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January 18, 2010
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Hi All,
I'm a die-hard DW fan. Current inventory includes two .44\'s, two .22\'s, six .357\'s, and four 1911\'s. I can\'t find anything bad to say about any of them!rnI have heard, though, a couple times, that DW had some quality issues, either immediately following DW\'s death or after the move to Palmer. I can\'t speak to the quality of Palmer guns, as all of my revolvers are Monson products, but many were made post-78. Each and every one of them qualifies as a work of art from a quality standpoint, and none have ever given me a lick of trouble. I\'ve yet to personally meet a DW owner who was not 100% satisfied with his gun.rnOne of the guys I heard bashing DW\'s was clearly a totally uninformed moron, and I put no stock in his opinion at all. I wonder, though, if there really were periods during which DW experienced quality problems. My impression is that most of what I\'ve heard is just the old \"change is bad\" mantra that prevails among some folks in just about every area of interest, be it guns, cars, motorcycles, electronics, or anything else.rnSo, anyone have any real insight into whether there were some \"bad years\" to avoid? Personal experiences? TIA
[ETA] No idea why my post got all corrupted!
Regards,
Jim
2xDW44, 6xM15-2, 2xM14, 2xM22, D11, Valor, Valkyrie CCO, Vigil Commander, ECO, Heritage, Bruin, Specialist 10mm
June 8, 2009
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Old time "good news". My first DW .357 I bought used and it had been shot a lot. I shot it a lot and it was the first handgun I handloaded for:) I started to notice the cyl. would "float" when I touched off a hot round so I sent it back to the factory. They rebuilt it free of charge. The trigger was not at light as it had been, but the cyl. no longer "floated". GREAT service!
I bought an early .22LR. Vapor paper is dated "1979DEC" and I think I bought it in 1980. The grip never fit right and would try to cross thread all the time. I sent it back to the factory and they installed the same grip and I had the same problem with it. I just bought and installed a Sacromento grip and never had another grip problem with it. My gun was never very accurate and I have always been sad it is that way. I should have sent it back to the factory AGAIN but I never did. I have a S&W 63 that shoots much better than my DW no matter what factory barrel and shroud I put on on the DW. I even tried a couple of CZ SS barrels that did not solve the problem.
I bought the first DW .44 I saw. I can't remember ever having any kind of probem with it.
Dans Club
December 7, 2020
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What constitutes a "Bad Year"?
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January 24, 2009
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When things changed over from Monson to the Palmer plant, it seems they had some quality control issues for a while, that required some guns being returned for warranty fixes. After a while, word got out in a few rags (magazine articles) that DW was going through some "bad QC issues" at Palmer. Often times, the entirety of Palmer years were referred to as "the bad years" because of the stigma. I haven't heard it for certain (yet) but I would even venture a guess that the bad press from that time was the main reason why they went bankrupt in 1995.
Personally, the Palmer guns I own function completely flawlessly, maybe they were returned for warranty fixes, or maybe they were built after the bad QC had been addressed internally. I don't know. BUT Palmer guns also have the most amazing bluing...I call it "ancestorial bluing". Bluing so deep you can see your ancestors in there. 
January 18, 2010
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Scout728 said
What constitutes a "Bad Year"?
Did you read my OP???
Regards,
Jim
2xDW44, 6xM15-2, 2xM14, 2xM22, D11, Valor, Valkyrie CCO, Vigil Commander, ECO, Heritage, Bruin, Specialist 10mm
Dans Club
December 7, 2020
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kilowatt3 said
Scout728 said
What constitutes a "Bad Year"?
Did you read my OP???
Yes, there was a lot more to my reply. But it was a rant that was better "written and deleted", than "written and posted". sorry.
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