Picked up a nice "off brand" revolver

[CajunBass]

I saw this at the LGS not too long ago, and had it stashed away in the nook in the layaway bin that I'm sure has my name on it.

Dan Wesson Model 15-2, 4" barrel. 357 Magnum.

I've owned a couple of Dan Wesson's in 22 LR over the years, but never a center-fire one. It's been fired, but not a lot I don't suspect. There is a mark around the firing pin, but that's about it. One tiny little scratch on the right side of the frame, and very faint turn line. D/A Trigger is as smooth as silk, maybe...just maybe...better than my 2020 Python. Both are over the 8 pound top of my cheap trigger gauge, but the DWA's S/A is a LOT better, breaking at 3.5 pounds.

It feels heavier and just a little bigger than a K-frame. It fits a couple of holsters I have that were sold as being for a K-frame though. A HKS Speedloader for a K-frame also works, so maybe it's just an illusion that they're bigger. Not that it will ever be carried in a holster, or loaded from a speedloader. Still nice to know.

I ordered a barrel wrench for it, although I doubt I'll be doing any barrel swapping. I just thought it might be nice to have the wrench "just in case."

I need to start loading some more wadcutters I suppose.

 

[mtgianni]

To me a DW feels heavier but the speedloaders for K frames work well. A wrench is good to set the bc gap with though that one doesn't look as though it was ever played with. Great find.

 

[sophie]

Nice find, congratulations.
I like them grips.

 

[Yaworski]

I like Dans, I have three. Bought my first around 1981. A coworker also had one which he bought because the salesman told him that Smith & Wesson had gone out of business and one of the "guys" started a new company called Dan & Wesson.

 

[robertrwalsh]

Nice score. Now you need the barrel kit.

 

[TJm15.38]

Nice one! Not and "off brand" at all.

 

[damienph]

I only have this one 6" model 15. It is quite accurate and a fun gun to shoot in either .38 or .357. I have model 10 speedloaders that do fit the cylinder however the relief cut on the stocks isn't enough to use the speedloaders without a lot of "jiggling" to get the bullets lined up with the cylinder chambers. It doesn't really matter though because I don't need any quick reloads with this revolver.


Still

 

[Squarebutt]

Another one I regret selling. Easiest trigger job ever, and the resulting single action trigger was something special.

 

[Baltimoreed11754]

Gave a .22 Dan Wesson kit to my good hunting bud when he graduated from Chapel Hill [I think]. He was already a certified welder in his 40s. He got an engineering degree.

 

[hemiram]

OP-It's a 15-2, actually. Important to know if you need parts or barrel assemblies.

 

[CajunBass]

OP-It's a 15-2, actually. Important to know if you need parts or barrel assemblies.

Thanks. I knew that, but didn't make it clear in the original post.

 

[stansdds]

Nice DW Model 15-2. I also have one, bought it cheap nearly 30 years ago, it replaced the one I foolishly traded. In 2019, I spotted another one at my local fishing/gun/pawn shop, but it was over priced. I tried to negotiate and had cash in hand, but there was very little negotiation allowed on that one, perhaps it was on consignment. It disappeared from the display case during the panicdemic of 2020.

Anyway, the Dan Wesson revolvers, especially those marked as Made in Monson, Mass, are usually really nice. Double action pulls are usually smooth, but the pressure stacks as the hammer is drawn further back, this is due to the use of a coil hammer spring. Single action triggers are usually relatively light and very crisp. Accuracy is usually very good. They have been referred to as being a poor man's Python for a reason.

Size wise, the cylinder is K-frame size, but the revolver's frame and barrel shroud are larger, almost L-frame size.

 

[Yaworski]

To expand on my earlier comment. I developed an interest in firearms in college which irritated my parents. After doing lots of reading, I decided that I wanted a Dan Wesson 15-2VH6. Or a Python but I was thinking that a Python was outside of my budget.

I used to go to Braverman Arms in Wilkensburg, PA on a regular basis to put fingerprints on their guns. One day there was a Dan Wesson 15-2H6 (heavy barrel, unvented rib). As I recall, it was $185. I wrote a check for the gun and a couple speed loaders, a few boxes of .38 Spl reloads, and the dealer threw in a Dan Wesson gun rug.

I had that gun for a couple years until my parents found out (that's a fun story) and I sold it to my brother. Fifteen years later, I traded him a Hungarian made Hi Power for it.

In the meantime, I bought a 15-2VH6 and a 15-2 Pistol Pak for my wife.

Too bad that .38 ammo is getting so expensive.

 

[mtnmike]

That's a beauty, congratulations! I picked one of those up used as my first handgun for $150(!!!) in 1990. Foolishly sold it to help fund the education I've squandered. The older blued Dan Wessons are gems.