My range buddy and I stopped in a pawn shop today . I haven't seen one with so many hand guns in a long time . It had a lot of S&W's , 1911's , SD 9 & 40's , 908S , 6906 , 5906 and others . But we saw a DW revolver on the bottom shelf with a Ruger new model BH in 41spc . I could find no Model# on it , and no box . It's like new , with no turn line .

How do you find a model# . It's really tempting at $650 , but we know nothing about these . Were all models with changeable barrels ? Any and all info will be welcomed . Thanks

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You kind of lost me. What does the DW have to do with the Ruger? The DW has the model stamped on it in plain sight. Open the cylinder. Price sounds fair if mint. Mine is the pistol pack in a case with multiple barrels. My local gun shop sold a pistol pack today for $2,300. So do the math.

Might want to double check the Ruger,if that's where your interest lies. IIRC they were made in .41 mag,not spcl.

Odds are it is a model 15 if it is carbon steel or a 715 if it is stainless

There are a few early models of the Dan Wesson revolvers that have fixed barrels but they are a very tiny percentage of what is in the marketplace

It should be very obvious if it has interchangeable barrels, as there will be a castle nut inside the front of the barrel shroud

Did you happen to capture any pictures with your cell phone?

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"Acta non verba"

First thing to look for is whether or not it was made in Monson, Massachusetts. That is where the first, great production runs were.

Next check lockup and the trigger. Double action won’t be anything to write home about but the single action should be short, crisp and very good.

If you get a Dan Wesson, I suggest going to the EKW Arms website to buy a barrel wrench. That way you can verify the cylinder gap (should be .006”) and make sure that the barrel is tensioned correctly.

$650 for a Monson made Dan Wesson 15/715 (.357 Magnum) would be a great find IMHO.

715 VH8


744 V6S with 8” fully lugged, vented rib compensated barrel above.

If it is a 15-2 it's preferable to a 15 IMO. The 15 has an extension running down the shroud and is called the pork chop model occasionally. They are a lot harder to get additional barrel lengths for and run closer to $400 in value. A good 15-2 will be in the high 500's so I think that one is $100 overpriced without seeing condition and some grips and tools as add ons.

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Front sight and squeeze

The good: they are hell for stout

The great: their reputation for accuracy is well earned & deserved

Not so great: their triggers are lousy, especially double action

I wish these were as great as I wish they were.

I'd give $650 for the Ruger without a second thought.

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Waiting For The Sun.

Yesterday, a friend sent me a photo of a 715-vh available at a LGS. Asking $800.

Dan Wesson revolvers can be wonderfully accurate and the interchangeable barrel system is unique. Single action trigger's tend to be very crisp. The double action pull is shorter than many other DA revolvers, but that also means it tends to be heavy and the pressure stacks near the end of the pull. Quality control is probably the biggest issue with these revolvers. Those made in Monson, Mass. are usually the best when it comes to quality.

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I've had a couple of Model 15's. I've never heard of them referred to as "15-2" but there are at least two versions. The aforementioned "pork chop" barrels, where the barrel had a piece that came down the front of the frame. Then the more common (though pork chops are hardly rare) straight barrel.

They can be incredibly accurate. The really cool thing is you find them not to be so, you can tweak the barrel tension until it is. You'll never have to have a barrel set back to correct an excessive gap. You can control that too. All in all a neat gun, but even the best of them are not up to the quality of the same vintage Smith & Wesson or Colts. Though I often see them priced like they are. Which is not to say they aren't good guns. My son still has a fixed-site model.

I used to use a torque wrench to set the nut tension consistently. That helped. But once you get it dialed in it stays. I never found the interchangeable barrel all that convenient. Changing barrels required a little bit of shooting and re-torquing the barrel before it was for sure solid.

The grip frame was unique too. It was a no-butt.

The price is reasonable for a Monson gun.

The first model Dan Wesson was the Model 12, had the "pork chop" barrel shroud and the earliest ones had an external barrel nut. Then they switched to an internal one. The later version is the Model 15. The shrouds do not interchange between the two, the barrels do.

I thought there was a separate model number but then again I thought I might be confusing it with the fixed-sight model. Which I had to look up. THe fixed sight is the Model 14.

The there were also the ones they made for High Standard.

Apparently it is a 15-2. From the Dan Wesson Forum.

Small frame models.

11 (357 Mag) Service Pork Chop
12 (357 Mag) Target Pork Chop
[edit: with exposed barrel nut?]

14 (357 Mag) Service Pork Chop
15 (357 Mag) Target Pork Chop
[edit: with concealed barrel nut?]


14-2 (357 Mag) Service
15-2 (357 Mag) Target
722 (.22 Long Rifle) Target
22M (.22 Win. Mag) Target
722M (.22 Win. Mag) Target
8-2 (.38 Special) Service
708 (.38 Special) Service
9-2 (.38 Special) Target
709 (.38 Special) Target
714 (.357 Mag) Service
715 (.357 Mag) Target

I don’t think you mentioned the barrel length. Personally, I would greatly prefer a 6” or longer barrel because these are target or hunting revolvers. They are accurate and they are heavy. That 744 with the 8” barrel on it weighs in at 4 pounds 2 ounces. With the ported barrel and shroud it is pleasant to shoot ANY .44 Magnum ammo.

The M-12 and M-15 have different sideplate screws, the internals are identical.
One caution with the proprietary Dan Wesson Power Control system is that the barrel and shroud shold be cleaned after every 50 rounds or so, otherwise the residue buildup makes it very diffuclt to remove the barrel and shroud.

Is that for a ported barrel? I had hundreds of rounds through my 6” .44 barrel without cleaning the barrel or inside of the shroud and had no trouble taking it apart.

I’m asking because the 8” barrel on it now IS ported. The 6” was not.

That is a Model 15-2 with a 6 inch barrel and standard barrel shroud. Given today's inflation and the condition of this revolver, $650 is reasonable, but always try to negotiate. It's a pawned item, the shop likely gave it's owner $300 or so for it.

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Very early Model 12 has a barrel nut on the outside of the shroud, 15 is inside the shroud.

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Front sight and squeeze