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November 28, 2010
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I just aquired a new old stock never fired, DW 15-2V Pistol Pac in .357 Magnum in blue with 4 barrels.
I own a Ransom Rest (but need adapters for the DW 15-2.)
What kind of accuracy should I expect at 20Y and 25Y with this pistol from rest?
Also, what bullet and load would you all suggest to start with? I was thinking of using a known super accurate load that I have developed and use in my S&W 52-2 wadcutter (.358 hollow base wadcutter lead bullet) bullseye pistol. This will chamber in the 15-2. It is a powder puff load that just barely moves the 52-2 action but was tested by me to produce sub half inch 10 shot groups in the Ransom Rest time after time.
Since the 15-2 has no action to move, I would suspect it could work very well... your thoughts?
Thanks Art
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Range Officer
Range Officers
May 2, 2009
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One of the members here has a Ransom rest insert for the DW that he picked up on Ebay, but I don't remember who it was.
Most loads shoot very well out of a DW 
SHOOT
May 17, 2010
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Given your questions and descriptions, I can only give a little info:
DW's are VERY accurrate, put against any other revolver.
All DW 15-2' came with 1:16 twist barrels ( all lenghts). Since it is a sturdy .357 you can feel comfortable with heavier bullets and higher pressures if needed to get the accurracy you want. 20 -25 yards is pretty close range for these guns.
EWK (see side bar over there>>>>>>) offers a 1:12 twist barrel set. As I am more partial to a more standard 158gr wad-cutter or semi-wadcutter, the faster twist makes these already great guns even better.
I would love to see a range report once you get everything tweaked.
PS: 
Soap Box, Ballot Box, Ammo Box
in that order.
4 Monson Model 15's
1 Palmer FB 15
1 Rossi 357 Model 92 (lever)
1 CZ 75B
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Range Officers
May 2, 2009
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Pinetor said:
All DW 15-2' came with 1:16 twist barrels ( all lenghts).
Not so grasshopper... Dw eventually changed over to "Fast twist barrels" (1:12) after some competition shooters complained of poor accuracy with heavier bullets. I have a few of these barrels, and it is readily apparent when you look down one compared to the original barrels.
SHOOT
May 17, 2010
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SHOOTIST357 said:
Pinetor said:
All DW 15-2' came with 1:16 twist barrels ( all lenghts).
Not so grasshopper... Dw eventually changed over to "Fast twist barrels" (1:12) after some competition shooters complained of poor accuracy with heavier bullets. I have a few of these barrels, and it is readily apparent when you look down one compared to the original barrels.
SHOOT
I bow to the ancient authority and concede my ignorance.
Yeah what Shoot said...
Soap Box, Ballot Box, Ammo Box
in that order.
4 Monson Model 15's
1 Palmer FB 15
1 Rossi 357 Model 92 (lever)
1 CZ 75B
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Range Officer
Range Officers
May 2, 2009
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Pinetor said:
SHOOTIST357 said:
Pinetor said:
All DW 15-2' came with 1:16 twist barrels ( all lenghts).
Not so grasshopper... Dw eventually changed over to "Fast twist barrels" (1:12) after some competition shooters complained of poor accuracy with heavier bullets. I have a few of these barrels, and it is readily apparent when you look down one compared to the original barrels.
SHOOT
I bow to the ancient authority and concede my ignorance.
Yeah what Shoot said...
ANCIENT !!! who you calling ancient ...
... No worries, my head is full of useless facts 
SHOOT
February 11, 2010
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Star4Ever said:
What kind of accuracy should I expect at 20Y and 25Y with this pistol from rest?
I can get 2 in or slightly better groups at 25 yrds with a MTM rest, 158grn jacketed bullets
in factory ammo. With an Ransom you should do better than that.
November 4, 2008
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Once you get the adaptors let the lead fly!
Please, post what you do with a miriade of loads. The 52-2 load would be a great benchmark load. I use this also in my 52-1 and it is very accurate in my Dan Wessons also. As you know, it is not a good all around load that one would use for defense or hunting of course.
Some basic loads I would like to see would be:
11 to 15 grs 2400 - 158gr JSP
4 grs up to 6 grs Universal - 158gr SWC
2.8 grs up to 5.5 grs Bullseye - 148gr HCDEWC
I really like the 4.5 to 5.2 gr Bullseye - 148 Hard Cast DEWC load right now. Like to see what it does at the 25yd and 50yd marks with a RR.
November 28, 2010
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Hi Guys:
thanks for the kind feedback. Here are my plans… I will start with my typical known high accuracy load for .38 Special however I will load these in .357 magnum cases. Reason being, the .357 is just a tad longer and I do not want leading to happen at the case mouth with the shorter .38 Special case.
So I will start with 2.7g of Bullseye (a proven accurate load for me) topped with any of three bullets:
H&G Self Cast #50 LWC
H&G Self Cast #173 LSWC
Hornady Lead Hollow Base LWC
All of these are 148g +/- bullets. I will build these on my Star Universal with a .357 machine head and perfection 4 die set. Probably 50 rounds of each plus a few extras. I will weight the bullets and sort them by weight for loading.
The next thing I have to do is contact Ransom and see what the availability is for a DW 15-2 grip fixture. If not available I will have to have them make me one.
November 28, 2010
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Regarding test barrels, mine is the 6 inch Ventilated standard Monson twist which is 1:16 twist. For the testing phase 2 I will likely order a 6 inch 1:12 twist from Eric at EWK to see what the effect on accuracy will be with the different twist barrels.
This is going to be fun.
BTW, Ransom does list both the Large frame and Small frame Dan Wesson pistols in their fixture list... Of course these are the most expensive fixtures they offer... my bad luck.
November 4, 2008
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Great starting point. My guess is that the HBWC will be the most accurate of these 3 with that particular powder load.
Curious, how much are the fixtures?
Also, if you could supply a comparative firearm such as a Python or Freedom Arms, it would be even more interesting.
Are you going to chrono the tests?
Photo targets?
Adjust barrel gap?
November 28, 2010
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The fixtures are about $115 each plus shipping so not a trivial purchase.
I do not have any other round guns or fixtures for them for the Ransom that are chambered in 357 Magnum. I do have an Action Cup which is .38 Special but this particular Action Cup is in a league of its own. Not a fair comparison but it has the 1:12 barrel from what I can deduce.
I could chrono the tests, photograph the targets and I plan on varying the barrel gap and using a torque wrench to insure similar torque so things are repeatable.
Thanks for the input.
Art
November 28, 2010
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Took the 15-2 out to the range today loaded with Hornady 148g Hollow Base Wadcutters sitting atop 2.8g Bullseye. Once I was dialed in the typical 6 shot groups from shot bag at 25 yards were 1 1/2".
There were quite a few instances when I had perhaps 3 shots essentially in one hole, then one or two would leak out. Shooting conditions were 31 degrees F with winds between 5 and 15 MPH.
I was using a brand new EWK (which arrived yesterday) 6" 1:12 barrel in the standard ventilated shroud.
This is quite promising for a start.
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January 24, 2009
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Star4Ever said:
This is quite promising for a start.
I must agree, that sounds better than I can do on ANY day.
Yes, that whole "broadside of a barn" saying was intended for me.
If I don't try, then I'm better...like if I'm chasing a moving rolling target down a hill, for example.
Don't know why.
Can't wait to hear what the ransom rest does. 
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