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November 20, 2020
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TLDR, inherited a 744vh with issues. Sent it to CZ through genny and Bob as reccomended from here and I'm now close to 500$ worth of parts and smithing and not willing to send it in a third time,thus, looking for another reccomendation.
Long version. Inherited a 744vh from my father in law who, rest his soul, didn't take care of firearms. Ever... So his forever nightstand revolver would freely spin the cylinder when pulling the trigger DA or SA. I sent in the revolver to CZ to get worked on and ordered a 10 and 2.5 inch barrel to round out the collection while I was at it. Got the gun back the first time after FedEx lost it. Not cz's fault but man was it a nail biter to get told my wife's dad's only revolver was now just gone. I got it back a week later miraculously. Top strap had straight up angle grinder marks on it and the frame had been attacked with a bastard file. I have pics but don't feel like abusing my pitiful sattelite internet today. Might post when I have 4g in town. They had replaced the hand and a bunch of other small parts inside. I walk down to the orchard to go finish my box of hornady I bought when I inherited the gun since it came with the lead round nose rounds Rod had bought when he first got the gun back in the 80s and I didnt want to shoot those through the ported barrel. Fired one cylinder, same thing, free spinning cylinder in SA and occasionally on DA. Talked to Genny, got an apology for the grinder marks and a shipping label for them to take a look. Meanwhile my barrels arrived at the wrong adress because my shipping adress was different from billing despite the note saying so and emails with genny. It happens nbd. Finally got the revolver back a second time. New unfluted (might as well) cylinder looked great and the grinder marks had been bead blasted into oblivion. You can stil kinda see the file marks in the frame but for how rough the initial marks were it was a damn decent cover up. Walk down to the range to finish the box of ammo and whaddayaknow... Cylinder locks up in SA and sometimes on DA despite Bob the smith having put "150 rounds through it." cylinder also already has drag marks across half its circumference. I've fired a grand total of 18 plain old hornady 44 mag defence, 6 44 spcl jacketed round nose (remington I think, not sure), and 6 American eagle jacketed soft point 44 mag through a firearm I'm now well over a grand in on and I promised my wife this would be my only project before the baby.
I'm trying to ask for a refund on my repair costs or something similar and have gotten no response since emailing on the 9th of April. Am I out of line asking for this?
So again TLDR, anyone reccomend a good smith? I don't mind waiting, I don't mind paying for good labor, but I do mind someone attacking an heirloom with an angle grinder and taking money for a repair that was not completed not once but twice. I can swap a barrel but I know where to draw the line with my current tools/skills.
Sorry for the rant, thanks in advance for any advice/help.
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Dans Club
March 25, 2013
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I don't know what TLDR means. Maybe tough luck damn right? It is a real horror show. You have my sympathies. I would never go out on a limb and recommend a smith. I have never sent a Dan to the factory and I have A LOT OF THEM. I have built small frame guns from bare frames and my parts hoard before but I have never taken one of my large frames apart. They are a bit different with no sideplate. Still, most of the lockwork is similar.
I am not mechanically inclined and came to firearms late in life. I learned to shoot, handle and clean a gun. Then I saw my first Dan Wesson Pistol Pack. Love of Dans has propelled me to learn . Dans are designed to not need gunsmith for most everything. I call them the Thinking Man's gun. Your issues sound like a spring problem. The hand was replaced supposedly so that leaves little else that could be wrong. There is a thread in Gunsmithing on the forum that will walk you through a Tuneup, as we call it. Spring kits are available on eBay, the factory, from Wolff and others. Many are the same as a small frame I believe. Many more knowledgeable folks concerning large frames are on the forum and can answer any questions you have and help. Most gunsmith have very little experience with DWs and can really screw them up treating them like a S&W.
November 20, 2020
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Tyty for the response. They've replaced pretty. Much everything save the star extractor, trigger and hammer. Not sure if they replaced the crane.
I'm semi mechanically inclined but also got into firearms much later when I moved to the US. I've done some smithing on my pump shotguns and my lever actions but not much past that. If it was my 686 I'd take a stab at it but I don't want to wreck the family heirloom. That and I don't have time with the baby almost here.
Edit, TLDR stands for Too Long Didn't Read.
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