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October 24, 2012
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Hey all, first off let me congratulate you all on all the great information you all share and make available for us.
I live here in Minnesota and I love guns. I am just getting into them and was talking with a fellow coworker about guns, when he asked me if I'd want to buy his "old revolver." I have always had interest in revolvers so I said possibly .. get me the info off it and I look into it. This is what I have found so far.
It is a DW 357 Mag. with a 6" barrel. From what I could see.. it has a fixed rear sight and the pictures that I showed him we agreed that it looks like a model # 14-2. from what I read that model was made in 1974. There are no extra barrels, no barrel key, no extra grips and no case. He did say that it has a "Presentation Grip" by Pachmayr and the serial number is 418**.
The story I get from him is that a "friend in need" needed some cash and sold him the gun for like $150. This was a long time ago as my friend told me he has had it stored for 15+ years. I assume the gun was stored properly and would be in decent shape.
My questions:
What would be a good price to offer him assuming the gun is in good condition?
I am going to be looking at the gun this weekend. What should I look for besides rust and looseness?
Looking forward to your replies.
Thanks,
Travis
Dans Club
May 17, 2009
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Travis,
to the DW Forum! Thanks for the kind words about the forum. This is THE place for Dan Wesson information and developing lasting relationships. It's like a family. 
It sounds like you may have a 
in your future. I'm not advocating taking advantage of your coworker but it sounds like he's not into guns like you are, so relieve him of it.
To rationalize your offer you should check the lock up by cocking the hammer, hold it back and pull the trigger while holding the hammer and see if the cylinder has any rotational play. Also check for front and back movement on the cylinder. Shouldn't be much either way. Cycle the action through a full rotation of the cylinder to see if the movement is smooth and there's no binding. Since you do not have a barrel wrench you can't see if the barrel nut is frozen which would make it impossible to set he barrel gap. This would be the biggest bargaining point for me. Of course the condition of the finish is also a price issue. So, if the gun passes the above test I'd say $200. You would want to purchase a barrel wrench from EWK Arms (see side bar advertisement) so figure that into the total cost also.
Let us know what you work out and some 
would be appreciated.
Ed
DWF Supporters
Dans Club
Moderators
November 17, 2008
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to the 
. Below is a link to help you give her a good check out. Good luck and if you bring her home, pics are required!
LB
Wisdom is merely the realization of how little one knows, therefore I am wise.
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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If it is a 14-2 (with the straight shroud, not a porkchop), 1975 is more likely for that serial number, and I think it would be a pretty early one.
Seems like your friend has no interest in this gun,if you offered $250 he'd be $100 to the good on something that has just sat around, and you would have gotten a very nice deal. If you had to go $300, I think you're still OK IF you are satisfied with the condition and function.
You might decide to change out the grip, you will need the EWK barrel tool, and my guess is this gun would benefit from a good internal cleaning and maybe change the springs. Possible bargaining points, you might be putting out some $$$ to get this just right for you.
Welcome to DWF!
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
Range Officer
Range Officers
Dans Club
March 27, 2009
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to this place and I would recommend the ole 
so 200 to 300 and you should be ok. EWk has all you need to fix it up or even do some custom work. LB can hook you up with some great wood too. Keep us posted and pics always help!
October 24, 2012
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OK, here are the pictures I promised...The gun is still in very good shape physically. it is very tight and has very little to no wobble but she is pretty rough on the eyes....
as you can see.....
It does show a bit of wear as you can see but all in all it looks decent and it comes with a pretty sweet cross draw holster. I plan on cleaning it up today and taking it to the range tomorrow and running some rounds through her...
What are your buy out suggestions now? I have it for a 2 week test drive.
Travis
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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That is a Model 14, actually it is probably a 14-1. A -2 model will have the straight (non-porkchop) shroud. As long as it shoots well, I would give $200 maximum, and then send it out to DWF Member "Hotbluer" to be re-blued.
https://www.danwessonforum.com/forum/parts-and-service/hot-bluing-service/
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
Dans Club
DWF Supporters
April 20, 2010
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I agree with Steve. If it shoots well and functions well $200 would be a good price, given its bluing loss. If it's a good shooter and you REALLY have to have it $250 max. If it shows any mechanical issues then under $200. The Pachmayr Presentation grips are nice but they are cheap on Ebay so doesnt really add value that an original wood grip would. That is a cool old holster too, and adds something.
Old porkchops are very nice shooters and were I think made very well, but do not have the dollar value of newer models. If you shoot it I will bet you'll like it! To me it looks like that pistol would reblue very well, I don't see heavy pitting or dings.
-Lonwolf
"The lion and the tiger may be more powerful, but the Wolf does not perform in the circus"
October 24, 2012
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Do you think there is any antique value to it at all being it is almost 40? If so would reblueing it kill any value?
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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I don't think there is a lot of antique/classic value. The nice thing about having Mark (hotbluer) do the work is that he WAS a DW bluer. I consider his work to be factory re-blue, and a factory refinish virtually never affects value except in the +++
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
Dans Club
DWF Supporters
April 20, 2010
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Again I agree with Steve, it is not a high dollar gun. Buy it, shoot it, reblue if you want and enjoy it. A reblue job by Hotbluer would really make that a nice pistol and would not hurt collectability.
-Lonwolf
"The lion and the tiger may be more powerful, but the Wolf does not perform in the circus"
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