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November 7, 2016
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On Friday I met a local seller to purchase my first Dan Wesson revolver. I've been a revolver fan for quite a while, but mainly stuck to Smith and Wesson and Ruger. Dan Wessons always intrigued me, but I didn't see them come up for sale locally very often, and I wanted to check one out in person before buying since I'd never even handled one before.
I ended up purchasing a Monson made model 15-2 (as far as I can tell) in 357 with the vented rib, heavy full lug 6" barrel, blued finish. Just the gun - no extra barrels or other accessories. Included the nice walnut target grips. Overall a good 90% gun. Nice enough to show off, but the price was right and I won't be afraid to shoot it.
Turns out the local gun shop where we did the paperwork just happened to have a Monson made 22 Dan Wesson in the case for a very reasonable price. This one was also a blued with a 6" barrel, no underlug and a solid rib. Similar condition to the .357. The two made a nice pair. I didn't bite on the .22 right away but went home and did some more homework on it, convincing myself to go pick it up the next day.
When I came back, the shop owner grinned and knew why I was there. 🙂
So now a few questions - I understand that the barrel shrouds on these 2 guns will interchange, but wanted to verify. Can anybody confirm? I would just try it, but I don't have a barrel nut tool - I'm waiting on one to arrive from EWK. I already have a set of feeler gauges that will suffice to set the B/C gap.
Assuming that they do interchange, I'm planning to mount a scope on one of the shrouds. I would have a gunsmith tap a few holes in the solid rib shroud and install a Weigland base. That way I can have either gun scoped or open sights with just a shroud swap and a few zeroing shots. Any reason that wouldn't work?
I'm also considering a new 2.5" barrel from CZ if they ever come back in stock. I would order the .357 shroud/barrel package, and then order a 2.5" .22 barrel tube. That way I could set either gun up as a snubby. Any reason that wouldn't work?
Of course, then I'd need some combat grips for the snubbie, and.........dang this is addictive!
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January 24, 2009
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Mike_2 said
So now a few questions - I understand that the barrel shrouds on these 2 guns will interchange, but wanted to verify. Can anybody confirm?
Yes, the shrouds will interchange...just not the barrels, for obvious reasons.
Congrats on your "no brainer" DW purchases, you did good!
Now course you need to show 'em off soon, 'cuz we all love
of new DW's...
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January 24, 2009
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Mike_2 said
I'm also considering a new 2.5" barrel from CZ if they ever come back in stock. I would order the .357 shroud/barrel package, and then order a 2.5" .22 barrel tube. That way I could set either gun up as a snubby. Any reason that wouldn't work?
A .22 barrel will only work with a .22 frame. It will NOT interchange with a .357 frame...however the outer shroud will interchange equally. The shroud doesn't care which frame it's mounted on, only the barrel does. Capiche?
February 16, 2016
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Mike !
I've got a 15-2 Pistol Pac and when I bought a 22-V4, I ordered the 2-1/2", 6", 8" & 10" barrel tubes from the factory, so now using the .357 shrouds, I can shoot my .22 in all barrel lengths.
November 7, 2016
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Thanks guys. To be clear, I am only talking about swapping the shrouds between frames - not the barrel tubes.
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March 27, 2009
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You have the fever! EWK may have the tubes as well as the shrouds. May have to ask! Show us them twins soon!
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March 25, 2013
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Mike, welcome to the forum and the wonderful world of Dan Wesson revolvers. Fungible is the word for the interchangable character of the shrouds. Some of us like to collect sets of original BA's, ie, Monson roll mark and correct caliber, but for shooting fun it is absolutely not necessary. You mention the 22 came in" the case ". Is that the Styrofoam box or a small brown suitcase. If it is the suitcase you made out like a bandit. There are two sizes, one for a pistol pack and a small one called a mini pack that will comfortably hold an extra barrel assembly. The both sell for a couple of hundred bucks if they are in nice shape. There is also a soft case that is also very collectable to a lesser degree.
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December 5, 2008
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Mike, welcome to the forum. Your plan for mounting a scope base on the 22 shroud will work just fine. I did the same thing to one of my 22 shrouds and now I can use it on my 357's as well. The weigand base is a good choice. It uses the standard screw pattern that is also used by the Factory, but the Weigand is more versatile in allowing you to mount a red dot or any picatinny optic. Enjoy!
November 7, 2016
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Ole Dog said
Mike, welcome to the forum and the wonderful world of Dan Wesson revolvers. Fungible is the word for the interchangable character of the shrouds. Some of us like to collect sets of original BA's, ie, Monson roll mark and correct caliber, but for shooting fun it is absolutely not necessary. You mention the 22 came in" the case ". Is that the Styrofoam box or a small brown suitcase. If it is the suitcase you made out like a bandit. There are two sizes, one for a pistol pack and a small one called a mini pack that will comfortably hold an extra barrel assembly. The both sell for a couple of hundred bucks if they are in nice shape. There is also a soft case that is also very collectable to a lesser degree.
Sorry for the confusion, but I meant "in the dealers display case" the gun itself didnt come with any packaging
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March 2, 2008
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Mike_2 said
Thanks guys. To be clear, I am only talking about swapping the shrouds between frames - not the barrel tubes.
Unless you really force the issue (and you have to really work to force this issue) you can't interchange a barrel on the wrong frame.
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
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December 4, 2011
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Welcome to the forum! Congrats on your purchases, sounds like the right decision. I see you are already afflicted with 
Dan Wesson Acquisition Syndrome. I'd explain but you said it yourself, 'dang this is addictive!' 
I'll wager that you haven't bought your last Dan Wesson yet. BTW are always welcome.
Anything worth doing is worth doing well.
My father
If a man designed it, and a man built it, then a man can fix it.
My grandfather
November 7, 2016
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November 7, 2016
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November 7, 2016
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November 7, 2016
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Did somebody say pics? 😀
Sorry for the bad lighting - these are just a few cell phone snaps on the workbench. The .22 received a new set of pao ferro hogues to replace the goodyears it came with. I think it looks way better and I always liked the feel of uncheckered finger groove hogues - I have them on several revolvers. I think they must have found my identical twin to use as a hand model for those things.
November 7, 2016
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In the last pic you can see two ziploc baggies from wolff gunsprings. Guess what my next project is.
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March 27, 2009
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Nice pair, the blues are the standard of Dan's. A guy can't have enough parts around either!
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February 22, 2009
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Mike_2 said The .22 received a new set of pao ferro hogues to replace the goodyears it came with.
If those 'goodyears' are Pachmayr grippers, don't toss them. They're original to the gun and in some instances bring a premium. I've seen them on ebite for north of $100. Worse case, they'll offset the price of the Hogue wood....
Welcome to the DWF, you've got a good start!
Ron
Technically, the glass is always full; half liquid, half air....
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December 4, 2011
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Nice pics, and again, great score!
Anything worth doing is worth doing well.
My father
If a man designed it, and a man built it, then a man can fix it.
My grandfather
November 7, 2016
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rwsem said
Mike_2 said The .22 received a new set of pao ferro hogues to replace the goodyears it came with.
If those 'goodyears' are Pachmayr grippers, don't toss them. They're original to the gun and in some instances bring a premium. I've seen them on ebite for north of $100. Worse case, they'll offset the price of the Hogue wood....
Welcome to the DWF, you've got a good start!
Ron
Good to know - thanks. They are in fact pachmyers. I was just going to toss them in my spare parts bin in case I ever need them, but maybe Ill take better care of them if theyre worth some $
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