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December 7, 2016
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Hello All! I always see posts on forums of guys finding awesome deals at gun stores, pawn shops, & garage sales but I never seem to run across anything of the sort....until a couple days ago. My local gun shop is closing his doors, getting out of the gun business so he was selling off his remaining inventory. I ran across this old revolver, I had heard of Dan Wesson obviously but never saw one of his revolvers in person. Let me say, I fell in love with it. Trigger was smoother than my S&W 626 or 586 and the lockup is tight as a bank vault. It's got some bluing loss but nothing major, action and rifling are excellent. It needs a new front sight but otherwise a good solid revolver.
Walked out of the shop paying just $300 for it. I thought that was a great deal, at least it was for me LOL. I know they have interchangeable barrels and it does have the recessed barrel nut. Is there anything I need to do or check on her before I shoot it? Also, I can't find a model number on it, I assume it's a model 15, and is there any idea on age? I figure probably sometime in the 70's. Any info or advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks - Andy!
Dans Club
December 5, 2008
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Welcome to the forum! You made out like a bandit. We call it Grand Theft Dan Wesson
You have a model 15-2 in beautiful condition based on the photos. You should check the barrel/cylinder gap before shooting. If you have the barrel tool and gap gauge that's great. If not then you can use any .006 feeler gauge. Just slide it between the rear of the barrel and the front of the cylinder. It should be a close fit without having to force it into the gap. If the gap is too small, it will not cause any damage, but the cylinder may rub on the barrel and not cycle to the next round, especially after a few shots when some residue accumulates on the front of the cylinder. If the gap is too large it can cause shaving of lead from the bullet as it fires which will come out the side of the gun, or the same effect with excess unburned powder, etc. The gap recommended by the factory is .006. You should not run it with more, but you can run less as long as you do not end up with the barrel rubbing the front of the cylinder. It's important to check clearance on every chamber of the cylinder because the surface of the cylinder is rarely perfectly flat. Set the gap on the tightest chamber.
If you need a tool, EWK Arms (see ad to the right on this web page) has the best and for a reasonable price.
Be careful when loading and unloading with the cylinder open so that you do not let the ejector star fall back against the sideplate. The result will be an ugly scratch or two. These scratches are very common on used DWs.
Shoot and enjoy!!!
December 7, 2016
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Thanks for the reply and welcome snake-eye, I'll order a gauge and check the gap just as you suggested. Yes it's a beautiful gun, I'm very happy with it. Like I said, I don't get to run across deals like these very often.
I see what you mean about the ejector star, there is infact a couple faint scratches exactly where you mention. Guess the previous owner(s) weren't so careful LOL, but that's ok, just gives the old revolver some character I guess!
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Dans Club
December 4, 2011
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Welcome the the 
from PA! Indeed!
That is a model 15-2 and the serial number registry should give you a good ball park on date of manufacture.
+1 on the EWK tool, best you can get. Average Joe Tune-up is a great resource for doing a thorough clean up on any small frame Dan.
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
December 7, 2016
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Thanks Scorpio for the welcome as well! And thanks for the tune-up link, I'll study it tonight!
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