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Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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Not exactly a poll, but just as the question asks, Why did you choose your first Dan Wesson?
In my case, it was my first gun, less expensive than the Smiths and Colts, and I was fascinated with the interchangeable barrel concept. Truthfully, I have always been a person willing to buy the "outside the mainstream" brands. The crazy part is, it took me 30 years to get any extra barrels.
Steve
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
February 26, 2009
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My first has only been mine for about a month now…
I bought it for 4 reasons:
1. My son has a 744 and loves it (abeit a HAIR trigger on it)
2. When ever I searched the net for info on some Smith's .. the DW always came up as a VERY accurate revolver with interchangeable barrels taboot!
3. I'm tired of luggin a rifle through the thick stuff @ my hunting camp and wanted a 6″ revolver to shoulder carry so I could use my hands to “part the ways” in the hard-hack.
4.I had a 2.75″ Ruger Speed six that I just didn't “love”… I saw this 6″ 15-2V sittin-in-a-case in-the-case @ my local gunshop, picked it up and just marveled @ the condition and beauty of the deep bluing. I asked the GS owner about it and he informed me that it was never fired ;). The trade was on! My next barrel will hopefully be a 2″ (to replace the Sp 6's purpose)
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Range Officers
Dans Club
February 9, 2009
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Great question! Miy answer goes back to my youth. I used to watch the IHMSA club here in Harrisburg when they still met in PA. I marveled at the large Supermag revolvers as they were king of the hill then. I studied the old Sierra reloading manuals my dad had and that Jody has posted on the Forum and longed for these out of the way odd calibers called Supermags. Forward twenty + years till I could afford one and they were in and out of business several times and the quest was on. As my latest collection photo states my first was a 445 SM from Norwich and it was the only one I could lay my hands on at the time. I remeber looking at the Dan Wesson's when they were new in the dealers displays just yearning to own one. They were and still are the best blued revolvers made IMHO. For me it is the quest for the harder to find out of the ordinary guns and calibers and they shoot great. While I have a few other revolvers the DW's are my primary collection, especially the Supermags therein lies the Forum name. Thanks for posting this topic Steve.
A man cannot have too many SuperMags
February 2, 2009
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My brother got one first in 1971, a 15-6 new in the box and he called me to go shoot it with him. We took it to the dump and proceeded to hit everything we pointed it at; cans, bottles, rats, and anything else we aimed at. I was hooked, and bought my first a few years later and like my brother's it hit what you pointed it at.
March 13, 2009
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It called to me… seductively glowing in the showcase… satinly… platinumly… stainless becon of…. “buy me”… lol
Heft, grip, caliber…. had to have it! 
744H, 4" fixed Palmer, MA
March 17, 2009
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Mine was purchased by my grandfather to keep the two legged predators out of the house...it was his nightstand gun for 12 years.
And now its mine...and going right into IDPA duty.
April 25, 2008
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Got into silhouette back in 1985, first with .22's only. The second year I started shooting Big Bore silhouette...a lot of fun with all the noise recoil and those rams way out there at 200 meters. After shooting the single-shots a few months, I had to get a revolver.
The IHMSA organization (you've seen a copy of one of their old ads here) was selling guns and accessories to it's members at good prices. There it was, a Dan Wesson .357 Supermag, your choice of blue or stainless with 8" slotted barrel. Dan Wesson .357 Supermags had cleaned up the Revolver class the last two years since it's introduction. I knew I had to have one.
I placed an order for a 740V8S, some dies and brass and the Dan Wesson love affair began. That first DW is still my favorite.
The Savantist
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January 24, 2009
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I had wanted a Dan Wesson since the first time I saw a Pistol Pac in a dealer's showcase in the late 80's. I thought it looked SO cool! I couldn't afford one at the time & as the years went by, I sort of forgot about them.
One day recently, I spotted a .357 Pac in a local ad. This time I could afford it, and I jumped on it. I open it up at least once a week, just to look at it.
Little did I know that this would be the start of my DWAS (Dan Wesson Aquisition Syndrome, for you newbies).
March 17, 2009
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Great to read these stories.
I hunt hogs with pistols and lever guns and have recently been wanting a smaller caliber pistol. I've been using .44 mag and .45 LC pistols and wanted something a little lighter. It wasn't a priority but in the back of my mind for several months. I was in a gun store last weekend and they had a 15-2VH pistol pac for sale and I remember back in the late 70's and early 80's how accurate they were reputed to be. For sure the 8" barrel was plenty long enough to make the longer shots. And frankly, I always loved the look of the VH's. That shroud with the vented rib... what's not to like about it?
I shot at the range in the gun store with friends but kept finding myself back at the display case where the Pistol Pac was located. Like Brad NC, it was calling to me! I finally had them pull it out so I could see if it was all there and sure enough it was. The rest is history. I drove back to West Texas a new and proud owner of a 15 2VH Pistol Pac. I've ordered some 200 gr hardcast ammo and I can hardly wait for it to get here.
January 12, 2009
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I already had a few S&W revolvers, but I liked to shoot a lot and didn't want to “wear out” my Smiths.
So it was in the '70's when I came across the DW line and thought that they would be a good “cheap” alternative that looked and handled like my Smiths that I could use as range guns to avoid putting lots of wear on my Smiths.
Well, even though my DW's cost less than comparable Smiths at the the time (I bought one of each: .22 w/6″ bbl., .357 w/4″ bbl., and .44 w/8″bbl + extra compensated bbl. ), I realized right away what excellent pistols they were, how accurate they were*, and who well made and finished they were (all blued).
My instant appreciation of the DW's ended up having me baby and coddle them just like the Smiths that they were supposed to “save”.
Today, they're all in NIB condition, but I shoot them and enjoy them with a great apprreciation still for the great revolvers that they are. It just adds to the thrill that DW is now offering new barrel sets, and I'll be adding several as time goes on.
* My .22 was one of those that shaved badly, and I found out recently that this was probably an issue with some of the early .22 barrels. So I've got a replacement 6″ barrel, and I recently ordered the 4″ bbl/shroud set, and I'm anxious to see if my .22 will soon join the .357 and .44 as the tack driver it “should” be.
March 22, 2009
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Truth is, I couldn't afford a new Ruger and my dealer had my DW used w/ an additional ported barrel that I could afford. I bought the DW because it was good and heavy.. seemed very solid and it looked even more badass than the S&W 29.
I have since lost the ported barrel (actually an ex threw it away to be spiteful when I moved out) I sold it to a friend when I was broke (same ex put me in the poor house)... and repurchased it when I wasn't broke because I couldn't find a .44 that shot as nice as this one. I will never part with it again.
January 22, 2008
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In 2004 I bought my uncle a S&W 617 for helping me deal with a variety of issues after my Dad unexpectedly pasted away. After that I was at a gun show and stumbled upon a guy selling a 722V6 for $300. If I remember correctly I got him down to $275. I thought this would be a cool gun to get to take to our informal family shoots and go one on one against the Smith.
I had also remembered seeing a DW Pistol Pac in the dealers showcase back around 1989 and thought it was really cool. So this first 722 was an early sign of what would later because a full blown case of DWAS!
March 24, 2009
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In my opinion the best wheel gun made I live 20 miles from Munson. Have met many people who assembled and worked at the old school and loved working with "the old man". Dan Wessons are under priced compared to the other local MFGs. S&W and Colt.
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January 24, 2009
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That would be really cool to be able to talk to employees who were working there back then. I bet that was a fun job.
Welcome aboard, VFR.
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Dans Club
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November 17, 2008
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I don’t know if I can remember back that far, hmmm let’s see in the early 70’s I saw an ad in dad’s Outdoor Life magazine about this new pistol that came in a briefcase with a selection of different length barrels to choose from. Obviously too young to own, much less afford, a firearm it was nothing more than a child hood fantasy. Fast forward to the early 80’s and heard of this thing called IHMSA. So I saved up my meager earnings and bought my Ruger Blackhawk 357 and started shooting matches. Always drooling over the other competitors shooting irons such as XP 100s, Thompson Contenders, and yes DW supermags. But wouldn’t you know no one in my area carried Dans and the internet did not even exist back then, yes you young fellows there was life before internet. Then one day as I cruised the local gun shop I saw something unusual on the used counter, my first real life Dan Wesson, my 44V6. I took her home and soon after a model 15-2V8, then a 715V6, next a 22VH8. The shop owner and I were on really good terms by now, I wonder if he had heard of DWAS.
Wisdom is merely the realization of how little one knows, therefore I am wise.
February 4, 2009
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LOL, lbruce.
I seem to remember life before the Intenet and computers....dang, I feel old now.
My first Dan Wesson purchase happened very innocently. A friend of mine wanted to throw a keg party but couldn't produce the funds for the keg and the deposit. He asked for a secured loan- with a Dan 715.
He didn't like it because the barrel gap was set around .012" causing some spitting issues. I resolved the barrel to cylinder gap and everything was great after that. I failed to mention the repair, and he failed to repay the $100 I loaned him. I asked him if he was going to repay the loan and he said if I wanted the firearm, I could just keep it unless I would rather have the money back.
Needless to say, we all walked away happy. And then I sold it years later- what an idiot I was.
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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I'd trade a Keg Party for a 715!
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
February 15, 2009
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In the mid 80's after I'd settled from getting out of the Navy I bought a Taurus 66, my first centerfire handgun. After taking it out to sight it in I learned that the accuracy was what I considered awful and sold it. At the time 3" groups at 25 yards off hand were the norm for me obviously with a .22. Several years later I asked a good friend what he recommended in .357. Well Bob had been shooting IHMSA for years, as a matter of fact he was one of the best competitors in the country, and he told me to get a Dan Wesson.
He showed me how the Dan's were designed and built. He also showed me a S&W Model 29, I think a second or third, that he had shot loose. So I ordered a DW .357 which cost me 242.00 in 1992 I think. I was disappointed when I got it because there was some drag during the rotation of the cylinder. After taking it to the range it proved itself to be plenty accurate so I figured I'd live with the drag and hoped it would smooth out with use. At the same time I decided I may as well reload which helped me get accuracy to a consistent 1.5" at 25 yards from a rest which is what I've left it at. The gun is smooth as can be now and there is no drag left.
I recently bought my .44 back after selling it to my friend. Being my best friend he sold it to me. And like everybody else that sold a DW I was sorry I sold that .44 and it bothered me for a long time. The action is just super buttery smooth. Both of these guns I had him do trigger jobs on which is standard procedure for me. So it was an IHMSA shooter that steered me to them.
Btw both of my guns are Palmer guns in blue. Both lockup tight as can be. The .44 has been perfect since it was new. The .357 besides having the drag issue also has a cylinder that is not perfect as the barrel cylinder gap varies over .001, maybe .002. They won't be for sale for the rest of my life.
March 27, 2009
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I bought my Palmer 357 5" SS at a gun show in the 90's for $200.00
I was familiar with the brand and how accurate they were so I snapped this
one up no regrets. My collection grows and shrinks from time to time and the
brands and models change, but this one is and will remain a permanent feature
in my collection.
February 7, 2009
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I bought my first Dan Wesson (a pistol Pac) from a newspaper ad. I was wanting a .357 Mag to deer hunt with and this gun was advertised as a 357 Mag, 8 in barrel. I went to look at it and it was MORE than I was looking for, but the price was right, so I snatched it up. Loved the gun but times got hard and I had to part with it.
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