Dan Wesson .22...Gap between Barrel &Cylinder???

G

Greyhound Dog

New member
Got out the first pistol I ever bought the other day after reading an old post about Dan Wesson. The pistol only has about 500 rounds thru it and looks as good as the day I bought it.(around 1980) Only problem is I can't find the "feeler gauge"
or "gapping tool" that is used to set the clearance between the barrel and the cylinder. Any old or new DW .22 fans out there that can answer this question.

Also the gun is 6in barrel "heavy shroud" blue finish
Any idea what it's worth$$

Thanks
GD
 
CONTACT THE MANUFACTURER

I have had several [small frame] 357 Magnums in the past and can say between .0006 and .10,000.

Dan Wesson will tell you it is 2 thousands but, remove the cyclinder and lay it on a piece of paper. There will probablly be a difference in chamber lengths. Find the longest cyclinder and measure 2 thousands and see what you get.
 
GD,

My DW .22 came with a .006 feeler gauge, which is where I set mine. Any larger gap and you'll start getting a lot of spitting. Any smaller and the build up on the cylinder front will start to drag on the barrel and mess up the DA trigger pull.

Good Luck...

Joe
 
I have experience with two of these in .22, and a couple in .41 and .44. DW recommends and supplies a .006" feeler. But I've found that each gun has its own peculiarity: The first .22, a 6" HB like yours, came to me with a complaint from the owner of shooting far to the left. Rear sight was at the extreme of its right lateral travel. I naturally suspected poor shooting technique, but when I benched the gun with the sight centered, I found that the frame hole had been drilled slightly off. By rotating the barrel 90 degrees, I had the gun shooting low, which could be compensated for by raising the sight. Made the gap only .003" or so, but this was OK if he kept the gun clean and didn't shoot Remington ammo.
The second .22 was a 10" HB silhouette gun, owned by a friend. This piece shot like a rifle with only a .001" clearance, but he cleaned OFTEN (and had to rezero.)
The two centerfires, both stainless pieces, both worked very well with a minimum gap of .002-.003". Again, with fairly frequent and scrupulous cleaning.
Minimizing the gap where possible increases velocity, and may positively effect accuracy. (So can the torque with which you tighten the bbl nut.) The .006" gap recommended by the factory should be thought of as a max. figure, IMO.
 
I gap all my Dan Wessons .22 through .44 Mag at .003 to .005. This was the magic number recommended to me by Daniel B. Wesson. If you go to the low side be sure there is no drag on the cylinder face.
Dan Wessons have a small but loyal following therefore the used values are not that high. The flip side, used Dans are usually outstanding bargains. My best estimate FWIW on the value of your .22 is $225 +/- $25.
Take Care
 
I gap both my DWs at a `tight' .004 and haven't had any problems with `drag' or any other problems. Wouldn't own any other `wheelgun'.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top