Asking for some wisdom on the old Dan Wesson revolvers. I'm looking at an old 715. Looks like a great shooter but I'd like to hear from people that have fired these.

I know DW went through some tough times. Not sure the age of the 715 I'm looking at but it's stamped Main Street, Monson if that helps. So my question. Do these have smooth, light single action trigger pulls or is it going to be stiff like some of the lesser quality Taurus revolvers that I've owned? And lastly, is there a way to look up born on dates on the DW revos?

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Bill

In case you haven,t seen this yet.


Dan Wesson Forum – The Legend Lives On…

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Chris S.
Fort Lauderdale, FL

Dan Wessons are superb revolvers.

I never worry about the questionable years when buying a 20-30-40 year old revolver

It is just like a Model 27 that was made in the 70s/80s. If it left the Factory with problems, it has already been sent back and corrected by the time we are buying it used.

One thing that you need to realize, Dan Wessons have a very short throw on their actions. It makes D/A trigger pulls feel much heavier than a Modern Smith and Wesson. If you are shooting mostly S/A then that will not be an issue. However the difference in the way the lock work operates is one of the reasons why S&W shooters dislike Dan Wessons.

You NEED to handle the revolver and feel the action before you make the decision to purchase it

Dan Wessons have been available in Stainless as well as Blued steel in a very wide variety of chamberings. As I am sure you are aware, the barrel assemblies can be changed by the owner is just a few minutes.

The Model 715 that you are looking at is chambered in 357 Magnum and just like any S&W 357 Magnum revolver it will safely chamber and shoot the same three shorter cartridges


Dan Wessons use a multi piece, tensioned barrel assembly and in the Metallic Silhouette days Dan Wessons were highly sought after for the outstanding accuracy that this multi piece system provided.

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"Acta non verba"

Chris,
I have been a member of that Forum for well over a decade now. It is very low volume and slow moving, nothing like this Forum

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"Acta non verba"

Yes, for sure.

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Chris S.
Fort Lauderdale, FL

Started shooting dan wessons in the 80’s for silhouette competition. I still have 14, I think. The 357 supermag is my favorite in 357 Max cartridge. The single action trigger is better than any other revolver I have including S&W’s. The double action pull is heavy. As the cylinder/barrel gap is adjustable you can get better/consistent velocities . The monson mass. Made revolvers are suppose to be the highest quality. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a 715. Make sure you get the barrel tool or you will need to buy one from EWK arms. The pic is my model 15 with a 15” barrel.

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I have several.

They will all be for sale (by my widow).

I too am a real fan 357 Maximum or of the Dan Wesson named 357 SuperMag.
The DW at distance is an amazing revolver. I have several including in .32 H&Rmag and the 32-20 WCF. The DW's are some of my favorites.

I've bought several barrels from the new Dan Wesson after they were acquired and the barrels are very nice. I believe they only sell the 715 these days.


Prescut

I've owned a few Dan Wesson's over the years. The "Monson Mass." stamped one's are sought after more by collectors and believed to be higher up in quality control. From what I remember with mine, the triggers felt a lot like a Ruger GP100.

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Ephesians 6 (Armor of God)

I disagree about not having to worry about one. My own experience:
I had a Model 15-2VH with a 6" barrel and 8" regular taper barrel. It was an outstanding gun in every way. Like a dummy, when DW announced their stainless Model 715 I had to have one. I regrettably sold the Model 15 to fund it.

The serial number of the stainless gun was under 800 if I recall. The barrel was clocked because the locating pin was out of spec. I sent it to the factory. Months later they sent a new gun with the same serial number because the original frame had to be scrapped.
Then I test fired it. All six chambers were so rough that none would extract normal factory .357 loads without pounding on the extractor rod. It would extract .38+P level loads on 2-3 chambers only. It should have never left the factory the first time let alone the second.
I traded it off for something else and took a loss.

I'd love to find a high condition Model 15 like the one I owned back around 1979-81. I doubt that I would buy one of their stainless guns. In any case I would only buy an early Monson gun and then only after a very detailed inspection.

I have a few... Several from Monson, Mass... 1 from Palmer, Mass... And, 1 revolver and a handful of 1911s from Norwich, NY...

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I've had two different 715's. Both were wonderfully accurate. About as accurate as one could hope for. Right out of the box. Very good single action trigger. Really like the interchangeable front sight blades.

The only thing was swapping barrels, while not difficult, wasn't something done casually. It's not like you'd go to the range during the day, swap barrels to conceal carry to dinner, then swap back for the range the next day.

Each time you swap it takes a bit of shooting them in and adjusting. Often your point of impact would change a tad.

Love this forum. That's exactly the kind of stuff I was looking for. Thanks.

Now last question. Is there a way to research born on dates by looking up serial numbers on the DWs?

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Bill

Due to fires, bankruptcies and other natural disasters, there is no official hard list of serial numbers/born on dates... As mentioned earlier, there is a DW message board... The members there have pieced together their own homemade list...

Dan Wesson Forum – The Legend Lives On…

I have I believe 7 Dan Wesson revolvers from all eras. 2 super mags and 5 357s. They are very well built and I like the scarcity also. The lock work is different and not as smooth as S&W but not at all bad. They are very strong guns

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-Matt

I still own 3;2 in .357 and one in .44
Exept having to retorque the bbl end screw once in a while,I never experienced any problem with any of them.And while I have a few .357 or .38 that are as accurate, my .44DW is the most accurate .44 I've ever owned(and I've had over half a dozen).
Monson made are the ones to own quality wise.
I wouldn't be afraid to buy another one.Just check if it hasn't been abused.

That is an exellent way to have explained it. While I have one now, I've handled any number of them in both small-frame and large-frame. With the exception of the scarce, and 'different' 'Lil Dan .38 snub, the triggers are all quite similar. You won't get your best DA work done with them, but they are serviceable. SA pulls are excellent.

LOL, that is exactly what Robert Urich's character of P.I. Dan Tana used to do on his t/v show "Vegas". Or rather, he'd have his flunky do it for him.

Today, I wonder if that was an early form of 'product placement' advertising, or if there simply was a gun-saavy writer on the show.

I had a wonderful DW 15-2, my first handgun, and foolishly traded it. Years later, I found another DW 15-2, not trading this one! DW revolvers are generally excellent revolvers in terms of accuracy. The single action trigger is usually light and crisp, but the double action is short and feels heavy, much like a Colt Trooper Mk III, Mk IV, or King Cobra. Some DW revolvers are not so nice, having poorly machined internal surfaces. The Monson revolvers are regarded as the best, but inspect it closely for poor workmanship before buying.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

So jealous you have a 15" barrel... I have been on the lookout for quite a while for one!

I had a Dan Wesson back in the mid seventies and it was accurate with a nice S/A trigger but it had a bad habit of locking up from time to time which required opening it up to put the innards back together, traded it for a S&W model 15-3 and never looked back. That model 15 and a 39-2 from the same era are still my favorite hand guns.

I am down to one DW, a .32 that I had Andy Horvath ream to .327 Fed. No I am not worried about the higher pressure of the .327. DWs are about as stout as a DA revolver can be. The 715 you are looking at should be a good gun if in good condition. Remember these are big guns, more N frame than K frame.

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Jim
Many K and N Frames

Is there a way to look up born on dates on the DW revolvers?

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Bill

See Duckfood's response above regarding born on dates and the Dan Wesson Forum.

Here's a look at one list from that forum: https://www.danwessonforum.com/wp-co...ialNumbers.pdf

Had a 15 back in mid 70’s, very accurate, would have kept if could have found 4” and 2 1/2” barrels for it. Some guy wanted it more than I did and had just bought my first 19 6”. Wish I had it back, regret selling it every time I see the receipt where I sold it.

*
IIRC, more like the size of an "L" frame, and fit a holster for a Python very nicely.

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NHI, 10-8.

I found the following 'revolver function test' information on another forum back in 2014 and saved it for my own use because I found it helpful. Maybe some here will also find it helpful. Sorry I don't know what forum it's from and I don't know who wrote it so I can't give credit where credit is due.

Thanks Papa T. I really appreciate you taking the time to send that. Very thoughtful of you.

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Bill

I used to put my 6" barrel on to target shoot, and then put the 4" one on to use at work. The POI was so slightly changed it was meaningless to me. I lived around the corner from a shooting range and back then I was shooting 2-3 times a week.

I have two 15-2's and a 715. The SA is great on all of them, as it was on the 12 or so I've owned previously. DA ranges from pretty decent (715) to pretty stiff (the ugly 15-2 not pictured). I've had almost zero issues in any of the DW's I've owned, and almost all those issues were springs breaking or clueless previous owners messing with them.

Purchased my Dan Wesson Model 15-2, 357 mag with 6-inch barrel new in 1979. DA trigger pull is great, SA pull is nice and crisp, but I sometimes find it breaks before I'm expecting it to, so I seldom shoot it SA anymore. A couple of years ago, I was experiencing intermittent light primer strikes. I installed a new Wolff hammer spring, which resolved the light strike issue.

I qualified for my concealed weapon permit in 1980 and again in 2018, shooting DA with this handgun. This is the one handgun I would (probably) never sell. It always gets noticed and inquired about when I'm shooting it on at the range nowadays.

I briefly gave thought to trading it in towards the purchase of a Glock 19, but reconsidered and purchased the Glock outright. I'm glad I didn't trade, I hated the Glock and sold it within five months. While Glocks may be reliable, I think they're overpriced and overrated for what you get.

I still enjoy shooting my Model 15-2, but I'm more partial to S&W 3rd Gens now. I now carry a S&W 6946, I like the DAO S&W, which I believe is a carryover from shooting the Model 15-2 double action all of these years!

I believe the Model 15-2 nowadays can be had for the $350-$500 range, depending on condition. When I replaced the hammer spring a few years ago, I noticed all of the used Model 15 parts available on the internet and the costs they were bringing. It made me a little sad to realize the individual parts of my Model 15-2 were worth more than the selling the complete handgun itself. Depressing, but not exclusive to the Model 15, I guess this is conducive to older model guns in general.

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I prefer the Horace Smiths.

The only issue I’ve had is used guns with excessive carbon buildup between the cylinder and yoke, if the cylinder doesn’t spin freely you can be sure this is what’s wrong. The ejector rod has a knob on the end making it not possible to use the same type of rod remover as a S&W. A loose drill chuck turned by hand worked for me.

Then the sideplate needs removed to remove the yoke and the cylinder, this is a little more difficult than a S&W

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-Matt

The ones I have limited experience with weren't DA friendly. (2) Awful, DA in fact although I don't know if they all were. Silhouette shooters loved them because of the long barrels. As a LEO, I didn't find much use for them in a DA-only role for my agency.

If you can find a 15-2 for $350, it's likely to be a sad abused gun. The days of cheap DWs are gone. I got my 715 for $269 with a ton of extra parts and 3 grips, in the box. My pretty 15-2 was about $400 with a 6" VH barrel, and the ugly 15-2 was about $300. All three were bought previous to 2010. My 44 was $410 in 2009. Add a couple of hundred and you're about right in today's world.

True, the days of cheap DW revolvers are long gone. In early 2019 I tried to buy another DW 15-2, blued, 6 inch standard shroud, so the cheapest of the DW 15-2 line. It was stickered at $650, I offered a top cash price of $500 and the offer was rejected. I'm sure it is sold now, any handgun with a barrel of 6 inches or less sells fast in the days of the panicdemic.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

A friend of mine saw a very nice 715 someplace in Southern Oh, and he was shocked at the price they wanted for it. When he told me about it, I just said, "Welcome to 2021". He passed over so many guns in the past, not thinking about the price increases that would come in the future.

You can't predict the future.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

I own Dan Wesson's father's S&W 3rd model 22lr single shot target pistol, lettered as shipped to Victor H Wesson at Smith & Wesson, Springfield, Mass.

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