a 586 off him with the money and went away happy and is still buying guns off him.

My mate tried everything to get that one going and eventually put it under the drop saw and cut it in half and then handed it into the cops. he was jack of it but didn't want to sell it off to someone and have them bad mouthing him. He wasn't perturbed, he said he had sold over a hundred new Wessons without problems and would continuse to sell and promote them, which he did. You occasionally have a gun like this. I have a new Uberti 1873 which I have only managed to get about 30 shots out of it so far. It has had a trip back to the shop who sold it and another gunsmith who is also a well respected cowboy gunsmith so far without resolving the problem. it will usually fire 6 out of 10 rounds in the mag. I'm just about to drop saw it as well.

[Three44s]

I have two Monson guns ........ a 41VH in 6" ..... and a .22 Lr .... also 6".

I have opperated on the notion that the Monson guns were the best.

Three 44s

[69daytona]

I bought my Dan Wesson 44mag pistol pac back in 88 and have more than 18,000 rounds through it mostly heavy stuff and its still good as new, very good single action and nice light double action thats smooth as can be. I had a Smith and Wesson model 29 but it couldnt handle heavy loads, 1500 and the timing was gone. would love to find a 4" heavy barrel shroud and barrel for it and a 10 or 12" if anyone has one let me know.

[44man]

For any of you Dan Wesson owners that have trouble getting the barrel nut loose, do this.
Find a piece of hose and a funnel so you can put the hose in the forcing cone and the funnel on the other end. Pour boiling water through the bore and the nut will just spin right off.

[runnin lead]

I had a a Red Hawk, good shooting gun ,this forum won't let me properly describe Ruger sights.At the time IHMSA would only let you use sights that were available from the factory(never thought that was a good rule) sold the Red Hawk & bought a DW ,The only complaint that I have about the DW is the trigerguard was a little bit tough on my bird after 40 rounds

[rockrat]

Have one of the 445super mags I bought about '88 and a 22 silhouette model. Both would shoot better than I could. Friend had a 44mag that would shoot rings around most other guns. Once he got older , he quit shooting it and sold it to another friend somewhat younger. He put loads thru it that would probably cause a Smith to come unglued, but it shot like a house afire and he won many an IHMSA revolver trophy with that gun.

[Trey45]

I have a DW 357, I have no idea which model it is. Came with 3 barrels, 4 sets of grips, a boatload of front sights, all sorts of allen wrenches, a barrel wrench, soft zippered case, and 500 pcs ofonce fvired brass, got it last year for $200 bucks. It shoots like a dream, but i can't get the barrel nut to come off, tried everything short of explosives. Luckily the 4" barrel is the one that's on it, and that's the one i like to shoot with, so really not a big deal. I may send it in to CZUSA.

[44man]

I have a DW 357, I have no idea which model it is. Came with 3 barrels, 4 sets of grips, a boatload of front sights, all sorts of allen wrenches, a barrel wrench, soft zippered case, and 500 pcs ofonce fvired brass, got it last year for $200 bucks. It shoots like a dream, but i can't get the barrel nut to come off, tried everything short of explosives. Luckily the 4" barrel is the one that's on it, and that's the one i like to shoot with, so really not a big deal. I may send it in to CZUSA.
Read back up a little, I told you how to remove the nut. How did you miss it? :(

[Stick_man]

I have a DW in .357mag and absolutely love it. I replaced the factory wood grip with some Pacmyers and that made it even better. Have a 6" barrel on it (99+% of my shooting) and have a 2 1/2" barrel that is in pretty sad shape due to neglect. Would like to find a 4" and maybe even an 8" barrel for it.

I have tried the Rugers and Smith's, but have never managed to keep interested in any of them. They all end up being short-timers in my posession. The DW is the only DA revolver I have kept for more than a few months.

I'd give them a "thumbs up".

[Four Fingers of Death]

I used to shoot my friend's 445 SuperMag. What a hoot!

[Trey45]

Read back up a little, I told you how to remove the nut. How did you miss it? :(


If that suggestion actually worked, the nut wouldn't still be stuck now would it.....
Old section of heater hose, perfect inside diameter to fit the outside diameter of the forcing cone, household funnel, LARGE pot of water brought to a boil and poured through this contraption, soft jaws inserted into bench vise and grip removed from pistol, clamped grip stud in vise, applied wrench to barrel nut while entire thing was still boiling water hot. Not even a budge.

I have tried liquid wrench, map gas torch to heat it, allthread rod with 4 washers and 4 nuts, every suggestion I have found on the net, nothing has worked. I've never been able to change barrels, it came with the 4" installed, that's what's on it now, the other 2 barrels have never been used in this pistol as far as I know.


When I called CZUSA last year to see what they could suggest, I was quoted a flat rate price or removing the barrel nut, seems this is a common enough issue they have a flat rate charge for the repair.

[44man]

If that suggestion actually worked, the nut wouldn't still be stuck now would it.....
Old section of heater hose, perfect inside diameter to fit the outside diameter of the forcing cone, household funnel, LARGE pot of water brought to a boil and poured through this contraption, soft jaws inserted into bench vise and grip removed from pistol, clamped grip stud in vise, applied wrench to barrel nut while entire thing was still boiling water hot. Not even a budge.

I have tried liquid wrench, map gas torch to heat it, allthread rod with 4 washers and 4 nuts, every suggestion I have found on the net, nothing has worked. I've never been able to change barrels, it came with the 4" installed, that's what's on it now, the other 2 barrels have never been used in this pistol as far as I know.


When I called CZUSA last year to see what they could suggest, I was quoted a flat rate price or removing the barrel nut, seems this is a common enough issue they have a flat rate charge for the repair.
Very strange that boiling water would not expand the barrel enough.
What it sounds like is someone shot it until it got very hot, then tightened the nut more. When you try and heat the nut you are just expanding the shroud and making it tighter.
Try this; Put the gun in the freezer for a few hours or overnight. Have the boiling water ready before taking out the gun. Quickly set up and pour a lot of boiling water through the barrel.
You can also wrap a towel around the shroud with dry ice against the shroud before the hot water.