Dan Wesson vs Smith & Wesson

I have both a 2.5" 19-4 and a 3" fixed barrel Dan Wesson model 15 357. They fit the same holsters and use the same speed loaders. The Dan Wesson is better set up for speed loaders and is stronger than a K frame Smith for 357 use. Triggers are about equal, the finishes of both are great. I wouldn't part with either.

Had one of the very early 41's, was a VH8, Timing was off and bluing was not good at all, was a grayish color in places. Sent it back and it came back marginally better, sent it back again, came back with the very best SA trigger I ever felt. Kept it for years, just to heavy for hunting carry. Sold it to afford a 657 Hunter. Wish the trigger had stayed behind ...

I have both an M-12 w/extra barrels and shrouds and an M-15 Pistol Pac.
Both shoot better than I can most of the time. Because of its several changes of ownership Dan Wesson has been a little erratic on the quality control.

I Got a stainless 4 inch V15 for 275 bucks from an old gunsmith just because it looked like a colt python

Filered2 2028.jpg - imfdb :. guns in movies :. movie guns :. the internet movie firearms database

which goes for some insane prices nowadays in MA and it was hell of a deal despite them putting the dan wesson markings on slightly sideways on the frame.

but it turns out he didnt notice it had a broken rear sight, hence its price probably. He fixed it and it shoot's well now and I got some aftermarket packmyer presentation grips for it.

but the thing about it is the trigger is rigged up in such a way that after a little bit of snap cap practice your trigger finger starts to feel fatigue while I dont have that happen on any of the other smith revolvers.

I dont know what it is that makes it do that, maybe its the angle of the trigger or something but its really quite odd and it throws me off.

other than that its got a nice smooth trigger and its never really bothered me on a one box range session but it just seems too heavy because of that and after learning that it was just the 19-5's with a bad barrel run and ONLY the 1500 fps+ 125 grain magnum loads that caused the forcing cone problem with the 19 (along with a ruger GP101, python and it probably beat the hell out of the 27 as well) so I'd say the 19 is far superior to it in feel and trigger

hell its the only smith and wesson revolver I'd ever buy with the stock grips on it, it fits me that well even with those slipery checker in the middle only grips they had in the 70's onwards.

plus 4' inch 357 magnums are just cool and its damn near just about the right balance for alot of people me included.

I think Dan wessons are more accurate than s&w's but fit and finish wise the Dan Wesson cannot touch s&w.

Had a DW Pistol-Pac many years ago with 2 1/2 , 4 , 6 & 8in barrels. Can't say a bad word about the quality/finish/accuracy. Had a real crisp S/A trigger pull , and a very short D/A pull. The interchangable barrels and grips was quite a novelty back in the day. Kinda like a Mr. Potatohead. Always wanted to get one of the longer (10/12/15in) barrels. Sold it to a friend when I bought my Python. He still has it and has taken several whitetail with the 8in barrel and a scope mounted. It seemed to favor the American Eagle 158gr JSP.

I have 4 DW revolvers...2 x .44s and 2 x ,357s. They are all excellent guns, great shooters, and quite nicely finished and attractive, IMO. I have 2 barrels for each of mine, and I like the ability to tailor the barrel length to my intended purpose for the gun for that day. I realize that DWs, over the years, have had some spotty QC, but I've only bought the Monson produced versions, and I've seen no quality issues with any of mine.

Would I say they are "superior" to my S&Ws? No...just different. I believe for .357, I might stick with the S&W...for the .44s, I would have trouble picking one over the other.

Tim

I traded a Dan Wesson 15 .357 even up for a 66-7 recently and was happy.

I did keep a beat up looking 4" fixed sight .357 Dan Wesson (Model 14?) that I got for like $250 because I thought it looked cool, looks like it was a PD or security gun. The timing is off and the hex screws are stripped so I can't even get the sideplate off to fix it.......I've had it for a year and never even fired it, someday I'll have a gunsmith work on it. I may just have CZ tune it up at some point. The gun is tight and doesn't seem to have been fired much, timing was probably off from the factory. I'm not really a DW fan, but I needed a DW fixed sight service revolver for my "trade in" collection I don't think I would buy any more DW's, I don't like the fact that in full lockup, you can grab the cylinder and rotate it without much force at all. My Model 15 was like new and it still did this.......

DW's have little resale value and the common Model 15's are all over gun shows for $300 or so, and no one is clamoring for them.

The only Dan Wesson I've owned was a .44mag with 3 barrels and it shot like a laser with any barrel. I'm unsure of the year but the fit and finish was as nice as any S&W I've owned.

As others have said, my DW's have been accurate. Scary accurate. They are well made and I have not had any problems with mine.

The tensioned barrel setup and the front lockup aids in the accuracy overall.

Now saying they are better than an S&W is another kettle of fish. Head to head accuracy? Probably they are. Head to head better fit and finish? Depends on the individual specimen. DW's quality control was quite random at times so one could be great and the next is pass it by. S&W's was more consistent.

Now if you take say a DW Monson 44 mag and put it to a S&W 29, the DW will take it on accuracy, on flexibility and maybe on finish. The S&W will take it on accessories, ease of handing and handiness.

What matters to you the most?

I own both S&W's and DW's, .44 mags and .357 mags, happy with both. The DW's can be a bit spotty depending one where and when they were built, the Monson Mass. guns being the best. Don't know about the new CZ guns, but the factory has a good reputation on other guns.
From a rest or a machine rest the DW's are more accurate, the .44 will do 3" groups all day long at 100 yards, the .357 similar results. My brother has a .41 mag DW that may be the most accurate big bore handgun I have ever seen, consistent 2" groups at 100 yards.
If you find one at a gun show give it a careful inspection, they can be a bargain.

The cylinder latch is very difficult for a lefty to manipulate had a 15 and could not sell it fast enough way to many small parts and a terrible double action trigger. My buddy has a couple and loves them!!

I do not know why you would ask that question here, because most answers will bw swayed towards the S&W. Lets just say I've shot both and this is the one I still have.

DW-744V STAINLESS

I Have a DW 744V Stainless dual barrel MAGNAPORTED. That I bought Dec 23rd. 1982. As my 8" hunter. I still have it today, and it is more accurate than my 9" Super Redhawk, And My 629 classic. At 100 yrds it is a tack driver. All I hunt with are the guns I noted above. The DW&superredhawk. are scoped for long shots. I am getting OLD ARMS and EYES the heavy ones are used from stands with gun mounts. The 629 is lasered and bore sighted in at 70yrds. I LOVE MY DW. It is a very low serial numbered MONSON SB00109x

PA Reb said:

The ONLY DW I ever owned was a .357 purchased back in about late 1975 or early 1976. The very first time I pulled the hammer back in single action, the gun went off BEFORE the chamber was lined up properly with the barrel (no finger was on the trigger). Needless to say ..........! As far as I'm concerned, they were junk then and they still are.

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So one issue with one gun makes you hate the entire brand?

I have a DW 15-2 and a bunch of S&W's. The Dan Wesson's are an interesting revolver and every bit as accurate as their reputation states.

However, the double action trigger in the Dan Wesson stacks A LOT. When I purchase my 15-2 it had been "tuned" with a lighter than standard Wolff mainspring to a DA trigger pull of 11.5 lbs. at the stacking point and it was misfiring 50% of the time with Federal primers. After installing a new factory strength mainspring the ignition is reliable but stacks up to about 14 lbs. I've already done a lot of polishing on the DA sear surfaces and an slowly cutting coils of the mainspring but do NOT think it possible to get the DA trigger under 12.5 lbs and have reliable ignition. It also takes a LOT of effort to cock the hammer for single action shooting.

To be blunt, there is NO COMPARISON between the Double Action trigger on a S&W and the Dan Wesson. Anyone who claims to have a Dan Wesson with an 8 lbs. DA trigger either doesn't fire live ammo or they have never actually measured their trigger.

BTW, the most effective work around for the stacking on the DW is a strong and rapid trigger pull. Do that and you can get through the stacking point without really noticing how heavy it gets. Try and stage the DA trigger on a DW and you'll probably end up with your hand starting to shake due to the effort.

Now, the good news is the single action triggers are about the same, good crisp break with a weight in the 3-4 lbs. range. BTW, I've tuned all my S&W's to break at 3.0 lbs. and the DW is 3 lbs. 2 ounces, so nearly a complete match. Another plus for the DW is the Target grip is distinctly on the large side and makes shooting full house 357 Magnums feel a bit like +P in a S&W.

So, is the Dan Wesson a better made revolver. Not really, in terms of machining and finish quality they were about equal when DW was at their peak. When DW fell on hard times financially they weren't even close to a S&W.

However, the Dan Wesson was clearly way ahead of the times in terms of innovative Engineering. They started in the late 60's and it's only been in the past 10 years or so that S&W has started using tensioned barrels. As for the Crane Lock on the DW, it was 2014 before S&W started using a ball detent crane again and the still don't have the end shake resistance of the Dan Wesson. Finally, S&W still doesn't offer a revolver with interchangeable barrels or a tunable B/C gap. So S&W still hasn't quite caught up to some aspects of the Dan Wesson. The shame on Dan Wesson is that they chose to use a coil mainspring instead of designing their lockwork to use a leaf type mainspring.

To me the Colt, the Ruger and S&W are the tops in manufacture of revolvers. To me and with my very stout reloads the Rugers have eaten everything. My colt python hung in there too. I'm sure the s&w will handle
the near max loads too.

I purchased my misses a Taurus m96 22lr revolver that's been awesome so far. I never owned a Dan wesson yet. Can they be compared to the top three manufacturers? I'm looking to you gurus for that answer.

I have a Colt Trooper MK III, S&W 66-2, S&W M19, Ruger Security Six, and a DW 15-2V. I love them all and shoot them all regularly. They are all accurate since I adjust sights until they are correct. Drives me crazy to have a gun that is not accurate and sighted in. I have only had the Smiths for about a year and the Dan about the same amount of time. I wanted a Dan since 1979 when I purchased the Colt and passed on the Dan. The Dan is very accurate, smooth and a very nice handling gun with the 6" barrel. I took my brothers out to shoot them all and they loved the feel of the Dan. The 66 is very nice as well but overall I would have to go with my Dan but there can be so much difference between one hand gun and another of the same model. Smiths are pretty hard to beat for their overall consistency, something the Dans are missing.
The DW's are getting harder to find in good condition and bring a premium. I am a few years to late to this party.

The first handgun I bought was a Dan Wesson 6 inch .357. It shot very well and I did not have any issues with it. I wish I still had it and the Model 19-4 4 inch I had at one time.

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