Working The Dan Wesson Revolver

Like several other modern revolver manufacturing companies including Charter Arms and Smith and Wesson, Dan Wesson has gone through several reorganizations. This seems to be normal in the late twentieth century, but Dan Wesson also moved plants. Taurus and Smith and Wesson were once joined under the Bangor Punta conglomerate and we have seen losses and revivals of other names. It appears at present that manufacture of new Dan Wesson revolvers is gone for good.

There are other good revolvers on the market but certain attributes of the Dan Wesson are truly unique. When a firearm is unique it often means that the system is troublesome. As an example, the Dan Wesson revolver was sometimes lauded as one of the most accurate double action revolvers ever made. This is true, but once wear sets in and the owner has lost the barrel wrench the revolver would not hit squat. The single most unique feature in the design was the interchangeable barrel system.

While other change barrel systems have been attempted the Dan Wesson design is both practical and affordable. The problem is the majority of Dan Wesson revolvers were purchased with a single barrel. Even though the factory supplied a barrel wrench to adjust the barrel and barrel cylinder gap, most users simply fired the firearms as issued. Over time the barrels become loose and the wrenches have been misplaced.

The interchangeability of barrels is handy in some ways, as a four inch defensive revolver may become an eight inch barrel hunting handgun with a simple barrel change. This system might have more appeal in a jurisdiction in which the number of handguns is limited, such as Germany. With each barrel change you 357 Magnum. This is a simple revolver that features a sideplate but is modular in other design features.

They must be kept up with or the revolver cannot be adjusted. have the same grip, handle and sights as well as the same trigger action. The Dan Wesson offers easily changeable grip panels as well. The single most popular and numerous of the Dan Wesson handguns is the 15-2, offered in Pistol Packs or Hunter Packs with extra barrels in .357 Magnum. The barrels may range from two inches to ten inches in length.

Although there are reports of longer barrels I have not personally seen a Dan Wesson barrel longer than ten inches. Lets look at the barrel locking mechanism. Like all barrels this is a threaded tube, but here the barrel fits into a larger shrouded tube. Incidentally, this is not too different from current Smith and Wesson production. Both ends of the barrel are threaded, as compared to one threaded end in

standard revolvers. One end fits into the frame while the other fits the outer shroud. When taking the revolver down with the supplied tool the act of unloosening the shroud partially unwinds the inner barrel from the frame as well. The fi nal removal of the barrel proper is accomplished with the fingers. The outer shroud is necessary in order to produce afixed sighting plane. No matter where the barrel is started into the frame the shroud and its sights are constant.

The one end of the barrel screws into the frame and the other tightens into the barrel shroud. The shroud uses a recessed nut to tighten the barrel. This is a relatively simple system that makes for great versatility. Another benefi tis the fact that when good and tight the barrel vibrates very consistently, making these revolvers very accurate—when in good tune. The method of barrel changing is simple. The tool is placed on the shroud and the internal nut is turned.

The nut is loosened, then removed, and the shroud pulled away. The barrel is turned until it removes. To replace, insert the feeler gauge in front of the cylinder and screw the barrel in until this a snug, but not tight, fit. This feeler gauge was supplied with the barrel and is used to set the barrel cylinder gap. The original feeler gauge was pre-set. You screw the barrel into the frame until the tube is snugged up against it. The factory feeler gauges were usually set at .006, which is considered an optimum gap.

Knowing this, if the factory gauge has not survived you can make one up or use a standard feeler gauge of the same thickness. With the barrel installed the shroud is fitted over it. There is an index pin in the frame to aid in alignment with a matching index hole in the shroud. The index pin and hole are lined up and the shroud is then tightened with the barrel nut, which is placed on the barrel and tightened There is no grip frame. into the barrel shroud. This tightens the shroud and the barrel together.

The Dan Wesson was designed for efficient manufacture and was among the first new revolver designs in over eighty years. The energy to supply the hammer is manual as with all revolvers but the springs area stainless steel coil type. The revolver is held together by Allen screws for the most part. Since the Dan Wesson does not use a leaf spring in the butt there is considerable lee way available in design. The grips fiton a simple stud or tang that extends from the frame.

The revolver is similar internally, as far as simplicity, to the Colt MK III revolvers. Both made good use of modern engineering principles and economical manufacture. Incidentally the original Dan Wesson production run featured

a barrel nut that was outside of the barrel shroud. This made the barrel shroud’s extension, used for locking in the frame, quite odd in appearance. The original design did not require a special tool, however, the appearance was deemed unattractive so the later design with its buried barrel nut was released. The new design works fine for changing barrels quickly but it was discovered than the barrel nut works loose under the recoil of Magnum cartridges.

A shooting competitor who knows what he is doing would have no problem with this tiny bit of extra maintenance and would find the trade off a happy one considering the good accuracy of the Dan Wesson. But the casual gun owner or hunter might not even be aware of the problem until accuracy was lost and the barrel cylinder gap began spitting lead or jacket material. Accuracy is negatively affected and so is velocity as more propellant gas escapes from the barrel cylinder gap.

While troublesome there is another perspective. A standard type revolver requires considerable, expensive attention to take care of a barrel and cylinder gap problem. The Dan Wesson requires occasional adjustment and nothing else. How often does the barrel and cylinder gap need to be checked to avoid problems? A rule of thumb is every 500 rounds of full power .357 Magnum ammunition and more often with the .44 Magnum revolvers, or every six months as an alternate.

This is a modest program that will keep a Dan Wesson revolver operating. When addressing the Dan Wesson design, remember that frequent cleaning is needed or barrels become stuck. Soaking the barrel and shroud thoroughly in a release agent is recommended when the situation reaches this level. To disassemble the revolver, make certain the revolver is unloaded. In order to disassemble the revolver, first remove the barrel and shroud as outlined. Next, simply swing the cylinder out and off of the crane.

It is a little more difficult to separate the cylinder from the ejector rod. The knurled tip of the ejector rod must be retained by a padded pliers set. Next, insert two empty cartridge cases into opposite cylinders and use them to unscrew the cylinder from the ejector rod. This will release the extractor, ejector rod bushing and ejector spring for cleaning and adjustment. To remove the grips, simply find the hole in the underside of the grips and remove the screw.

If you are lucky enough to have the original combination tool you are in good shape, otherwise a 5/32 Allen wrench is useful. To expose the action a 5/64 Allen wrench is used. The two screws on the sideplate are screwed out to reveal the action. The combination

Like most side plates this one is fitted so take care in disassembly. tool may be used if you have one. Lift the sideplate carefully, remembering that the hand is under spring tension. The hand spring is unhooked from a groove in the rear of the hand and the hand spring may be removed. Cock the hammer and tighten the long sideplate screw into the mainspring guide by using the hole in the bottom of the frame spike. Pull the trigger and lower the hammer.

You may now draw the long arm of the trigger return spring outward from the trigger and allow it to travel in an arc downward until tension is relived. The trigger and firing pin connect, the hammer, the trigger spring and the bolt may all be lifted from the frame. This is similar to disassembly of the Ruger action in some ways. Reassembly is in reverse, being careful that the stub arm of the trigger spring is positioned to the rear of the frame-mounted hammer pivot pin.

The hand spring has the shorter arm bearing on the forward surface to the firing pin disconnector. The longer arm hooks into the hand groove. Maintain fingernail pressure against the top tip of the hand to prevent the hand from flying apart. Now, we come to vital maintenance. The cleaning of the barrel threads and the rear barrel face is indispensable when maintaining this revolver. The revolver must be as clean as possible before reassembly.

The Dan Wesson is not a terribly complicated revolver but it is different. It is also rugged enough that most of the time all that is needed is simple adjustment and cleaning. At present, the barrel wrench and shims are available from CZ USA for a very reasonable forty three dollars. They are quite frankly a must have. Unfortunately spare barrel and shroud outfits are often priced equal to the priced of a used Dan Wesson revolver.

Just the same, these are interesting handguns sure to give good service if properly maintained. A little bit of knowledge and the proper tools will outfitus for the future. AG