I also wanted to mention that the gun is ported. On top just behind the front sight on either side there are vent holes. I just do not understand the changeable barrel with this model. Being it shoots 44 mag and of course 44 special how would changing only the barrel allow you to shoot a different caliber?? Cylinder change too?? The gun is very beefy which I think for 44 it will allow me to shoot well. So what changes can be made to a heavy ported 44?
Congratulations on your new Dan Wesson Model 44
You got a Very good deal on a fine revolver.
Dan Wessons are not multi-caliber guns, but they are multi-barrel. You change the barrel, shroud or both for different configurations. In the olden days you could get a Pistol Pac which was a revolver, frame and 3 or 4 barrel assemblies (depending on caliber)
The ported 44 Magnums came with two barrels and one shroud that had the vents. One of the supplied barrels had a ring of holes around it to channel the propellant gasses out the ports on the shroud, it was intended to be used with jacketed ammunition only
The second barrel was the same length and had no holes, it was intended for use with lead projectiles or jacketed.
You can also buy different barrel assemblies for length or weight
So you could have a 2", 4", 6" etc. barrel length. The barrel shrouds with the assemblies could be had in standard, heavy, vent rib or vent rib heavy profiles
Your 4" is the Vent Rib Heavy profile.
The Dan Wesson multi-piece barreled revolvers have a long standing reputation for outstanding accuracy. When Metallic Silhouette was in it's prime, these fine revolvers were highly sought after.
While I do not own a Model 44 (my dad had one), I have several Dan Wesson revolvers along with additional barrel assemblies. I will post some different configurations here. You could buy a barrel assembly in any of these profiles as long as it was for the 44 Magnum
Here is a 44 Mag 8" Vent Rib barrel assembly (my dad's)
Here is a Model 22
2" Vent Rib - Heavy with a thread adapter for a supressor
This is a Model 40
8" Vent Rib - Heavy chambered for 357 SuperMag
This is a Model 740
8" Vent Rib chambered for 357 SuperMag
The barrel shroud is slotted to meet a weight restriction in competition
Toward the top left of this 41 Magnum group photo you will see a Model 41
It has the 8" Vent Rib barrel attached and the 6" pictured with it
One other advantage of the Dan Wesson multi-piece barrel system is that you can set your Barrel/Cylinder gap to almost anything you want.
With any of the Dan Wesson models, if you add a 7 in front of the model number it indicates stainless steel construction.
