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August 9, 2012
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this has probably been asked before.
i recently acquired a model 14, 38spl. my gunsmith will bore out the cylinder to 357 for $72.
i was wondering if i could buy a model 15 cylinder and install it. if so, where would i get one? at what approximate price?
my gun has a 2.5" barrel and is in excellent condition. anyone know what the value of it is?
my first dan wesson.
i said model 14, because gunsmith said it was, can't find it on gun.
where do u buy barrels, like a 4" 357?
any suggestions are appreciated.
tks
pat
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Dans Club
February 22, 2009
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My suggestion is to leave it like it is and buy a .357.
(Removed statement/ Sorry Steve)
I've been looking for a .38 for years.
My $.02
Best Regards,
Ron
Technically, the glass is always full; half liquid, half air....
Dans Club
DWF Supporters
April 20, 2010
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Your pistol is a model 14, specifically a 14-2 since it has the straight barrel shroud and not the early porkchop type.
First off, let me say, if your pistol is truly a .38 Special only, and will not chamber .357 magnums, I would be hesitant to change it. The reason is that true .38 Special Dan Wessons are extremely hard to find! Have you checked with .357 magnum cartridges, to see if they will chamber? There are several members here looking for .38s, I could not guess a value because they just don't show up often for sale. You might find someone more than willing to trade a .357 magnum for your .38.
If you are set on rechambering your pistol, I have seen used cylinders on Ebay or Gunbroker, but I think they would probably need properly timed to your pistol by a good gunsmith. You could send it to Dan Wesson and have a new cylinder fitted but would be quite costly. Boring your cylinder would probably be a better conversion, but once bored it could never be returned to original.
For longer barrels, check Ebay or GB, or once in a while members here might have some to sell.
-Lonwolf
"The lion and the tiger may be more powerful, but the Wolf does not perform in the circus"
June 29, 2012
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That could be a model "8" if I got it right? And yes, quite scarce.
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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Lohr64 said
That could be a model "8" if I got it right? And yes, quite scarce.
I think Model 8 would be correct, BUT there have been a fair number of "swapped" B/A's lately, leading guys to think they have a .38 because the shroud says .38 Spl.
Check to see if a .357 will fit in the chamber.
BTW- .357 will shoot in .38 barrel, and vice versa. Bullet is the same size, case length is different.
If you have a Model 8 and you ream it, well, just don't.
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman "Were is the Self Help Section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
George Carlin
August 9, 2012
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357 rounds don't fit. def 38spl
does that make it a model 8 ?
where would i find it stamped on the gun?
what would the value of the gun be undisturbed? as opposed to reaming.
pat
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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Yes, it would be a Model 8. Model number will not be on the gun, but if the gun you pictured only chambers .38 Special in clean chambers (ie-not because of a carbon buildup in the chambers from someone shooting only .38), it's a Model 8.
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman "Were is the Self Help Section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
George Carlin
August 9, 2012
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i had the gun professionally cleaned and carbon removed, def 38.
any opinions of value?
pat
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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Pat, value is very subjective in this case. If you want a "less common" (rare?) .38 Spl revolver, you got it. If you want a .357, you will easily find a trade here that works well for you (which everyone will keep out of this Topic 
).
Your value starts at what you paid + whatever you think the market will bear for a pretty uncommon item. This one is hard to put a dollar value on, more than a 14-2 however.
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman "Were is the Self Help Section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
George Carlin
June 29, 2012
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Saw your call for discretion too late Steve, sorry. 
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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Everyone PLEASE take the "I'm interested" stuff to PM, PLEASE (Pretty Please?)
This is not the "For Sale or Trade " topic (truth be told, I almost posted a trade offer myself 
).
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman "Were is the Self Help Section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
George Carlin
August 9, 2012
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thanks, i still don't know the approximate value.
i bought the gun quite by chance, guy knew i had a lot of guns, grandfather left it blah, blah.
i really don't think much of the 38spl round, so to bore to 357 made sense. until i posted.
if its a rare gun, with value, i will sell it.
i have several 357's and a chiappa "d" on the way, but for $72 i would have another one.
but i need to find it's current value.
tks
pat
Dans Club
DWF Supporters
April 20, 2010
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I stand corrected on the model designation, never thought about it when I posted! It is sometimes aggravating that Dan Wesson didn't bother to mark model #s on pistols.
I do still encourage you to leave this gun original, no doubt you will be getting PMs from interested collectors on here, there are a lot of great guys here that will do right by you. And if you end up getting a .357 Dan Wesson you might just like it better than all those other .357s you have now! (Just my biased opinion)
Whatever you do, if I didn't say before, welcome to the forum! And thanks for showing pics of a seldom seen Dan Wesson.
-Lonwolf
"The lion and the tiger may be more powerful, but the Wolf does not perform in the circus"
DWF Supporters
Dans Club
Moderators
November 17, 2008
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First welcome to the mad house. Congrats on landing a relatively rare piece. The down side is monetarily it will not be win-fall, but it is worth a little more (to most of us afflicted with DWAS) than a 14-2 of equal condition. Good luck
LB
Wisdom is merely the realization of how little one knows, therefore I am wise.
August 9, 2012
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lonwolf93 said
I stand corrected on the model designation, never thought about it when I posted! It is sometimes aggravating that Dan Wesson didn't bother to mark model #s on pistols.I do still encourage you to leave this gun original, no doubt you will be getting PMs from interested collectors on here, there are a lot of great guys here that will do right by you. And if you end up getting a .357 Dan Wesson you might just like it better than all those other .357s you have now! (Just my biased opinion)
Whatever you do, if I didn't say before, welcome to the forum! And thanks for showing pics of a seldom seen Dan Wesson.
-Lonwolf
members:
fun forum so far, maybe i will become a DW convert. i briefly owned a DW, 357 but did not like the 6" barrel that was on it. the buyer was REALLY happy.
just to recap, as i understand it:
a) definitely model 8
b) boring out the cylinders is the equivalent to trying to improve a fresco painting. (i could not stop myself from making that analogy.) http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/aug/22/spain-church-mural-ruin-restoration
c) it is rare, but monetarily, not worth a lot of money, but i still don't know that number.
just one more question. if these were made for a police contract why are they rare?
pat
DWF Supporters
Dans Club
Moderators
November 17, 2008
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OK, I don't like to give price guesses but I will venture out. If in good shape $350 to $450. On auction the sky is the limit. Of course values vary in region and to who is doing the looking. I do not think I would call it rare just uncommon. It is essentially a model 14-2 bored short to only accept 38 spec. Most guys would just buy the 357 causing only a few model 8s to ever hit the market. Just my thoughts on the subject. I have never heard of any police contract guns other than the early model 11(pork chop). But as always there is a lot of unknown where DW is concerned.
LB
Wisdom is merely the realization of how little one knows, therefore I am wise.
February 11, 2010
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Well, looks like you got the low down on the model 8. Any chance you can
post up some better pics so we can 
before you sell it ?
-Blacktop
August 9, 2012
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want to answer pm's will have to read faq to figure out how.
i will try to post better pics
to a pm: same gun referred to in all posts.
pat
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