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Then refer to post #15

I wish I could merge threads, but alas...   Anyway, Jack, I have a bunch of stuff I could add to what Ole Dog has posted, but at this date, and with the limited info we all have to go by (God I wish there was the long historical resources that Ruger, Colt, Smiff for example benefit from that included DW's) I have to admit that much of what I assume to be how your nickel 12 exists today in it's current configuration is just that, merely my opinion based on over a decade researching and comparing the early DW's. 

And I apologize in advance for what likely we be a novel here... 

So first off, I don't intend to confront your opinion in any way, or to try to tell you that the Nickel DW you have landed is in any way sub-par. Because it's not. Hell the gun is 50+ years old, if only it could speak, and tell it's story! And the way you found it and tied it back to the is still truly amazing. I mean, wow!

So I break it down to this; that gun has had a history of custom stuff done to it, most likely within the first 5 years of it's life. Looking at the serial number, I believe there is no way it left the DW factory without an exposed barrel nut. The 2nd thing is that if you look at this pic...

Every gun but the lower left (a 14...no dash) is either a 12, W12 or D11. The W12 on the top row has a S/N of 4748, long past yours. In the middle row are two 12's (no W) #'s 97 & 98 which likely rolled off the assembly line the first week into production in 1970, they are both Pistol Pac's. What I am trying to get at is look at the hammers & triggers on those guns. All four of those (with a latest S/N being 4748) have natural looking grey/silver pieces. 

Now this is where I come to a problem. A few years ago, I had an online photo host site where I stored hundreds of photos of various DW's through the years, complete with S/N's...that site crashed a few years ago, and has left me with practically zero photo references that I had researched over at least a decade. And on that site, I had probably a dozen photos of nickel 12's & W12's. So now I have to go from memory. Do you think I can remember details about nickel 12"s? Crap. Anyway, what I'm getting at is that looking at your gun,  I believe there to be one of two scenarios during it's lifetime. 

1) Your gun left DW as a regular Model 12 in blue, and a few years later when the Model 15 came on board, the owner ordered a 15 BA, then had the gun Nickel plated. The guy who did the nickel job convinced the owner that it would look great if the hammer & trigger would be blued. And he was right!

2) The gun left DW as a regular Model 12 in blue, a few years later when the 15's came out, the original owner thought " that recessed nut looks great!" and he had a gunsmith drill a recessed area into the original shroud. Then he had the whole thing nickel plated. Whoever did the plating said "hey, the hammer & trigger would look great if they were blued!" The owner forked out the extra $.75 (1970's money) for blued bits, and the rest is history.

Anyway, that's my take, sorry for the novel. And again, I don't intend to offend with my opinion, I hope you take it that way. In the end, you still landed a really cool DW with a brief, but neat history here on the I would love to see a range report, and hear your thoughts on shooting one of the ones that started the whole history! BTW, if it's cleaner than your pics show, and you decide to not fire it, I will stand with ya! Because I have a handful of DW's of my own that remain unfired outside of the first day at DW. One of which is the W12 in that top photo, practically zero (also, one of the 12's has had maybe a box of rounds down the pipe, the other practically zero). Here are some closer pics I took today of my (unfired outside DW) W12...

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I'm glad you enjoyed the novel, it did get a tad long. I like the reference of DW's being "gun erector sets", you are totally right! There are many different ways we can set up our favorite DW's to make them "just right" enjoyable, very fun.

Anyway, you're welcome!

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3ric said
I also have enjoyed the “novel”, and it’s a great read! I will have to say however that scenario 2 would not have been possible since the 6” barrel on the original model 12 would have extended beyond the recessed shroud making the use of a recessed barrel nut impossible. I think scenario 1 makes perfect sense. Awesome DW!!

  

Ahh, true! The owner would have to either chop down the 12 barrel, or buy a 15 barrel to fit the newly recessed shroud. Good catch.

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