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February 4, 2012
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I'm new here- Hello!
I have a 14-1 or 14-2 (it's not handy ATM) Fixed sight Monson .357 w/ a 4" barrel and standard shroud- your basic service revolver of yore. Not having any where else to ask, I too am wondering about shroud interchangeability. I'm wanting a 8" or maybe 12" set-up and I see EWK makes these, but for adjustable sight models. I know nothing of these folks- are they OK? I do need at least DW factory quality as I run some pretty hot loads. How hot? they stretched a Taurus med.frame .002 after 100 rounds (sold it fast) but this one has went through at least 1000 with no wear of any kind. These are not a regular-diet, those are close to standard. I won't post the load for the safety of others who may not know the limit of their reloading skills- I don't want any hurt people or destroyed guns on my conscience!
My front sight had a plastic insert (not stock and not a great job) which needs to go. I doubt this one has much collectors appeal so I was also thinking about retro-fitting an adjustable rear sight since I have a machinist friend to do the required milling gratis. Or I might just file-fit a wedge-shape blade into a dovetail since I don't plan on changing barrels once sighted in. If anyone has any experience with this I'd like to hear what you think. Age is making the stock sight tough to see these days- I need something better.
I have been on a 12 year hiatus from shooting and am just getting back into the game. I'd heard that DW went under and it's not like it used to be at gun shows and shops here- where there once was much for this one, there now is nothing. Once again I will not commit sacrilege and destroy a collectible so if I'm about to do that please tell me so I can stop! Just remember this is a service pistol with high mileage finish-wise and not original already.
In general, this is an awesome revolver. The rest are gone now but I had to keep this one. Never being satisfied with the status quo, I've always honed/polished/lubed my actions to super-sweetness and found great improvement- but not with this one! Right from the used gun shelf I could barely improve on it, save for tightening the barrel which was loose. I would like to reduce the sear depth for S/A but not at the risk of losing good parts which would be a bugger to replace now. I can't afford anything else now so this one is a keeper, and deservedly so. It once shot 2" groups at 50' which was as good as I could do- i hope with practice to do even better. I know it can so the rest is up to me. Maybe I'd trade it for an adjustable-sight DW but otherwise it's mine and it ain't going nowhere else- ever!
Phil
February 11, 2010
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CarpenterMan said:
I'm wanting a 8" or maybe 12" set-up and I see EWK makes these, but for adjustable sight models. I know nothing of these folks- are they OK?
EWK is 5-Stars ! If you need the shorter/lower front sight of the original
14 design or the taller of the model 15 he has them, Eric even has fiber
optic sights for those aging eyes.
No one has put an EWK barrel through an extreme test yet so there is no
advise on super hot loads, I have put a couple hundred rounds through the
one I bought and about half of those were 158gr at 1350fps which is a
moderate to warm load and I have had flawless results.
-Blacktop
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Range Officer
Range Officers
May 2, 2009
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EWK is Great to deal with !!!
As far as your DW goes, if you have a fixed sight frame with a plastic insert front sight, someone changed barrels on it. You POA is probably off due to wrong sight height. The plastic insert shrouds go on the 15 series adj sight frames.
EWK can provide you with a 14 series sight for your current shroud.
SHOOT
February 4, 2012
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Thanks for the replies so far 
I have found some of my answers by digging deeper into the forums. I usually read everything before asking questions that may already be answered but it was late and with 100+ pages to go, I'll get to them all as soon as I can. I am definitely rabidly in love with my single DW, even though I can't live up to it's potential. It's the finest mass-production machinery one can get, and that takes more effort, thought, and care than hand-finishing something to iron out production mistake 
I admire it much as I did my old US Krag rifle with it's superb millwork and reliable innovative design. Sadly I am poor so this is likely to be my only DW, but at least I've got one!
It looks like I'll be doing business with EWK as soon as I can acquire some cash. I will need that front sight- mine was a homemade hack and that's the main thing wrong with this one. I'd love an adjustable sight version, but there's some sentimental value with this one which I got from a dear friend which prevents me from using it in trade. I'm still looking for 'hot loads' threads here. I'm not out to destroy this thing but I am still amazed at how well it handles these with no measurable wear or ill effects. This is as good as it gets in a revolver costing three times as much!
Phil
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January 24, 2009
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I'm not one to usually condone carving up a perfectly capable DW in an effort to make it something it wasn't meant to be, but I also respect the "it's your gun & you have the right" credo.
Myself, if I wanted something with adjustable sights, I'd probably go find one.
Likewise, I have an opinion on the "hot load" subject. I am no fan of hot loads. If I wanted my 'ol .357 to have more horsepower, I'd probably go look for a .44 Mag & be done with it. There was a time that the .357 was the "muscle round" to be desired. With time, the .357 has become a rather tame round by today's standards, but it still has it's place & is very potent when needed, it definitely doesn't pass as some old slouch. The DW frame will absolutely handle many rounds of hot loads, no doubt, but I learned 20+ years ago to try to stick within the design characteristics that some guns were made for.
Honestly, I have yet to personally see a DW succumb to whatever over-the-top rounds some people feed them. Any lesser gun would have crawled home to momma.
Now this is not to say that it can't happen...that many rounds of hot loads don't take their toll after a while, it just takes longer for DW's to raise the white flag & say "you know what, if this is all you think of me, then I'm through playing".
Here's one such DW soldier. Many rounds of hot loads have effectively turned the recoil plate around the firing pin into a washboard type of "primer-catcher" when the cylinder is cycled. The next (albeit uneducated) owner of this gun is undoubtedly wonder what the heck is wrong with this thing?
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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I think (and I know from my many years ago reloading experiences) that the DW Small Frame is very stout and unlikely to fail with a .357 Magnum load that is unsafe in some other brands. "Fail" is different from "prudent" for longevity, but if I was testing the limits of .357 Magnum, I'd be unlikely to trust anything but a Dan Wesson or Ruger SRH.
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.
George Carlin
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Range Officers
Dans Club
March 27, 2009
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EWK is the way to go! Email him and ask questions! Keep us posted on the What's up with 14! Post some pics up here as we love the well worn well used still in service Dan's!
February 4, 2012
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I understand everyone's concerns about my hot loads, and generally I agree. But I am not seeking 'more horsepower' per se; what I am seeking is maximum velocity from a decent-sized caliber with accuracy and safety. I have just found that the manufacturer of the powder I use isn't recommending it's use with the 125gr bullets I prefer any longer, so once again I am on a quest. As most of you may know, the .357 was introduced in 1935 in a large-frame revolver which for many years was the only way to get it. As smaller framed guns were later chambered for it, SAAMI reduced their allowed max pressure for the cartridge to allow for those newer guns. I do not expect a steady diet of hot loads to have no effect on even a DW which is why I limit my use of them. I do desire something closer to the original cartridge which is part of why I got started into handloading- economy is the other part. If you can't buy what you want you have to make it yourself! And I want a light lever action carbine to use this same load in.
When the 357 Maximum was introduced I became a drooling idiot for awhile. It was exactly what I sought- or so I thought. Then I found it wasn't available in a light lever action carbine and it had some issues of it's own in gas cutting of the backstrap. I once had a well-worn RG 22 short revolver break at that point in my hand. The cylinder was aligned, there was no bore obstruction, the cheap piece of junk simply failed at it's weakest point while plinking. Even with that tiny cartridge it is something I do not wish to experience again, and that all pretty much turned me away from the 357MAX.
I would still like more input on my thoughts of converting from a fixed rear sight. Not having an adjustable sight version to compare it to I don't know if this idea is even feasible. I would get one of those instead if I could afford it but so far I haven't found one in my very limited budget range. Bits and pieces of money I can do, larger chunks I can't. Maybe I'll win the lottery and solve my dilemma. If that happens you'll hear about it here as I acquire some more DW's to fill out my dream list!
Phil
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