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September 16, 2010
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Hello all. I'm new here, but am hoping for a little help. I have an opportunity to purchase what I believe is a 44V6. It is .44Mag, 6 in (ported) with a vent. rib. I'm pretty sure it has been shot a lot, but I have one question that concerns me: The timing checks out, and the cylinder is pretty solid when in the "lockup" position with the trigger back. (Not bank vault solid, but decent) While at rest, however it is possible to rotate the cylinder by hand counter clockwise without touching the trigger or hammer. Is this a major concern, and would this be a difficult or expensive repair job? I think I can get a pretty good price on the gun, but I just want to make sure I won't have to spend a few hundred to get it running properly.
Thanks for the help, and if I end up purchasing it you will be seeing a lot more of me around here. 🙂
Joe
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Range Officers
Dans Club
February 28, 2009
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Welcome to the DWF Joe.
It sounds to me like you do need some service. When the gun is at rest it should be in lockup. To me this means (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that when you pull the trigger it goes out of lock to rotate the cylinder and may not lockup before the firing pin strikes the primer. This would be a very dangerous situation. only you can determine if it locks up after pulling the trigger.
Good Luck.
-Mike
September 16, 2010
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Thanks Mike. It does seem to lock up after the trigger is pulled. With the trigger back there is only a slight amount of play. It is only while at rest that it can be rotated by hand, and it only seems to be possible to rotate it counter-clockwise. (opposite of normal cylinder rotation)
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November 17, 2008
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Joe. I will take a stab at this but by no means am I an expert, so someone correct me if I miss speak. The Bolt which locks the cylinder in place is only under light spring pressure (still shouldn't rotate) when the trigger is at rest but pulls up tight when the trigger is pulled. The bolt is also beveled to ease rotation and if the grooves which the bolt falls in to becomes dirty the cylinder can easily be rotated backwards. This happened to one of my revolvers and a good scrubbing and literally had to scrape the recess in the cylinder free of gunk not visible to the naked eye, fixed the issue. If a thorough cleaning of these areas does not fix the problem it may require the attention of a smith. Others here may have better ideas. Good luck and keep us informed.
LB
Wisdom is merely the realization of how little one knows, therefore I am wise.
September 16, 2010
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Thanks LB! Hopefully that easy fix will work. I also no notice that the porting seems clogged and very dirty. Is there a good way to clean this out?
Range Officer
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Dans Club
February 28, 2009
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Cleaning the porting can be difficult. It may be very difficult to get the shroud off of the barrel. Once you do, a 12 ga. bore brush will clean out the shroud and I use a fingernail emery board (lightly) on the outside of the barrel. DW recommends using only jacketed bullets with the ported barrel, otherwise you could almost weld the shroud to the barrel with hot lead residue.
-Mike
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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Joe- One thing to remember, most 44 shrouds are ported, many barrels are not. I have a ported barrel and had a lot of crap in the shroud and packed into the holes in the barrel. Took an hour of serious effort just to get the shroud off.
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
September 16, 2010
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Steve CT said:
Joe- One thing to remember, most 44 shrouds are ported, many barrels are not. I have a ported barrel and had a lot of crap in the shroud and packed into the holes in the barrel. Took an hour of serious effort just to get the shroud off.
Thanks Steve. It's funny I was thinking that when I first looked at it. I was told it was ported, and I know the owner used to shoot a lot of handloads through it, making me think it had been shot a lot with lead and the ports were clogged up but I couldn't help but thinking that it appeared that there were no ports at all. I think that takes away one of my concerns. I'll give it a good cleaning and see where to go from there.
Thanks to everyone for all the help on this. That's what I love about gun people… my first post on this forum and everyone is more than willing to help out. 
August 28, 2009
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I have a new Norwich .445 that was doing the same thing. The cause was the bolt was rubbing against the side of the frame and not extending fully to engage the cylinder. I had to polish the bolt so that it didn't catch on the frame. You can pull out the trigger assembly and ensure everyting is clean and the bolt is moving freely. If you don't want to pull out the trigger assembly, you can try flooding the inside of the frame at the bolt area with lubricant and make sure that it is moving freely and extending fully into the cylinder. This will probably solve the problem unless the bolt or cylinder are worn and one or the other needs replacement.
September 16, 2010
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Thanks Harly. If I buy it I may take out the trigger assembly, but that might be a bit out of my league, so I won't do it until the gun is mine. Either way it sounds like this shouldn't be to expensive of a fix if I can get the gun for a good price.
Think it is worth the risk if I can get it for under $400?
Supporter
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Range Officers
May 2, 2009
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How much pressure does it take to turn the cylinder by hand? Lots of DW's have cylinders that will do this with some pressure. You are simply overcoming the spring pressure. Now it you barely touch it and it turns, you may have to dig deeper.
SHOOT
September 16, 2010
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It's definitely not turning just by barely touching it. It's hard to describe the amount of pressure... maybe a couple pounds of pressure? About the same amount I use to check for movement when it is locked up with the trigger back. Not forcing it, but definitely not lightly touching it either.
Thanks again for all the help. I've never owned a Dan Wesson, and they seem to work a bit different than the other major manufacturers.
February 11, 2010
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Your bolt plunger spring maybe weak.
-Blacktop
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Dans Club
February 22, 2009
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I'd dicker the price down a bit; show the fella that the cylinder rotates when it shouldn't and that you'll be out time and possibly cash in order to fix it. I'd try 350 and work up to 375- although 400 isn't bad depending on the condition- which is why you're bartering in the first place.
As far as removing lead- I'm an advocate of the Foul Out system. Works like a charm and no elbow grease. Completely cleans the lead (or copper) from the grooves- its a sort of reverse electroplating. I clean all my guns initially w/ this system and then follow up w/ a lube of Kroil. Secondary cleanings are soooo easy now.
Everyone on this forum will go out of their way to help fix a DW issue- truly one of the best places on the net.
Technically, the glass is always full; half liquid, half air....
September 16, 2010
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Well, it took a while to make this happen, but I ended up getting it for $300. At that price I think I'm going to bring it to my local gunsmith that I have been using for years and have him take a look at it. I'll try to get some pics up when I have a few extra minutes.
November 14, 2009
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Now that is a really good price, hopefully it won't take too much to make it work the way you want it. I still have two 44s and 1 45LC that need a little attention myself, but we have no smiths in CT that I know of that could be trusted with a DW.
Happyness is a Hot DW and a pile of used brass!!! Rich
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