Dan Wesson 6" Blue in rare .32-20 (Special order??)

THREEDFLYER · Oct 24, 2020

On occasion I get the opportunity to help sell a local collection for folks who need to liquidate or slim down their guns.

When picking up a batch of rifles/handguns today I noticed a Dan Wesson box. It was the foam insert and was marked .32-20 on the label.

My first wheelgun was a 4" Blue Dan Wesson in .357 Magnum and I have always regretted selling that one. It was a very accurate and well made firearm.

So my eyes lit up when I saw this one and the rare .32-20 chambering.

I opened up the box this evening and found the gun to be in near new condition and this one is most likely going to end up in my personal collection.

Not sure if any of you have come across a DW in this chambering, but here ya go!

old tanker · Oct 24, 2020

That is amazing!! That has got to be the rarest DW ever. I certainly never heard mention of .32-20 and Dan Wesson in the same sentence until just now. It's beautiful.

THREEDFLYER · Oct 24, 2020

Searching the web I came across some chatter about a few being made, but they are scarce at best......never knew it was even a special order option, so needless to say I was a bit shocked to come across one.

epj · Oct 24, 2020

If a cylinder could be fitted that was chambered for .327 and all the shorter .32’s, that would be a really sweet gun. Not that it isn’t a really sweet gun as it is.

THREEDFLYER · Oct 24, 2020

I saw one listed recently in .32 H&R Mag and in the stainless version.

The cowboy action folks would enjoy the .32-20 no doubt.

robertrwalsh · Oct 24, 2020

I confess I never knew such a thing existed.

rockquarry · Oct 24, 2020

I'm not a Dan Wesson collector or fan and know little about the guns but this is what I remember from some time ago...Dan Wesson apparently made at least a few .32-20 revolvers at some point and then stopped production. Perhaps they didn't sell well, but the cartridge probably has more of a following today than it thirty or more years ago.

At a SHOT Show about fifteen years ago, I spoke with the new owner. He had just bought Dan Wesson and had either moved or was in the process of moving the equipment to a new location (New York maybe?) Among the projects he had planned for Dan Wesson was the production of .32-20 revolvers soon. "Soon" didn't happen. Perhaps the guns were eventually built, but by then I had lost interest and stopped checking on availability.

I think the company may have been sold a time or two since those days.

colt_saa · Oct 24, 2020

THREEDFLYER,
Congratulations on a great find. That is a beautiful revolver

The last few that I saw sold on GB brought some big money.

I had a few spare 32-20 barrel assemblies, but traded them off when someone offered me a great deal with some 41 Mag and 45 LC barrel assemblies.

I am sure that you realize you can use any of the 32 caliber barrel assemblies regardless of what cartridge is marked on them. Bore diameter is all that is truly important

rockquarry,
You are thinking about Bob Serva who bought Dan Wesson about 25 years ago as New York International Corp. It took about a year, but production did start in Norwich, NY

These were the first CNC produced Dan Wessons

Dan Wesson was acquired by CZ about 15 years ago and MSRP on the 715 revolver more than doubled. You can buy a new Python sometimes cheaper than a new Dan Wesson 715.

Of course everybody knows that Dan Wesson mostly makes 1911s these days

rockquarry · Oct 24, 2020

colt saa-
Thank you for the factual version. Perhaps that SHOT Show was more than fifteen years ago and I recall the name Bob Serva now that you mentioned it.

SPEEDGUNNER · Oct 24, 2020

Now that is a cool find. Good luck on the hunt for the other available barrel lengths...that is the rabbit hole I sometimes find myself going down, I find something outside my normal scope of interest and then go all in!!

Beautiful revolver.

stansdds · Oct 24, 2020

That is an exceptionally rare Dan Wesson revolver. I have no earthly idea what it is worth, but to a DW collector, likely a whole lot more than any 22 LR or 357 Magnum version.

glenncal1 · Oct 24, 2020

OP- go to danwessonforum.com and they will tell you all you want to know about the gun. Good group of guys. I have a .32 mag DW with 4 and 8 inch barrels that I had reamed out to shoot .327.

mtgianni · Oct 24, 2020

I have only seen the stainless version not the blued. As the box says, they were marketed with two cylinders 32 H&R and 32-30. To the best of my knowledge there was never a pistol pack with different length barrels.
The chance of finding another 32 H&R cylinder in blue is a little more difficult than finding an unused Model 16-4 cylinder. Nice find.

I have a model 15 I have considered getting a 22 cylinder and converting but have not wanted to pay the price for what I have seen.

rockquarry · Oct 24, 2020

I find this thread interesting. I know little about Dan Wesson revolvers and have only had one, a .22.

Just a few observations from some years ago... I found a Dan Wesson .22, blue with 6" barrel (don't remember the model) listed by the Dan Wesson company on GunBroker. There may have been some other DW guns listed as well. I got it for what I thought was a very low price (somewhere around $250.00, maybe less). The revolver shot very well, probably at least as well as my S&W .22 revolvers, but I eventually tired of it because of the weight and sold it.

I looked at other such guns on GunBroker and maybe other websites before the purchase and found the prices on DW guns to be all over the place, with far more variance than the Colt and Smith & Wesson revolvers I was familiar with. Perhaps prices have stabilized since then, but I've never noticed such a vast difference in prices with other guns.

mrchuck · Oct 24, 2020

I have a full box of ammo for this caliber. It is for sale.

pawngal · Oct 24, 2020

mtgianni said:
I have only seen the stainless version not the blued. As the box says, they were marketed with two cylinders 32 H&R and 32-30. To the best of my knowledge there was never a pistol pack with different length barrels.
The chance of finding another 32 H&R cylinder in blue is a little more difficult than finding an unused Model 16-4 cylinder. Nice find..

According to Standard Catalog of Firearms the 32-20 was offered in the pistol pack in blue. 2 1/2, 4, 6. and 8 inch.
I was hoping to find production numbers but no luck on that

THREEDFLYER · Oct 24, 2020

mrchuck said:
I have a full box of ammo for this caliber. It is for sale.

Sounds great, email me the details..... [email protected]

CH4 · Oct 24, 2020

I am another who has never heard of such a critter. Very intriguing piece.

44wheelman · Oct 25, 2020

Not special order, but not enough production to warrant a new box labels. My stainless 32-20 came in a mod 732 box, noticed your blue 32-20 came in a mod 32 box. At least they kept the finish consistent.

The only special order DW I have ever seen was a 360. But I guess that was really more of a prototype with only 10 being made.

Dan Wesson 6" Blue in rare .32-20 (Special order??)

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