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April 29, 2020
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It all started over forty years ago, I was in college and started to get interested in guns. My older brother brought home a copy of "Handgun Tests" (not to be confused with "Gun Tests" magazine). I read that mag from cover to cover many time (I might still have it in the basement) and decided that I liked the Dan Wesson.
The reported accuracy was very attractive and I like the idea of switching out the barrels. So I decided that I was going to get a 15-2VH6 and later get a 4" barrel.
I was going to Pitt and I'd pop into Braverman Arms in Wilkensburg from time to time. Lo and behold, one day they had a used 15-2H6. No vents but I'd live. As I recall, the price was about $180 (I was making $3.50/hr and working 24 hours a week). So I wrote a check, did the paperwork, and, if I recall correctly, we had a three day waiting period. The dealer gave me a Dan Wesson marked gun rug and I bought a Pachmayr grip for it.
Whoo-hoo! I had my Dan! Now the problems started. My parents were vehemently anti-gun. My father was really ticked that I had joined the college gun club. I toted it home in my pack and stashed it in my closet. I had bought a bunch of .38 Spl ammo and would sneak the gun out of the house from time to time and head to a commercial range.
I decided that it would be prudent to get a carry license so I could transport it more easily. Filled out the paperwork, gave it to the sheriff and waited. After a few weeks, I called to see if I'd been approved and was told that it would be a few more weeks. Ok, not a problem. Nah, it hit the fan the very next day.
I was coming home from school and walking down my street I could feel that something was WRONG. Negative vibes were flowing up the road at me. I got home and was surprised to see my dad's car. I walked in and my mother was there too. They had decided to play hooky from work and do some chores around the house. "Hi." I was greeted with "Where's the gun?" What gun? "The sheriff called and said that you have a gun." Really? The sheriff calls the one day that my workaholic parents decided to blow off work?
I was given the classic parental ultimatum, get rid of it or find a new place to live. My $300 a month income wouldn't let me look in the window of an apartment so I folded. I sold the Dan to my married brother and threw in the ammo, gun rug, and the cool shoulder holster that I had bought. Now I had to go shooting with my brother to shoot my Dan.
A year or so later, I'm out of college and working (still not making good money yet) and I stop at Braverman Arms one day after work. Lo and behold they had a Dan Wesson 15-2H6 in the used gun case. The price was roughly the same as the original, my aging memory says that it was $190 (about $600 in today's money). So I bought it. I used that Dan for bullseye matches as well as bowling pin and steel matches.
About ten years later my brother is making noises about wanting a High Power. FEG was making a nice High Power clone, so I offered to trade my brother one for my original Dan. Reunited and it feels so good (apologies to Peaches and Herb). Someplace the original wrench disappeared but I can live with that.
So now I have my two 15-2H6s as well as the Pistol Pack that I mentioned elsewhere.
Dans Club
December 7, 2020
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Great Story! I am still on the search for my first Dan that I sold in 1993.
DWF Supporters
July 12, 2020
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Cool story. I'm from around PGH and recognized the Braverman name but never went there when they were open.
Dans Club
February 24, 2013
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Great story! I wish I knew about Dans way earlier in life, I’d have every caliber by now!
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Moderators
January 24, 2009
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Great story, thanks for sharing! 
KurtB said
Great story! I wish I knew about Dans way earlier in life, I’d have every caliber by now!
Same here...well, kinda. I first knew about DW's around 1981 or so, but we were starting our young family at the time & there was zero funds available for something like a DW. But I am totally kicking myself for not being aware enough to jump in with both feet once Norwich was up and running! I should have bought a few less bikes at the time & a whole lot more DW's!
DWF Supporters
March 28, 2023
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Wow I have a similar story. I was working at Arthur Treachers fish & Chips in 1979 ($3.35 an hour) when I was 18. I saw a Dan Wesson my friend had bought one. Not being old enough I had my friend buy my 15-2 8 inch plain barrel for $170. Two weeks later my friend who knew the FFL pulled out a pistol pac. I got him to take back the gun I had just bought and paid the extra $180 and got the heavy vent pac! somewhere down the line I sold it for whatever reason but the whole reason I wanted one was watching Dirty Harry and Taxi Driver! I would do the Taxi Driver thing in the mirror with my Dan Wesson with the 8 inch barrel attached! "Are you talking to me? I'm the only one here"
Dans Club
December 5, 2008
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Dans Club
February 24, 2013
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I learned of DW at a LGS Jan, 2013. Me and 2 buddies were there shooting in the indoor range. When done shooting we would peruse the inventory for sale. Saw a .44 PAC and thought it was a S&W brand, but when I leaned closer to the glass case I read “Dan Wesson”. I thought , what?! who is Dan Wesson? I immediately fell in love with it and had to buy it on the spot. Plus, I thought how cool is it to be able to change barrel lengths by yourself, no gunsmith required?!!!
Like everyone else, after purchasing, I immediately got online and searched Dan Wesson and found the 
, joined, and made my first post , what do I have here and can anyone tell me it’s manufactured date?
Years went by before I bought the new 715 pac (Jan 2017). I also order the 2.5” & 10” BAs for it right away from the CZ web store. After that, 
set in and I’ve been “investing” ever since.
April 29, 2020
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605Dart said
Cool story. I'm from around PGH and recognized the Braverman name but never went there when they were open.
Great local gun shop. I watched the neighborhood decline over the decades.
When I was young and still looking at getting my first gun, I said to the manager, Buddy Savage, "You're probably tired of me coming in here and putting fingerprints on all of your guns." His reply has stuck with me, "Not at all. Right now, you're a looker but someday you'll be a buyer. If I don't let you look, you won't buy here."
I bought four or five guns there, a few after I moved out of the area. I must have sent over a hundred people there over the years.
Sadly, after Buddy retired, the new owner couldn't keep the place open.
April 29, 2020
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KurtB said
. . . thought it was a S&W brand, but when I leaned closer to the glass case I read “Dan Wesson”. I thought , what?! who is Dan Wesson? I immediately fell in love with it and had to buy it on the spot.
When I bought my first one, I told a co-worker about it. He said, "I have one of those." He called it a "Dan and Wesson" and told me that the gun salesman (Gunner's Den in downtown Pittsburgh) had told him that Smith & Wesson had gone out of business and one of the owners formed a new company. He was very surprised and irked when I told him that S&W was still in business.
DWF Supporters
April 13, 2024
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Thanks for sharing that great story!
November 14, 2019
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A little off topic, but one of the best gun shops in PA is in Saint Marys (Elk County Ammo and Arms). I bought a bunch of guns from there and make the hours long drive each time.
I saw a snub nose DW 715 there back in 2015 for $360. I was there to pick up an old double barrel and didn't have the extra scratch for the DW. They told me they get a few a year.
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Dans Club
March 25, 2013
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Kurt, I call it investing too. My wife says it is hoarding. I have too many for it to be hoarding, it has to be investing. 🤔
Dans Club
February 24, 2013
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Absolutely Ole Dog, that’s our story and we’re sticking to it! 
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Dans Club
March 25, 2013
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April 29, 2020
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I figured that I should add a couple pics. The bottom one is the first Dan, SN 64xxx, and the top is Dan #2, SN 200xxx. The scratches on the side plate of the older one were there when I bought it. I have no idea what the guy could have been doing to cause that.
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DWF Supporters
June 11, 2016
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Probably just ejecting spent shells.
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Dans Club
March 25, 2013
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No! No! No!. The scratches on the sideplate are from letting the cylinder close while the ejector rod is extended. The star is a horribly sharp device that gouges the sideplate. There is no latch to prevent it like a Smith. Most scratches are incurred the first time the gun is used by the new owner. When ejecting cases hold the gun in your right hand tilted to the left with your index and middle finder pushing against the cylinder through the frame window. Do not let the cylinder close until the star is retracted. IT IS NOT FROM SPEED LOADERS OR CASES.
The good news is because the frame is investment cast and is always a different hue of blue (or Barney) than the rolled steel of the sideplate, if the scratches are not too deep the sideplate can be polished and reblued. There is no stigma and no one will notice it has been reblued if done by a professional. The shroud is also rolled steel and can be reblued. Most Revolvers lose value if reblued, even if it is done at the factory. Since there are no records available there is no foul.
April 29, 2020
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Thanks for that explanation.
February 8, 2014
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I started "collecting" Dan Wessons around 2011 when I saw one come in on consignment at a LGS and bought it as soon as the person turned over to the owner. I knew NOTHING about Dan Wesson revolvers, but I knew I wanted more. Actually, I got into buying about any revolver I could find, but DWs were at the top of the list. I sold several of the S&Ws some Rugers and a few Colts but have held on to every Dan I bought. I think my last count was 27, with 2 of them being multi barrel Pistol Packs. It has been a learning experience that I am thankful to have experienced.
After our new home is completed, I will beg my wife to relieve me from the promise I made her not to buy any guns while the house was being built so we could concentrate on making sure we got the house taken care of the way SHE wants it. 
Then I will look for number 28 which will probably be a 22 cal.
Steve S.
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