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Dan Wesson 357 problems

choover

Regular Member
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
287
Location
Belleville , michigan, ,
Hey guys,

A friend of mine inherited a nice blue steel dan wesson 357 and it is having a issue. It is giving light primer strikes on the rounds sometimes. This has happened with a variety of ammo. He said he has cleaned the gun all up but he is not very famililar with guns so I have to question how well he cleaned it. The gun is older, probably 20-30, it was his granfathers and he remembers it as a kid. I am thinking it probably has some build up preventing the firing pin from fully extending out but I am also not really famililar with revolvers. The gun looks like it is in great shape so I don't think it was fired a extreme amount at all.

We are in the belleville area, anyone have any recommendations as to what to do or a good smith local to here that can clean and inspect it?
 

Bailenforcer

Regular Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2009
Messages
1,077
Location
City
20 to 30 years old? Here's a link Dan Wessons have a tendency to loose spring pressure over the years as many firearms do. I have used Wolfe gun springs and used to sell them when I had my gun shop, and never had one complaint.

http://www.gunsprings.com/index.cfm?page=items&cID=3&mID=73






Hey guys,

A friend of mine inherited a nice blue steel dan wesson 357 and it is having a issue. It is giving light primer strikes on the rounds sometimes. This has happened with a variety of ammo. He said he has cleaned the gun all up but he is not very famililar with guns so I have to question how well he cleaned it. The gun is older, probably 20-30, it was his granfathers and he remembers it as a kid. I am thinking it probably has some build up preventing the firing pin from fully extending out but I am also not really famililar with revolvers. The gun looks like it is in great shape so I don't think it was fired a extreme amount at all.

We are in the belleville area, anyone have any recommendations as to what to do or a good smith local to here that can clean and inspect it?
 

choover

Regular Member
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
287
Location
Belleville , michigan, ,
20 to 30 years old? Here's a link Dan Wessons have a tendency to loose spring pressure over the years as many firearms do. I have used Wolfe gun springs and used to sell them when I had my gun shop, and never had one complaint.

http://www.gunsprings.com/index.cfm?page=items&cID=3&mID=73

Thanks for the reply, I am not sure of the age exactly. I can only say he is 33 and remembers his grandpa showing him the gun when he was a kid, so I think its safe to assume 20-30 years old :)
 

Bailenforcer

Regular Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2009
Messages
1,077
Location
City
All springs loose tension over time when constantly loaded. I usually replace them every 5 years if I use the gun, and every ten years if it's a gun that see's little use and isn't carried.


Thanks for the reply, I am not sure of the age exactly. I can only say he is 33 and remembers his grandpa showing him the gun when he was a kid, so I think its safe to assume 20-30 years old :)
 

Scooter123

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2008
Messages
63
Location
Macomb, Michigan, USA
Tighten up the mainspring tension.

A while back on another forum someone made a passing mention of this issue with the Dan Wesson revolvers. I wasn't paying close attention to the post but have a fuzzy memory that there is a screw in the recoil shield that adjusts the mainspring tension. I'd suggest that your friend either join the Dan Wesson forum and ask about this, or find a gunsmith who is familiar with the Dan Wesson revolvers. The indiction in that post was that it's a common issue with the Dan Wesson revolvers and about a 30 second fix.

BTW, I've always wanted a DW Pistol Pak and couldn't afford one when they were in production and can't find one now that I could afford one. At one time the Dan Wesson revolver was considered to be the MOST accurate handgun of any type in existance, unfortunatelly for most of it's history the company was cash poor and quality suffered during some periods when it was produced. As a result, today they don't command an appropriate price on the used market, so it's possible to get a 1 MOA handgun at a bargain basement price if you know what to look for.

Now some good news. Today Dan Wesson is owned by CZ USA, so cash isn't an issue and neither is quality. For 2011 CZ has announced that they will be producing the stainless 357 Magnum and have actually put it in their catalog. If the price is right, I may just get one, if not I'll keep looking for a used Pistol Pak.

Final note, the most highly regarded Dan Wesson revolvers were those made in Monson, Mass. Have your friend check to see where his was made, if it's stamped Monson, it's likelly a real gem. However, from around 1980 - 1983 the Monson facility was cash strapped with equipment that was wearing out, so the later guns did have issues with timing and somewhat poorly machined cylinders. Good news is the issues were easily corrected by a gunsmith familiar with the Dan Wessons.
 

Bailenforcer

Regular Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2009
Messages
1,077
Location
City
I agree you made a good point, but a 20 to 30 year old spring NEEDS to be replaced even if it could be tightened.


A while back on another forum someone made a passing mention of this issue with the Dan Wesson revolvers. I wasn't paying close attention to the post but have a fuzzy memory that there is a screw in the recoil shield that adjusts the mainspring tension. I'd suggest that your friend either join the Dan Wesson forum and ask about this, or find a gunsmith who is familiar with the Dan Wesson revolvers. The indiction in that post was that it's a common issue with the Dan Wesson revolvers and about a 30 second fix.

BTW, I've always wanted a DW Pistol Pak and couldn't afford one when they were in production and can't find one now that I could afford one. At one time the Dan Wesson revolver was considered to be the MOST accurate handgun of any type in existance, unfortunatelly for most of it's history the company was cash poor and quality suffered during some periods when it was produced. As a result, today they don't command an appropriate price on the used market, so it's possible to get a 1 MOA handgun at a bargain basement price if you know what to look for.

Now some good news. Today Dan Wesson is owned by CZ USA, so cash isn't an issue and neither is quality. For 2011 CZ has announced that they will be producing the stainless 357 Magnum and have actually put it in their catalog. If the price is right, I may just get one, if not I'll keep looking for a used Pistol Pak.

Final note, the most highly regarded Dan Wesson revolvers were those made in Monson, Mass. Have your friend check to see where his was made, if it's stamped Monson, it's likelly a real gem. However, from around 1980 - 1983 the Monson facility was cash strapped with equipment that was wearing out, so the later guns did have issues with timing and somewhat poorly machined cylinders. Good news is the issues were easily corrected by a gunsmith familiar with the Dan Wessons.
 

NHCGRPR45

Regular Member
Joined
May 30, 2010
Messages
1,131
Location
Chesterfield Township, MI
I would suggest that the whole gun see a gun doctor, a good cleaning will help with seeing something may be a problem. But a gun that old could use a check up. Especialy if the gun hasn't seen a lot of use. This is IMO but it couldn't hurt to error on the side of caution with something dealing with high pressure's and stresses that a gun goes through.
 

choover

Regular Member
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
287
Location
Belleville , michigan, ,
No update yet, I passed the info on the shop to my friend and he is going to take it there or may have already. When I catch back up with him I will post a update :)
 
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