I found a very nice looking Dan Wesson V22 w/ a 4" barrel in the rimfire cabinet of my LGS. It is a stainless version and it appears to be in pretty good shape. I don't think it comes with any other barrels

I went ahead and put it on layaway, but I would like to know more about it. Does anyone here have any experience with these?

Can you still buy barrels for them?

Any info you may have, I am all ears. Thanks!

I am guessing that you mean a 722-V4 and not a V22

Adding the 7 to the model number indicates it is of stainless construction

The letter after the dash describes the barrel shroud, the number after the letter(s) is the barrel length

22- = plain shroud
22-V = Vent Rib shroud
22-H = Heavy shroud
22-VH = Vent Rib Heavy shroud

I have owned two of the blue steel Dan Wesson Model 22 revolvers for more than a decade

One sits permanently in a V10 configuration while the other one goes back and forth between a VH2 and a VH6. This is one of the only images that I have of the 22LR firearms




YES, that is my 22VH-2 with a supressor attached

To satisfy my inner Maxwell Smart, I acquired a barrel nut that had threads on it so that the can could be mounted. Obviously it can not work because of the revolver's B/C gap.

I just had to do it for conversation's sake

If you do not already know, Dan Wesson's legendary accuracy was mainly due to the tensioned barrel design.

Both of my DW 22s are superbly accurate. Far better than almost all my other 22LR revolvers and I do own and shoot many different 22LR revolvers.

Since Dan Wessons have interchangeable barrels and shrouds there is not a real need to own two. My motivation was that our Family had a Vacation house up in New England that several of us used. It was easier to have a small safe in the house that held some duplicate firearms as opposed to flying with 4 to 6 firearms each time we went up there

While that house went away when my Uncle passed, I have never thinned out the herd

For what it is worth I have been shooting Dan Wesson revolvers since my Metallic Silhouette days going back to the 80s.

I still own and shoot 8 Dan Wesson revolvers. These are chambered in 22LR, 357 SUPERMAG and 41 Magnum.

The SUPERMAGs are awesome



I have always wanted one of the 414 SUPERMAGS but every time I found one the price has always been more than I wanted to pay. I also want to own one of the 45 Long Colt Dan Wessons

The Factory still runs some barrel assemblies every now and then, but I have never seen one in 22LR from the current owners of DW

Extra barrels and barrel assemblies in every caliber are always showing up on GunBroker and eBay

There was a company that was making aftermarket barrel assemblies (EWK) but they no longer appear to

I don't own a DW.22 but do own a few DW revolvers, a 44 mag and a 445 SuperMag along with all the barrels and shrouds ( barrels and shrouds will fit either gun). All my DW gear is SS.

The deep ,perfect blueing on a Dan Wesson revolver is like a work of art. I saw a used DW .22 revolver in perfect condition at a gun store a few years ago, I would have bought it if it was not for the VERY high asking price. It would have been a safe queen because I would not want to mar the blueing.

I too have had DW revolvers for years since I shot IHMSA.
Very accurate hand guns.

You will be very happy with your new purchase, congratulations!

Thank you for all the information colt_saa. All the tag said was V22, so I appreciate the breakdown of the naming codes.

I dig your Maxwell Smart set up!

Guys, let's talk about the elephant in the room. Specifically the poor leverage the trigger has on the action. Which results in a DA trigger that stacks a lot and start out at 11.5 lbs. I have no idea as to the weight at break in Double action because I don't have a trigger gauge that goes that high but at a guess it's in the 13-14 lbs range. The key to shooting with a modicum of accuracy is to pull the trigger thru in one single smooth and somewhat rapid motion. If you try staging the trigger the you'll find your hand shaking at the break.

BTW, I spent some time experimenting because my 15-2 was used when I found it at Cablela's and had a misfire rate of 2 out of 6 in Single Action and 6 out of 6 in Double Action. After obtaining new mainsprings from Numrioch and Wolff's it became obvious that a previous owner had cut some coils off the mainspring. So I spent some time experimenting. What I found that produced reliable ignition in Double Action was the factory spring with a small coil cut approach. The lighter Wolff springs only provided reliable ignition in Single Action. Note ammunition tested was Remington UMC because I have found that Remington primers are harder than either Federal or CCI primers.

Finally in the matter of Accuracy combined with a superb trigger I would suggest you all look into the S&W model 620. It was S&W's first Tensioned Barrel revolver and capable of notable accuracy. It was also the subject of a lot of criticism and accusations of "dime store barrel assemblies" when it came out.

Being a rimfire, I didn’t dry fire it at all. Your comments concerning the DA pull have me a little concerned. I don’t need another .22 handgun, but thought this one might be cool to own. I’m wondering if it is worth the $699….

quote:

Originally posted by Scooter123:
Guys, let's talk about the elephant in the room. Specifically the poor leverage the trigger has on the action. Which results in a DA trigger that stacks a lot and start out at 11.5 lbs.

Why is that an Elephant? No two manufacturers DA lock work feels the same.

The Dan Wesson does not feel too different than any other short action revolver lock work.

Myself, I do not buy a Dan Wesson because of the DA trigger, I buy it for the exceptional accuracy. In more than 40 years and many 10s of thousands of rounds fired through my Dan Wessons I do not recall shooting DA

In Metallic Silhouette when you are shooting at a Ram, 200 yards out, you are only shooting single action. Hunting is not much different. After all we do not see Double Action rifles.

The Dan Wesson revolver and single action trigger is very well suited to precision shooting.

OK, if all you care about is shooting DA at close range, then I agree the Dan Wesson is not the best choice for you but that is no reason that it should be ruled out for EVERYBODY

quote:

Originally posted by Browndrake:
Being a rimfire, I didn’t dry fire it at all. Your comments concerning the DA pull have me a little concerned. I don’t need another .22 handgun, but thought this one might be cool to own. I’m wondering if it is worth the $699….

At $699 I would be a buyer even though I already own two Dan Wesson 22s

That is about what I paid for my blue 6" VH DW 22 about a decade ago. The gun pictured above with the 2" VH barrel assembly (and one of my cans) on it

Thanks for the input. I was at the LGS today to pay on the layaway. I think I’m going to make it mine. One of the older guys that has worked there for over twenty years perked up when he overheard that I was the one who put it on layaway. He was pretty high on it and said it’s the only one he’s seen come through the shop. He also seemed to be of the opinion that it was a good deal.

If you don’t like the trigger, at that price, I’m sure lots of us would take it.