Need some advice from you fine folks.

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

M Jager

Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2003
Messages
116
I have a gentleman wanting to trade me a handgun for a rifle that I am looking to get $350 out of.

This is was I know of the handgun so far: It is a Dan Wesson stainless .41 Mag with 6 inch barrel. Has a Tasco PDP3 redot mounted and comes with a bandolier holster and modifid leather holster and three boxes of shells.
Looking around on auction arms this seems like a pretty good deal but I really don't know squat about handguns and I always figured if I was to get a big bore handgun I would get a .44 as ammo is common. If I did trade, I would want to use it for deer, plinking, and varmints of oppurtunity.
I would appreciate any advice you can give me.
Thanks,
Matt
 
It does sound like it's worth $350, if you want to deal with 41Mag. It's not at ALL a bad caliber, in fact it really strikes a nice balance between self defense purposes and hunting. Ammo will be pricey unless you reload or SERIOUSLY shop around at gun shows/internet.

Run it through the checkout procedures on the top of the revolver forum. The thing to remember about DWs is that most have adjustable barrel/cylinder gaps so don't sweat that so much - get the tool and set it yourself if it's off.
 
Go with it!

if that DW is in any kind of nice condition, I'd say that's a pretty good price. DW's are the darlings of the silhouette community, and are well-known for quality and accuracy.

Like Jim said, the flash-gap is owner-set with a feeler guage, and the shroud over the barrel supports it at both ends, making for one of the most rigid barrel setups going on any revolver made which apparently is a contributing factor to their accuracy.

Dunno about availability, but DW's can be set up with longer/shorter barrels as you prefer, if you can find 'em. You might check the company's website and see if you could order additional parts, or keep fishing the auctions. lengths range from 2" snubbies to 8" long toms, with a couple of shroud configurations. (1/2- or full-underlug, ported or not.)

There are some DW's with fixed barrels. I don't know the models offhand, but they're just as good, but not as versatile. If you're looking at a fixed-barrel gun, all the above info is mostly pointless. Regardless, the price is still good for a good-condition revolver with a few goodies thrown in. With a red-dot sight on it, I wonder if it was used for bowling pin shooting. If that was the case, it could be good or bad, good meaning a tuned gun with a nice trigger, bad being well-worn from a lot of fast competition shooting. The Revolver Checkout Thread would tell you what to look for in that regard, with special attention paid to the bolt-stop notches in the cylinder. Fast cylinder rotation means hard impacts on the bolt, which can peen the stop notches. (This is not a panacea. Even a worn gun can be a fine revolver if it functions well and is accurate. I have no personal experience with this, so take this warning for what you paid for it. The Checkout Thread is what should really be your guide.)

I've found ammo cost to be about the same as .44 mag for good-brand factory ammo, and it IS harder to locate. What you WON'T find is the huge variety of bullet types and brands that you do with the .44 mag, and I don't know of any medium-power loads available for the .41. There's no .41 Special sub-load either, unless you make some. If the power's not an issue, and you can find ammo the gun likes, you're good-to-go.

Not to induce thread veer, but I'm curious about what rifle your trading also, just as an aside.
 
Dan Wesson made a fine revolver. Yes there were some that weren't as good as the rest but as I understand it they will still make it right.

The .41 Magnum has been experiencing an increase in both popularity and in the variety of factory ammo. WInchester introduced their Platinum Tip a while back and Speer just announced a new loading for it.

Besides if you decide you don't like it you can always get a .44 cylinder and a new barrel and convert it yourself.
 
That is a good price for that setup. Large frame DW's usually sell for $300 to $400, just for the revolver. You are not likely to find cheap 41 Magnum ammo at WalMart and the selection at many gunshops can be on the thin side, so plan on reloading for this caliber. DW's are usually scary accurate, even though the triggers are a bit on the heavy side, at least in double action mode.
 
I have to agree with all of the comments here. I had a .357 with the interchangable barrles one, sold it before I knew what I really had :banghead:

Oh well, lesson learned, any way, you can not go wrong with it, besides, out on the DW site, they are offering to work on any DW firearm made, no matter when and by whom it was made. That is allways nice.
 
I *think* that the fixed-barrel DW variants were all 38/357 bore, and that any 41mag will be the removable/swapable barrel setup.

But it's easy to tell - look at the nose of the barrel for a place where a funky wrench can fit :). The wrench is a round "spiked thing" that engages a circular series of indented points in the barrel shroud.

If the gun doesn't come with one, and the gap is either too big or too small, you can buy another wrench pretty cheap off of DW. The manuals showing how to adjust/swap barrels is online at the current DW site.

Note: DW has died out in the past and come back under different variants of the same name. The current incarnation seems healthy, and are supporting all past variants regardless of corporate ownership, so buying used isn't a serious crapshoot. And you'll probably be able to buy extra barrels from them :).
 
Thanks alot guys,
I looks like I am going to get me a hand cannon. Glee, I hope my browning buckmark can handle it.......
Matt
 
Alright, settle down now. Get the revolver and a selection of ammo. Clean the gun, then go to the range. Take notes and then give us a range report.:)
 
Something else to think about, you don't see a lot of DW's in .41mag for sale. I have been looking for one for several years after letting a really nice one slip by me. You should consider handloading if you are going to feed a .41mag.
 
I will give a range report as soon as the deal goes through and I get time to take it out. Probably won't do the gun justice though, I rarely (like almost never) shoot handguns as I am a bigger rifle/shotgun. Like Tom Sellect said in Quigley Down Down Under - I've never had much use for them.
Since it comes with 3 boxes of shells I'll shoot them up then concider hand loading. I figure I can shoot up what I have then decide if I really want to keep it or not. If I decide to keep it around, I'll pick up dies, powder and the what not.
Thanks Again,
Matt
 
Mike,
Check out my thread in the rifles for sale or trade forum. He wants to trade the dan wesson for my 10/22.

Another question- what kind of accuracy should I be wanting to get from this thing and what would you concider the effective range of the .41 on deer.
Thanks,
Matt
 
.41 Magnum should be effective against most deer out to 100 yards or so. Accuracy of a Dan Wesson? Well, how good are you with a handgun? It usually boils down to the shooter. I would expect under two inches at 25 yards.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

S
  • Locked
Need advice on 2 pistols....
Replies
21
Views
914
olafhardtB
O
H
  • Locked
CCW planning phase
Replies
16
Views
814
peacemaker45
peacemaker45
M
  • Locked
Need some advice
Replies
1
Views
313
Just One Shot
J
R
  • Locked
I need some advice on an OLD holster.
Replies
7
Views
763
dmazur
D
D
  • Locked
I need some advice on a potential course of action
2
Replies
28
Views
2K
wagonburner
W
Back
Top