New Production Dan Wesson revolver

[jameslovesjammie]

Some Nice Pics http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...Item=273105412

I Want One

That is nice looking...

[GLynn41]

I have still my 1987 6" vent heaavy .41 SS DW also had an 8" 357 --blue Zebra wood-- nice--shame I do not have it -- but will not part with my .41 DW
I too would like a new gen DW -- if........
My .357 was far and away prettier than the one on gun broker-- but I like blue guns better

[bowfin]

MtGun44,

Thanks so much for the update! I was actually scouring the internet last week to see if CZ ever planned on following up with the reintroduction of the Dan Wesson revolvers!

[brassrat]

My first post, just to say that I handled the new Dan today also, so they made at least three.

[Bullwolf]

I thought that I should mention that apparently CZ USA is making new barrels and shrouds for the Dan Wesson revolvers.

It looks like there is a 4-6 week turnaround time to process orders, and they are available in either blued or stainless.

Price list is from April 2011 from Dan Wesson (CZ-USA) via email.
VH (Vent Heavy) barrel and shroud assemblies.

2.5 inch - $190.00
4 inch --- $257.00
6 inch --- $304.00
8 inch --- $374.00
10 inch -- $433.00

There is a lot of information about them over on the Dan Wesson Forums as well.

This post is just not complete without a picture of my Monson Mass. Dan Wesson stainless steel model 714 revolver, chambered in .357 Magnum, alongside the barrel take down multi-tool. It's wearing a 2.5 inch barrel/shroud combo, and a pair of Hogue rubber grips in the photograph.



Here it is it it's 6 inch format.




- Bullwolf

[MtGun44]

Good to see that there are more out there.

Bill

[Buddy]

I have owned a 744VH 8 since 1982. A Monson, Ma. jewel that puts a smile on my face every time I take it to the range. I've shot numerous whitetails over the years and could not begin to count the thousands of round I've fired through her. It now wears a Bushnell Trophy 2-6x32 sitting on a Weigand Combat mount with Weaver rings. The new Norwich, NY guns are of excellent quality. I guess it's a DW thing, you love 'em or hate 'em. I just happen to love accurate revolvers.

[Olevern]

If anybody here is more than passingly familiar with these, I have a question. Years ago I owned a blued 357 mag model with two barrels (bought used). I took it to a local gunsmith for an action job as the trigger was quite heavy and rough. Came back and results were less than acceptable. Took it to another smith and he stated that the previous smith had stoned down below the hardened portion of the sintered metal hammer/trigger, rendering those parts useless.

Now, I'm not a gunsmith or a metalurgist, so I had to take the gunsmith's word (2nd smith on account of it was clear from the results the first guy didn't know what he was doing)

I had the 2nd smith order replacement parts, and when he recommended not trying to smooth them because the hardened portion was so shallow, I gave up on it and traded it down the river.

Questions: Did this guy know what he was talking about? Were these parts sintered metal and only hard on a very shallow surface? Will the new ones have internals of milled steel?

I have had the opportunity to pick up reasonably priced .357 and 44 mag samples (older manufacture), but didn't want to risk running into the same problems.

Depending on the answers to these questions, maybe new or old Wessons deserve a second look.

thanks,
vern

[S.R.Custom]

If anybody here is more than passingly familiar with these, I have a question. Years ago I owned a blued 357 mag model with two barrels (bought used). I took it to a local gunsmith for an action job as the trigger was quite heavy and rough. Came back and results were less than acceptable. Took it to another smith and he stated that the previous smith had stoned down below the hardened portion of the sintered metal hammer/trigger, rendering those parts useless...

It's been a while since I've done a DW action, but I remember the parts as cast, not sintered. But these were Palmer and Monson guns. I don't know what CZ is using; they could very well be MIM parts. All the kids are using MIM these days.

The problem with tuning triggers on a DW is not the materials so much as the geometry of the action. In double action, the DWs "stack up" mightily, and there's nothing that can be done about it. Lightening the mainspring is really not viable because the hammer throw is so short.

What can be done is this: Polish the mating/sliding surfaces for a smoother DA pull. For single action, it's possible to take the creep out of the single action pull--if there is any--but you don't use a stone to do it. The proper way is to clamp the part in a mill and use a carbide cutter to get a sharp, square sear engagement. Done correctly, the hardening where it's needed--against the sear-- is not touched.

[Olevern]

SRC,
thanks for the info, I guess the next time I see a used DW I need to give them another chance.
Don't much like the idea of cast parts with surface hardening, but if it can be made to work....
Any recommendations for a DW pistolsmith who can do a proper action job (just to put in the file in case I find a nice one)?

[captaint]

Vern - I had some action work done on my Monson .357 many years ago. First, I sent the trigger and hammer out and got them hard chromed. This was done on recommendation of the gunsmith. Being sintered (as advertised) they're just not hard enough to work with. The smith also reduced the spring tension of the hammer some. My double action pull is now very manageable and decent. I do, however, now have to use Federal primers for absolute reliability. All said and done, I'm glad I had the work done. enjoy Mike

[mx5tc]

snip...

This post is just not complete without a picture of my Monson Mass. Dan Wesson stainless steel model 714 revolver, chambered in .357 Magnum, alongside the barrel take down multi-tool. It's wearing a 2.5 inch barrel/shroud combo, and a pair of Hogue rubber grips in the photograph.




- Bullwolf

Bullwolf,

Seeing the picture of your Monson 714 and barrel tool brought back a bad memory for me. I've got an early Monson 15-2 .357 (161XXX SN) that came with the original all metal multi-tool. I returned the revolver (with tool) to Dan Wesson in the mid 1980's for servicing and it was returned to me (functioning nicely) with the second generation plastic handled multi-tool! Maybe one of these days I'll find another early Monson multi-tool.

[Bullwolf]

Bullwolf,

Seeing the picture of your Monson 714 and barrel tool brought back a bad memory for me. I've got an early Monson 15-2 .357 (161XXX SN) that came with the original all metal multi-tool. I returned the revolver (with tool) to Dan Wesson in the mid 1980's for servicing and it was returned to me (functioning nicely) with the second generation plastic handled multi-tool! Maybe one of these days I'll find another early Monson multi-tool.

Sorry to hear about your loss. It's not fun to have something up and disappear like that. I might have some replacement suggestions for you however.

EWK Arms makes a modern metal, and very durable looking Dan Wesson barrel tool for $23. They also make a lot of other very interesting Dan Wesson parts and accessories.



The EWK Arms barrel wrench for the Dan Wesson small frame revolvers. Includes pilots for .357/.38, and .22 calibers. The great feature of our interchangeable aluminum pilots is you aren't wearing out your barrel everytime you use the wrench...a steel pilot in your barrel bore is not a good thing!

The wrench is precision machined out of hardened alloy steel, with a hot blued finish. Take care of your Dan Wesson with a well made tool! Made in the USA!

For more information feel free to visit the website.
http://www.ewkarms.com/index.htm

You can occasionally find original Dan Wesson barrel multi-tools on Gunbroker as well. Often folks there are looking for original parts to build, or re-create a pistol pac with though, and they go for a premium.

I suspect the EWK tool is much more durable than the old plastic one that I had pictured, and if you buy into the marketing hype, it also won't damage the muzzle end of your barrel like the original metal ones supposedly could do.

It's probably a better purchase, as well as a less expensive one, than shopping for an original barrel wrench. If I ever need to pick up another barrel tool, I will most likely be buying the EWK Arms one, as I have heard very good things about it from others.




- Bullwolf

[mx5tc]

Bulwolf,

Thanks for the suggestion on the new all metal tool! If I get that, I won't be muttering under my breath every time I take the barrel off the gun.

Mitch

[fatelk]

My first revolver was a DW 15-2 with a 15" barrel. I wish I had kept it.

Before I sold the gun I decided the barrel was too long. I traded the 15" barrel to a gunsmith, along with about $70 (as I recall), for a more manageable 6" barrel. The gunsmith told me that nobody wanted the 15" target barrel and he was doing me a favor taking it off my hands. I was young and stupid.

[Bullwolf]

My first revolver was a DW 15-2 with a 15" barrel. I wish I had kept it.

Before I sold the gun I decided the barrel was too long. I traded the 15" barrel to a gunsmith, along with about $70 (as I recall), for a more manageable 6" barrel. The gunsmith told me that nobody wanted the 15" target barrel and he was doing me a favor taking it off my hands. I was young and stupid.

If it had been me, I would have probably have put a 4", or a 6" barrel on the gun, or maybe even a 8" or a 10" if I was planning on putting a scope on it. Then I could have just stashed the original 15 inch barrel in the back of the gun safe.

From what I have seen the 15" barrels are going for a real premium now. It seems that currently Dan Wesson / CZ USA will not make you a new 15" barrel. So of course, now that they are super rare, they have become even more desirable, and expensive.

At least it looks like CZ is showing some interest in the revolvers again, and making parts for them as well. Maybe in the not so distant future they will offer a modern Dan Wesson pistol pack as well.

If I knew back then, what I know now... I would have definitely squirreled away a few stainless and blued steel 10",12" and 15 inch barrels, and I would have bought a pistol pack or 2, as well as a hunter pack for myself.

/sigh

Oh well, they say hindsight is always 20/20.


- Bullwolf

[MtGun44]

Sintered is a BS term in this situation. It is like folks saying "Oh, yeah, that part is
old, it 'crystalized' and got brittle." Total malarky. It is possible that the parts were
MIM, but I doubt it in that era. MIM is metal injection molding and some ignorant people
might call it sintering, but it is not. Most S&W internal parts today are MIM and are very
high quality. I personally am not to thrilled by the mold lines and ejector pin marks, but
the functionality, consistency and quality has never been higher for S&W parts, according
to a friend that is a REAL S&W expert.

Lots of gun parts are surface hardened and if you do file or grind through the few thousandths
of hard metal, you can be in a wearing rapidly situation. Anybody that knows what they
are doing can re-surface harden the part, though. If too much metal is taken off of some
tiny internal parts it is usually not practical to reuse them and they need to be replaced. If no
new parts are available, it is sometimes possible to weld and recut but this is not easy.

A lot of "gunsmiths" are just parts changers, like many that call themselves "mechanics"
are just parts changers. A real gunsmith can do a whole lot more, and many that
use the title are not.

Bill

[Bwana]

Bullwolf,

Thanks for the link to EWK Arms. I'll be ordering from them tomorrow.

[mx5tc]

...snip

Lots of gun parts are surface hardened and if you do file or grind through the few thousandths
of hard metal, you can be in a wearing rapidly situation. Anybody that knows what they
are doing can re-surface harden the part, though. If too much metal is taken off of some
tiny internal parts it is usually not practical to reuse them and they need to be replaced. If no
new parts are available, it is sometimes possible to weld and recut but this is not easy.

Bill

+1, I've been reading Jerry Kuhnhausen's "The S&W Revolver" for the last few evenings (have a Rossi M68 project I need to finish up) and he specifically warns to not touch particular surface hardened parts (e.g., hammer rebound seat).

[BD]

I own a Monson 15 and a Palmer/Norwich transition 744. i wouldn't care to give up either of them. In my experience, limited to those two revolvers, an DW trigger/action job consists of smoothing the sides of the moving parts and adjacent frame recesses. Nothing more really to be done for the double action pull, and the single action pull is top notch. Not much of a hardness issue involved, and none relative to the release surfaces. My M15 had an issue with insufficient firing pin protrusion when I bought it. It caused light hits and it took me a while to figure out as I was so focused on springs that I missed the protrusion issue at first. Throwing all the light hit duds in a box finally clued me in as they were are Rem brass. The rims turned out to be a couple thou thinner than the Win brass. I took a little off the face of the washer prtion of the FP and cured it.
BD