John Taffin and the Dan Wesson Model 15.....

Dug out Big Bore Handguns and on page 186, Taffin states that "the Dan Wesson model 15 is in the same league as the Colt Python and the Smith and Wesson Model 27, especially with long barrels"
I would never dream of questioning a person of Taffin's expertise but I just picked up a excellent 6 inch Monsoon Model 15 for $375.
I am confused how the Model 15 would classify as an equal to revolvers that cost 5 times as much ????

They had their issues, but typically, they were very, very accurate.

Depends on whether you value how the gun shoots, or how the gun looks. The DW 15 will shoot alongside the Python and the 27 easily. Will it appreciate in value the same? No. Why? Not as rare and not as well fitted and finished.

The Dan Wesson looks pretty crude next to a Python, even a 27.

But, it has a unique barrel set up that promotes accuracy. The barrel is under tension, threaded into the action and threaded at the end of the barrel shroud. The cylinder gap can be carefully controlled. That set up is very stable and solid, a really slick design.

DF

I have both the Python and Dan Wessons, as far as fit & finish they do not compare. But in the accuracy department they are equal.
The quality of the Dan Wesson really depends on where it was made an under what ownership.
My opinion is they are way underrated revolver.

Dekker,

I don't have a DW, but have always thought they were good guns.

In a nut shell, what's the poop on best ones, where made, when, etc.? Just a brief overview for the uninformed, who may pick one up down the road.

DF

I had a 15-2 pistol pack, and my DW was a decent revolver that was just scary accurate. But the fit and finish, especially inside the side plate just couldn't compare to a Python or a S&W. The lockwork was an inferior design, and inferior manufacture. That's not to say it's a bad revolver, just not a first rate revolver.

He is talking about performance not looks

They're reintroducing the Model 15, (now called the 715)
http://www.shootingtimes.com/2014/06/03/first-look-dan-wesson-715-revolver/#ixzz33gXwc8U9

Quote

The DA/SA 715 incorporates a new HV6 shroud with a heavy vent profile to aid with the Magnum�s recoil. The Dan Wesson 715 is compatible with barrels and grips from 15-2 models and newer revolvers.
With regular production resuming in late summer, the Dan Wesson 715 revolver should be available starting Fall 2014 at a suggested retail price of $1,168.

Originally Posted by krupp

I am confused how the Model 15 would classify as an equal to revolvers that cost 5 times as much ????

Quote

Way back in the 1980s Dan Wesson Arms produced some of the finest, most accurate, and popular large- and medium-frame revolvers ever made in America. In the demanding sport of handgun metallic shooting�where competitors are required to use open sights to knock down life-size, heavy steel (up to 60 pounds) representations of chickens, pigs, turkeys, and desert bighorns out to 200 meters�Dan Wesson revolvers literally owned the ranges.

Dan Wesson revolvers regularly captured 70 to 80 percent of the top places in the highest categories of these competitions year after year at local, state, regional, and national matches and at the annual International Championships.

Dan Wesson revolvers still hold more records and titles in that sport than all other makes of revolvers

I own three DW revolvers and one DW pistol pack. Two are .22's with 6" and 8" barrels. I have owned and still own .22 revolvers that are smoother in double action and handier to carry, (DW .22s are large and heavy, esp if with the heavy underlug barrel) but never have I had a more accurate .22.

Likewise, my two DW .357s are not as smooth as my S&Ws. The action tends to stack like a Colt in DA, but even heavier. The single action on all of my DW revolvers is icecicle crisp and light as one could hope for. They are not a defense gun, per se, but an accuracy gun.

I am a mediocre pistol shooter at best. Still, with my DW revolvers, I can put 6 for 6 in the black of a 10" target at 100 yards with either my .22s or .357s. Single action, of course. That is dead deer in my book.