Advice needed! Dan Wesson model 15 value.

M

mellow_c

New member
I’ve got an opportunity to buy a nice Dan Wesson model 15 with a 6” vent rib barrel. Original Wood stock (grip) in good shape, and it has a brand new bluing job that looks great and it hasn’t been fired since. I can’t inspect the revolver in person. The fellow who had it for sale is an elderly gentleman who’s getting rid of some things. He’s not the original owner, but says he hasn’t shot it very much and that it’s in great shape and everything works perfectly. I can’t recall why he said it was re-blued... I don’t think it had anything to do with excessive wear or any sort of rust or damage.

My out the door cost would be $575.

I feel like that’s a bit steep for a refinished one. I’d be comfortable at $500 but $575 out the door is as good as it will get for this one.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!
 
It's been reblued for a reason ... most likely wear .
How much internal wear can't be determined without a hands /eyes on inspection .
A reblue drops the value in my mind and sends up a flag .

Daddy advised me not to buy pigs in a poke .
Sounds like the little old lady who only drove the car on Sunday... little old man , not the original owner , who never shot the "pristine " like new looking revolver ?
When people want to sell something they will say anything to get more than it's true value . I wouldn't make an offer unless I could inspect it and I would go over it with a fine toothed comb . Caveat Emptor !
Gary
 
I think I could do better for the price.

It looks phenomenal. And I don’t have any honest concern in regards to its mechanical condition. The gentleman and I spent a good 30 minutes on the phone just chatting and I feel like he’s a pretty honest guy.

I just think refinishing a firearm like this will reduce the value in the eyes of a collector enough that it’s not worth what he’s asking.

He’s actually asking a good bit more. But the lowest he’s willing to go brings it to $575 out the door for me.
 
A properly maintained model 15 is a solid revolver. Dan Wessons are known for being accurate and that has been proven time and again. All of that said, $575 seems high but could be fueled by the fact that a new Dan Wesson 715 is likely north of $1200. If the gun is in actual good condition and you want it, you will forget about the money after a while and just enjoy the satisfaction of shooting a fine revolver going forward. Conversely, if it has problem you will be reminded every time you use it. YMMV
 
You can probably do a little better than $575. It’s not a bad price if it’s in good condition and the action is tight and the rifling is good. It’s not a screaming deal either, however.


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Does it come with the factory tool for the barrel, front sight and grip? If not, I'd be hard pressed to pay that much; especially without test firing it.
 
I have owned two different Monson Dan Wesson .357 revolvers and I don’t miss them a lot. I think there are pros and cons and for me, they weren’t worth holding on to. On the good side, they were very accurate. Folks who know them better than I do and have bombed them hard in the metallic silhouette game claim they are hell for stout and a fantastic design for brute toughness, and I won’t argue.

The problems I experienced with both were that while the single action trigger was perfectly fine, I’m a double action shooter and the DA was just plain lousy. Worse still that was both revolvers exhibited the same frustration— the pull got even worse as the revolver warmed up from heat. This was in no way whatsoever binding having anything to do with the cylinder gap or where I had the barrel set. Of this I’m absolutely certain. Both also gave me light strikes on double action.

I keep wondering if the newly made CZ Dan Wesson revolvers are better but at $1100+, I won’t be trying to find out.

As for a price on a reblued DW 15, I don’t think it’s a terrible price, and I don’t think they are so collectible that a reblue matters so much on value. Now a pistol pak with all the barrels and such, that is collectible, but the prices on those make me giggle.

I don’t think the price is bad but I would definitely put any/all money toward a Smith & Wesson 586/686 instead. However, if you are a single action revolver shooter, you might enjoy the Dan Wesson experience.
 
Thanks for the thoughts everyone. I think I will pass on this one. And maybe keep my eyes peeled for a lightly used one in good condition for the same money or possibly even less.
 
"...bit steep for a refinished one..." I'd want to know why it was refinished, but they run $500ish on Gunbroker. Mind you, there's a guy there who thinks the empty box a DW barrel came in is worth $15.
"...in the eyes of a collector..." It's not a collector piece, but collectors don't want stuff that's been refinished.
 
I wouldn't pay $575 for ANY Dan Wesson, the actions are terrible if the get a little wear on them. And one that had to be reblue most likely has a lot of wear unless it was just carried a lot. You can buy a new DW model 15 nowadays, anyway.
 
Scorch said:
I wouldn't pay $575 for ANY Dan Wesson, the actions are terrible if the get a little wear on them. And one that had to be reblue most likely has a lot of wear unless it was just carried a lot. You can buy a new DW model 15 nowadays, anyway.
Click to expand...


I really have to disagree with every part of this. I own and compete with a lot of different revolvers. I have a Smith 627 with the Ultimate Master Action job from TK custom. I own several old and also a new production Dan Wesson. The small frame Dan Wesson’s have great double action triggers that are robust to a lot of wear. I’ve got over 10,000 rounds through mine in double action with no issues. I’ll say that the new production guns are tighter and better than the older ones, but they are also $1200.
The double action on the large frame Dan Wesson’s are a little heavy in double action. But the small frame triggers are great. In fact, my model 22 has such a smooth double action pull it’s incredible. It took me hours of work polishing and performing an action job on my Ruger GP100 in 22lr to even come close to the smoothness and lightness of the trigger on my Dan Wesson model 22. I’m sorry but your critique of the Dan Wesson is just incorrect.



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Actually, now that you mention it. I remember him saying something about having it reblued because the bluing didn’t match... and now it does.

I get the feeling it’s actually in very good shape.

But I still feel like I can get one in good condition that hasn’t been refinished for about the same price or maybe even better. So I’ve decided to let his go and keep on searching.
 
If it's in really good shape and was reblued purely for being a "Barney", and it has the tool, etc, it's not a horrible deal. There are better tools than others. A couple I've had were solid steel, and some are junk plastic ones. The EWK ones are the best.

I had a DW 15-2 I bought used and I put thousands of rounds through it while I owned it, and I only sold it because I needed cash. The only light strikes it had were right when I bought it because the previous owner had clipped the mainspring. The new one cured it and it ran and ran.

I never had any problems with anything happening when that, or any other of the dozen or so 15-2's I've owned got warmed up, unless the gap was too tight. One gun had a unevenly surfaced front of the cylinder, and I had a local gunsmith fix it and reblue the cylinder. It was only a tiny bit off, but it made the gun bind up a little when the gap was set correctly on the shortest holes and the cylinder turned to the longer ones. That was a heavily abused gun with pits all over the frame and sideplate. Shot fine once the cyl was ground down a tiny bit.

Other than that one gun, I never had a problem with any binding up/increased effort when shooting.
 
I bet the OP wish he had bought it? firstly the blue around the barrel, is only a decorative shroud. New ones are available. These guns are going North in price fast, especially the “Monson” produced models in heavy V. The DW was more of a Colt than a Smith, but hugely innovative, hence the largest following in silhouette shooting..

My o2

Thewelshm
 
It's always strange to me when I read that someone had all kinds of problems with one of the Monson DW small framed guns. I've had at least a dozen of them, and the problems were all so minor, I can't see how they weren't just fixed and just a memory.

My total DW issues since 1977:

1 Clipped mainspring caused light primer strikes.
2. Pressed in cylinder stop (Is that what it's called?) fell out. Had it knurled and replaced it myself with a hunk of wood and a mallet and stud mount Loctite. Never came out again.
3. One gun had badly machined cylinder face that bound up as it warmed up. Gunsmith fixed it for $20.
4. Gun came with broken handspring. I've got about a dozen.
5. Tightened up grip screw too far causing "hair trigger" and hole in shooting range roof.
Embarrassing and $25 to patch the hole.
 
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