Dan Wesson Revolvers???

[NSP64]

Did they go out of business then reappear? I saw a new one at the GS yesterday and it looked nice. 44 Mag 6 & 8" barrels for $600.

[c3d4b2]

Here is a link with some info.

http://www.shootingtimes.com/handgun_reviews/wesson_041306/

[NSP64]

thanks for the link, is there any way to tell the difference between old and new ie. serial #'s or factory address?

[c3d4b2]

I do not know for sure. My guess is that CZ will have their name on the firearm someplace.

Here is a link to an online catalog that may or may not help.

http://cz-usa.com/data/downloads/common/CZUSA%20Catalog%2007.pdf

[S.R.Custom]

Here is a link with some info.

http://www.shootingtimes.com/handgun_reviews/wesson_041306/

I think that's an old article. I see nothing on the CZ website that would indicate a new crop of revolvers is coming any time soon..

http://www.cz-usa.com/media_releases.php


I do not know for sure. My guess is that CZ will have their name on the firearm someplace.

Here is a link to an online catalog that may or may not help.

http://cz-usa.com/data/downloads/common/CZUSA%20Catalog%2007.pdf

2007 was the last time DW revolvers showed up in the CZ lineup. They first appeared in '06 when CZ acquired DW in '05/'06, but were quietly dropped when sales didn't amount to anything.

Interesting article, though. Not because of the, err, 'return' of Dan Wesson, but because Mr. Metcalf chooses to perpetuate the longest running, uncontested stream of snake-oil propaganda in firearms history... I'm speaking of the "barrel under tension makes for better accuracy" meme. If this were true, rifles with their long, whippy, unrestrained barrels would be the most dismal means ever by which to launch a chunk of lead, and we know that not to be true at all. If it were, all the hot benchrest shooters would be screwing their barrels from both ends. No, the reasons for Dan Wesson's long-range accuracy lie elsewhere:

(1) As mentioned in the article, DWs have a front lock-up on the crane. It does keep the cylinder in position during firing. And if properly fitted, the front latch assures that the cylinder is closed tightly to begin with, something any serious S&W shooter with a bent ejector rod can appreciate the need for.

(2) Better tolerancing. I've owned and shot many DWs over the years, and their attention to critical dimensions --groove diameter and cylinder throat size-- has been much better than their mass-produced counterparts. Fit & finish, on the other hand, haven't always been up to par, but the critical dimensions have been there. In their .44s and .445s, I've yet to see one that had a groove diameter larger than .430". Ruger and S&W, by contrast, have routinely punched out barrels with groove diameters of .432" or more.

(3) But perhaps the one thing that accounts most for DW accuracy is something I've never seen mentioned in the Gun Rag Media... Lock time. Dan Wessons have the shortest, fastest, single action hammer throws in the business. The geometry of the action allows DW to use a really stiff main spring, and this in conjunction with the really short hammer throw allows very little time for you, the shooter, to pull the gun off target as the hammer is falling. (Ruger BlackHawks, by contrast, are the very worst, and S&Ws with their 'dead spot at full cock' flat springs come in at a close second.)

[9.3X62AL]

Super Mag--

Placing all those facts into one post will give you a reputation as a trouble-making rabble-rouser. Be careful with that. :)

[S.R.Custom]

I've been that way since I was six. I'm used to it. :mrgreen:

[NSP64]

went back and looked @ it again. It is from 1983. still thinking about it[smilie=1:

[yarro]

I long for a .375 Super Mag. I was offered one years ago, but was in college and broke. He let me shoot it though. Before DW went kaput, the quality went down hill according to my buddy who has several of them so purchasing old ones requires a good looking over.

-yarro

[BD]

The guns manufactured in Monson, Mass during the years that the Wesson family owned the company are well regarded, and have some of the best bluing I've ever seen. I own a Monson M-15 and it's a beauty.

The guns manufactured in Palmer Mass are not well regarded and may have tolerance issues. I think that 1983 was the last year for the Palmer, Mass plant.

The guns manufactured in the Norwich plant are CNC milled and are very highly regarded. I own a "transition" Model 744 which is a Norwich frame, lock and barrel with a Palmer cylinder. While the cylinder throats were a consistent .430, the reamer had been in to a different depth in each chamber, making for a tough time seating Boolits of .431 I sent it back to the custom shop with $50 and several of my 265 grain WFNs and they custom throated the cylinder to fit my boolits.

That gun shoots way better than I can hold, and I've killed a pickup truck load of game with it. One of my all time favorite hunting companions.

BD

[Mohillbilly]

They shoot real good,as good or a hair better than my superredhwk.The only complaint was I had a bubba'ed cylinder and it took over a year to get it fixed. I was worried they'd go under again before I got it back...... I was told by a co worker before I got mine, that "Dan Wessons were made to tear Smith & Wesson a new one"

[missionary5155]

Greetings
I have 3 Monsens (357 375SM & 41 ) and they will be the last revolvers I loosen my grip on.
I will have to note the more torque I put on the barrel nut the better all 3 shoot. It might be an interesting experiment to design a nut that could really be torqued and see where the trade off between torque and increased accuracy lies.
It was a sad day when CZ dropped the best of what they bought.
Mike.. Now in Illinois

[cajun shooter]

The early model Dan Wesson revolvers were top notch in every way but one. Looks!!! The front barrel nut, cylinder latch, and grip frame were not something that most people liked. It was the Edsel of the gun world. I was working in a gun store when they first came out and it was not many people who could look beyond the looks and just feel the gun. Supermag, I never saw a Dan Wesson on any firing line for a PPC match. Lock time is inportant but there are other factors. Been to several S&W schools at the factory and the S&W is a hand fitted gun from the get go. Like everything else in this world, it depends on the hands and staff that is doing the building. Later David

[S.R.Custom]

...I never saw a Dan Wesson on any firing line for a PPC match. Lock time is inportant but there are other factors...

No argument here. You won't find Dan Wessons --being competitive, anyway-- on the firing line at pin or plate matches, either. (You'll note that in my original post about lock time, I was making specific reference to single action operation.) The very feature that makes DWs so nice to fire single action makes them dismal performers in any situation that requires high speed, double action operation. The geometry in the action of the DW that makes for the short, quick single action also makes for a very heavy, progressive double action pull; the buggers stack up like nothing else I've seen. In this respect the Smiths & Colts are vastly superior.

Like anything else, it goes to application. If you're looking to drop heavy steel plate at 200 meters or make a reliable hit on game at the outer limits of your caliber, the Dan Wesson is your gun. On the other hand, if you're all about the requirements of the personal defense game, your best choices lie elsewhere.