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April 23, 2016
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Hi.
I have owned a 44 Mag S/S VH8 Dan Wesson since 1987.
I bought it on a trip stateside from a gent who was carrying it in his belt in the small of his back at a Gun Show in KC Mo.
I attended the IHMSA World Champs with it at Oakridge Tn in 1987 and met a bunch of good folks while there.
On arrival news travelled fast that there was a shooter from Africa there to compete in Prod Rev class with a DW. I had no ammo and was donated 100rnds by someone Bless the man but I just cannot recall the name!. Before I could sight in I was dragged over to the Dan Wesson stall where an official gunsmith named Paul Dembowski (Spellng?) worked my weapon over. He replaced the scalloped barrel with a fresh one, timed it and stoned the trigger to a standard still complementary some 29 years on. He swapped out my sights and donated a fresh wood grip as the Pachmayr pushed the revolver over the weight limit. He also filled a small envelope with an assortment of spares that I might need over here. Bless the man! Next the world champ at the time, Dave Bradshaw accompanied me to a side range to sight the DW in and get the range settings. (This was the first chance I had to fire the revolver.) This was so unexpected and humbling but I kept my cool and Dave was finally happy I had the settings spot on after about 20 shots. I could never express my thanks deeply enough for these guys making me feel at home. To top it all I had a personal introduction to Elgin T Gates and a couple of pics taken with him. I still have these photos and will try to copy them from slide to digital format and post sometime.
When it came time to shoot I had no spotter and again Dave Bradshaw stepped in and guided me through the course. I recall my first round went 24/40 and I was quite pleased with that. Having Dave as my spotter was unbelievable and testimony to the man's character and dedication to supporting the sport of silhouette. He could easily have been resting out in a caravan somewhere getting ready for his next shoot. Thanks Dave - still have the pics!
Well the DW made it back to Africa and it has been put to use both on the range and in the bush and is alive and well. I have taken a number of antelope and pigs with it through the years. Will try post some pics if possible.
I mostly use hard cast Keith style SWC weighing anywhere from 245gr to 258gr depending on mould and lead mix.
They run at around 1300fps.
I have shot quite a number of 240gr PMP JSP as well as the 240gr Norma Nickle Plated JSP but prefer the penetration of the SWC.
That's it for now.
February 16, 2016
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Wow, what an intro .. I look forward to reading more stories from you.
to 
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December 4, 2011
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That is a great story and a perfect introduction, thanks for posting that. I look forward to those pics as well. Welcome to the forum from the state of Pennsylvania
. I think you may be our first member from Africa. I assume you mean South Africa? My next door neighbor and his wife are doctors from South Africa, Cape Town I think he told me once.
What are the gun laws like in your part of the world? It looks like you can both hunt with them and use them for competitions so that's encouraging.
Looking forward to your pictures.
Glad to have you aboard!
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
April 23, 2016
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Yes, I am from South Africa.
Legislation on gun ownership was tightened up about 7 years ago with a re-registration exercise whereby all owners had to re-apply for their licenses as well as complete competency evaluations in 4 weapon types being, Rifle, Handgun, Shotgun and Self Loading Carbine. There is some belief that the authorities of the previous regime deleted or corrupted the database before resigning their positions. In principle it is not a bad thing as it results in citizens all having a minimum skill level and some understanding of the law and responsibility of owning a weapon. There are restrictions that limit the quantity of weapons owned by an ordinary citizen as well as the amount of cartridges etc. If you go to the trouble of joining a Hunting/Shooting Club you can attain the status of Dedicated Sportsman and or Dedicated Hunter. When these statuses are attained (or Collector) you are in theory able to have unlimited firearms as long as they are motivated with an endorsement from your hunting/sporting body. We have it a lot better than some countries even with these restrictions but there is always the antagonism of the authorities trying to limit gun ownership and delay or decline license applications. Legal gun owners also bare the brunt of the "Gun Free" society supporters as we are the easiest target. So far I have been lucky and have fortunately never had an application declined.
Shooting is a lot more expensive here and benchmark pricing is the landed cost of imported product and local manufacturers price accordingly so we as shooters have no free rides.
Game is however plentiful and increasing in numbers due to the expansion and popularity of game farming so we are fortunate on that front.
Below a recent pic of my Dan Wesson. This particular juvenile African Bushpig was selected for the pic as it was the most "presentable" for photographing. This specie has rapidly expanded it's range across the country into areas it was never seen before and is posing an increasingly severe problem for Maize / Corn farmers. We target them regularly and sounders of up to 30 animals are flushed at times.
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July 2, 2011
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Welcome to the the Dan Wesson Forum family. That was wonderful introduction narrative. Thank you so much for sharing it. It always amazes me how our shared interest brings people from all parts of the world to our little corner of cyber space. I look forward to seeing your photos.
To the paranoid people who check behind shower curtains for murderers:
if you find one...what's your plan?
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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Easily a "World Class" introduction, Welcome to DWF
Steve
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.
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August 28, 2009
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Some good stories there - thanks for sharing them. It sounds like you've had years of great experiences with your DW revolver. Here's a big shoutout to Denel Land Systems down there in Pretoria for sending us some of their Vektors back in the late '90's. They're pretty scarce here nowadays since Vektor USA didn't last for more than a couple years. They're one of my favorites for a lot of reasons......and just because, they're made in SA!
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December 4, 2011
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My neighbor's brother is a Maize farmer, grows about 3000 or so acres and he has mentioned those critters you speak of and how destructive they are to his crops.
Great pic by the way! Thanks for bringing us up to date on the gun situation in your country. It sounds better than some but not as good as here. Glad you still have some freedoms with the firearms.
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
Dans Club
January 17, 2015
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Great introduction - welcome to the DW forum.
July 3, 2014
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Welcome from south Texas.
April 23, 2016
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Testing loads and sighting in at 50m.
It was quite a joke back in 1987 on that tour. I had bought cases, MTM boxes for them, speed loaders, the Uncle Mikes Shoulder Holster in the pic above, carbide dies, shell holder and everything I would need back home but couldn't find a revolver. Afterwards everybody I knew was looking out for one for me. My time was running out and I think I was into week 4 of a 6 week visit when Tom Styles of Mo told me about the guy he had just seen walk in the door at the Gun Show in KC, Mo with the big DW tucked in behind his back. I think I paid $200-00 in travelers cheques on the spot. Lucky indeed.
We have covered some miles together over the years.
April 23, 2016
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Thank you all for the welcome and kind words.
The shooting and hunting society in America have always been very Pro ZA and I have never been made to feel unwelcome by any of you ever and I have been over to shoot a couple of times.
Great members of society indeed.
Dans Club
December 5, 2008
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Welcome! Glad to have you on the Forum.
Thanks for the great introduction, stories and photos. Really glad you had such a great experience when you were in this country. Maybe you will get back sometime.
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February 1, 2016
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Hello and from Ohio.
Looking forward to more
of your 44 Mag.
SIZE DOES MATTER
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January 24, 2009
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Welcome to the forum, I think you may be our first member here from South Africa.
So reading your post #11 with the holster, back in '87, were you specifically looking for a Dan Wesson initially? That's great that you were able to find your 744, and especially cool that you were able to shoot at an IHMSA competition.
Glad you decided to join the and again...
April 25, 2008
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Great story and to the forum!
I remember that story about you from the Internationals. I was not able to attend that one, but made the others in Oakridge in 91, 93 and 95, plus the Region 2 Championships there in 1989.
The Savantist
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February 9, 2009
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Great introduction and awesome story you have. So glad you shared this with us. It is a real treat to hear from the other side of the globe what a Dan Wesson handgun has done to join folks from different parts of the world. A hearty welcome from PA- USA.
SMF
A man cannot have too many SuperMags
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March 17, 2016
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Welcome Kalahari, from Missouri. That was a super story and I would love to see more of you game pics. That 44 ought to be perfect for your brush hogs. KC has some great gun shows, have you been back since?
April 23, 2016
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G'day all.
Charger - I wanted a 744VH8 as I was following the success this model was having at IHMSA via various publications we received here at the time. It was also a rare piece compared to Rugers that were quite common on the firing line especially Blackhawks. I was part of the initial Silhouette movement in SA and mostly competed in HP Rifle and RF Rifle classes. I used to borrow a .44 Rem Redhawk to use in the Prod Revolver class but wanted my own gun to practice to get to the 40 x 40 level.
Capt Dan -I have been back a number of times but regulations have changed so it is not viable to look for hardware when over there as it is a mission getting it back safely. Might be over later this year. Even bringing a scope out now requires some kind of an export doc.
Here's a pic of an old Warthog I took with one shot at about 45m while out hunting Kudu. 248gr SWC at about 1350fps. These animals have also exploded in numbers due to the availability of watering points for cattle that ranchers have located far into the interior. We saw our first warthogs in the Southern Kalahari in 1982 and since then we can shoot 2 a month and not dent the population. Very hardy and tough animals, destructive to all forms of produce and love creating a water leak to wallow in. By the time you find the leak half the reservoir has been wasted out.
Harley S - Know the Vectors well. A heavy solid brute of a pistol that does not quit.Too expensive to manufacture to compete with the high volume plastic guns. Here is one that you might like after some treatment!
Talk later!
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