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July 26, 2022
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I am buying a stainless DW .44 Mag revolver from a private party off a local firearms board.
The revolver has an 8" vent rib, full lug barrel installed and there are 2 6" barrels included (but only 1 6" shroud). It is wearing a Burris scope in a mount that seems to be clamped to the rib. One of the 6" barrels and the shroud are ported. Seller says he got the extra barrels later. Also says he has some spare internal parts (when he can find them). The asking price is $1200.
The frame is marked "MONSON, MASS. U.S.A." The SN is SB0121xx. Any idea when this was made? Good quality period? The right side of the barrel shroud is double stamped (superimposed with a slight offset) where is is marked "DAN WESSON ARMS / .44 MAGNUM CTG".
Any thoughts, cautions or things in particular to look out for? This will be my first DW revolver but I have been shooting and buying used guns for a long time, including .44 mag (S&W, Ruger Hawks Red and Black, etc.).
Note I'm also stalking a .357 Max Supermag with a couple of barrels at a local spot.
Rob
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Dans Club
February 22, 2009
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Rob, Judging from the Colt and Smiffs I see, you're probably aware of how to check out a revolver.
The only thing in particular with DWs is to see the barrel can easily be separated from the frame. Some owners use loctite on the barrel nut and that makes for a difficult time when trying to remove. The other thing, with 44s in particular, is the ported barrels that were common at the time. If left uncleaned, the barrel shroud becomes difficult to remove because of powder buildup.
As for price- the $1200 is a very good price for a stainless 44 if everything checks out. All eras of DWs have their pros and cons. Monson Mass is the original location and the most common encountered. Your gun is probably circa '89-90 ish... The scope mount and the extra barrel is a plus. Are there other extras like the barrel wrench, box, papers, etc?? I'd ask for a wrench in the deal, if they have one.
Welcome to the DWF! Ron
Technically, the glass is always full; half liquid, half air....
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July 12, 2020
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Welcome to the forum from PA!
February 16, 2016
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to the 
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June 11, 2016
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Welcome to the Forum from Wisconsin.
Dans Club
December 5, 2008
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Welcome to the Forum!
July 26, 2022
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The package includes a factory barrel wrench and what he calls an "upgraded" wrench.
The ported barrel is already off the gun and out of the shroud, so that's not a problem. The porting is different from what I've seen on other guns...it looks like a series of round holes around half of the barrel circumference.
I'm going to try linking one of the seller's pics:
Rob
Dans Club
December 5, 2008
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Dan Wesson called those "power control" barrels. The holes are placed opposite the slots in the shroud. They go all the way around because of the adjustable gap between the cylinder and barrel. Some folks like the setup but many feel it is not very effective and more trouble than it is worth. The later compensated shroud design does work but adds an inch or so to the shroud length.
July 26, 2022
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Met the seller today and bought the revolver. Now it sits in "gun jail" for up to 10 business days.
The included extras are:
- 6" stainless barrel with porting
- 6" blued barrel without
- 6" full lug shroud with port cuts. I think it was blued but has the finish all removed
- Burris 2x20mm scope w/ cheap mount and rings
- factory barrel nut wrench & 0.006 feeler gauge
- EWK barrel nut wrench
- second set of grips (Pachy Signature)
- 100 Hornady XTP 200 gr bullets
- 100 Remington 2 1/2 primers
- some Accurate 9 powder (he wanted me to have some starting fuel for it)
I asked the seller when he last had the barrel off and he said very recently for cleaning. Looking forward to bringing it home and trying some of my favorite .44 Mag loads in it!
Rob
August 8, 2016
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Teddydogno1 said
Met the seller today and bought the revolver. Now it sits in "gun jail" for up to 10 business days.
The included extras are:
- 6" stainless barrel with porting
- 6" blued barrel without
- 6" full lug shroud with port cuts. I think it was blued but has the finish all removed
- Burris 2x20mm scope w/ cheap mount and rings
- factory barrel nut wrench & 0.006 feeler gauge
- EWK barrel nut wrench
- second set of grips (Pachy Signature)
- 100 Hornady XTP 200 gr bullets
- 100 Remington 2 1/2 primers
- some Accurate 9 powder (he wanted me to have some starting fuel for it)
I asked the seller when he last had the barrel off and he said very recently for cleaning. Looking forward to bringing it home and trying some of my favorite .44 Mag loads in it!
Rob
That's a smokin deal! Hell, the Burris scope is worth $200+ by itself. Then you add the value of the extra barrel assembly and barrels you got a great deal.
I had zero luck with that cheap ebay scope mount. Would not fit under the rib. I'd look for a better mount or get the shroud drilled and tapped and use the DW factory scope base mount. I have 3 of them and they're ROCK solid.
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