i also shot dan wesson revolvers in ihmsa competition in the mid 80's to early 90's. both the 44 mag and 357. both were pistol pacs with the 357 having 4 barrels and the 44 with 3. these were tanks, built very well. the cylinder lock up was at the front of the cylinder as opposed to being in the rear. their claim to fame was their accuracy. any review you read of these from 20+ years ago and beyond, the authors raved about the accuracy. part of the reason was the way the barrel was secured. you tightened the front barrel shroud nut down and you were securing the the barrel with opposite pressure, from the muzzle end and it was pulling from the forcing cone rear end. you got with the gun a little envelope with a shim for the cylinder gap measurement and a tool. the tool served as a barrel wrench, sight adjustment tool (hex head wrench), and a tool to remove the nut that secured the grip to the frame. there was a "grip spike" i guess you'd call it, not the traditional frame you would see say on a smith revolver. shooting ihmsa, we would not use the shim but rather just set the barrel right down on the cylinder and back it off just a tiny bit. enough for the cylinder to rotate without binding. we were trying to reduce the cylinder gap to as small as possible. this was great but as the match progressed, it was 40 rounds in stages of 5, the heat expaned the metal and we has a hell of a time rotating the cylinder. you had to thumb back the hammer while with the other hand, help turn the cylinder manually. I remember going to the dan wesson factory twice a year in monson to have the timing repaired. i'd leave woburn at 5 am to get there at 7 and i'd just walk in the employee entrance with the workers. try doing that now. I got to know seth a little. i had known him cause he and his son shot ihmsa at the time so we knew each other in passing. a few times i was asked to his office for coffee and got a plant tour with him. i remember him as being generous meaning a few times i asked to buy some parts, like a 2" barrel and shroud for my 357 and he just went and got them and gave them to me. always came out with misc screws and springs but he did give some hi ticket items away as i said. the monson factory was an old converted school. one thing i remember is the assembly area was in the old science lab and the gun to be assembled was brought to the assembler in a tray that was designed to fit in the old lab sinks. i'm pretty sure i'm remembering that right. back to the guns themselves, i shot primarily the 44 in the matches but near the end, before my buddy and myself stopped shooting it, we were experimenting with the 357 by loading a 35 caliber rifle bullet over a compressed charge in a 38 case. i won't mention the loading but it was a handful. i have saved a couple of rounds i'll try to find and post a pic for your viewing curiosity. these revolvers took a beating and worked very well. I sold both pacs, my 44 was a 2 digit serial number, 00xx. i remember seth asking me where i got it from. actually, i got it used from a mechanic i worked with at the time. the 44 pacs were scarce and he had one. said his father knew someone who worked at the factory. i pestered him untill he sold it to me. paid 350.00 and wish i kept it. sweet guns. somebody mentioned the belt buckle that came in the pac case, i had forgotten that detail. a nice touch. i don't know if i'd pay 600 bucks for a used, no box dan wesson. i would for a full pistol pac with the attache case it came in. but i don't know what they sell for now either. i'd say 450 - 475 would be reasonable offer. at 600 you might get buyers remorse but i've been know to pay way over what somethings worth if i want it badly enough. ok, i'm done, got a little long winded.
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....it was a bitch to write, too. no apologies needed here
