Supporter
Moderators
January 24, 2009
"Early", meaning a 1981 1st year short hammer spur & "Power Control" BA's...annd these BA's were NOT stuck in the shrouds!
As soon as this one came up on GB, I knew I wanted it...and hoped there would not be a bunch of bidders bumping the price up at the end. As luck would have it, I was the only bidder! At $1250, the price was a little up there, especially since it wasn't in perfect condition & missing a bunch of Pac bits. BTW, this was not advertised as a Pac, only as a 44 with two barrels, two grips & a "Samsonite" case...
But once I saw the last photo of the case, I was pretty sure this was an original Model 44V Pac. Notice how crumpled the fabric was on the bottom, I thought that was a little odd, but I could make out the foam cutouts, telling me it's genuine. Honestly, I was hoping it came with more of the Pac extras...oh well.
Once I got it home, the first thing I did was unload the case & pull off the lower fabric. Yep, genuine DW Pac foam...but look back there!
Underneath the bottom foam was everything to complete the Pac except the buckle! The unopened envelope has two spare front sights.
This is where the original S/N label was. Obviously it was torn off at some point, it did not fall off by itself...bummer.
So the gun isn't perfect, but it actually looks better in person than in the seller's pics. Both shrouds have about 80~85% shine to them, and the cylinder looks like something smacked it on one spot, leaving a boo-boo. But the frame & trigger guard look about 95%! Looking at the recoil shield, this gun hasn't been fired a lot, and the firing pin area looks great. I am currently leaving the foam out of the case for a while, to hopefully relax some of the smooshed areas back into their original shape. The gun wasn't stored correctly in the case, which mashed a couple areas of the upper foam layer kinda flat. After a week free from the case, those areas are making progress. I really want to use the original foam & not end up making new foam just to make the gun lay correctly in the case.
I think maybe this fall I will send the cylinder & shrouds to Fords (my first time with them) for a little refreshening. Then wash the fabric & the Pac will be just about perfect! Pretty sure I have a silver buckle around here somewhere.
Oh! Another cool thing is the brochure that was under the foam shows what this Pac looked like new, and explains that early 44 Pacs only came with one extra BA, but you could order a 4" & 10" separately. See?
DWF Supporters
March 28, 2023
The only thing missing was some hidden cash! Whenever I get one of these like you I pull the cloth off and check all the hidden places. Nice find! Original 44 pac. It looks like they were sold with only 2 barrels most of the time unless you ordered the extra barrels. I never found cash or a gold coin or anything in a Dan case but one time I found $300 in a Hallmark ornament box I bought for $39
Supporter
Moderators
Dans Club
February 22, 2009
Supporter
Moderators
January 24, 2009
Thanks, guys.
605Dart said
Another case in point that a lot of sellers have no idea what they are selling.
Exactly! I love it when that happens in favor of the buyer.
BTW, reading the brochure, I noticed that one of the grip options was "a walnut blank, inletted to fit the gun". Sounds similar to the early Porkchop Pacs. Do any of you recall seeing a walnut blank for a large frame? I sure haven't...so far.
Range Officer
Range Officers
Dans Club
February 9, 2009
Dans Club
February 24, 2013
Dans Club
February 24, 2013
DWF Supporters
March 28, 2023
I just scored one like you. The extra 12 inch barrel was only shown on the last page! I think only one other bidder saw it so I won it for $1076 + 25 ship and when I called the shop they did not charge me tax! $1100 out the door so got everything in the pic for that price. It sure pays to look close at every listing you never know what's hiding in other pics in them!
Dans Club
February 24, 2013
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