Cowgirl Corner: vintage DW 15-2 beauty

[North Country Gal]

Have had our current production DW 715 357 revolver for awhile, now, and as I've posted, I fell in love with it, right away. Been wondering how it compares to the old original Dan Wesson 357s, though, so have been hoping to find one of those to add to our collection. Besides, I just like vintage revolvers, not to mention a girl can't have too many 357 revolvers, right?

Anyway, got lucky this week and found one at our LGS at a very reasonable price. Here it is. It's a Dan Wesson 15-2 357, 6"barrel, made in 1979, a vintage when DW was at the peak of their game. (Silhouette shooters, at the time, were gobbling these guns up as fast as DW could make them.)
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So, how does it compare to our current production 715 (the 7 denotes a stainless Model 15)? Actually, the two guns compare almost identically as far as fit and finish and, especially, the trigger pull and action. Honestly can't tell any difference in the actions and trigger and that's a good thing, because both are excellent. Both lock up like a bank vault. Both have great identical triggers. Other than one being stainless and one being blue, not much has changed on DW 357 revolvers, other than the price, of course.


Beauty is as beauty does, of course, so this vintage 15-2 had some big shoes to fill as far as performance, compared to our new production 715. Here's my very first six shots with the 15-2, using a six o'clock hold one the 3" bull at 17 yards from a standing position, shooting in SA. (I no longer bother to use rest to check he sights. Just go right to work shooting, offhand.)


And here's a quick three shots in DA to check the trigger at the same distance, before handing the gun over to my eager husband who was watching the whole thing.


Meanwhile, I went to work on several Contenders for the rest of our range session. Happy to report, though, that Bill also did very well with the DW 15-2. All in all, a very good range session. While we were packing up, though, the temptation to give the 15-2 one more test was just too much. Had to see what it could do at 50 yards. Shot one for effect on another target to see where the DW was hitting, then used a six o'clock on this 6" bull to see what I could do for a 5 shot group at 50. Honestly, if beauty is, as beauty does, this vintage Dan Wesson 15-2 is the Mona Lisa. Love it. One of my best ever 5 shot groups with a revolver at 50 yards, shooting offhand. Oh, yeah, happy dance time on this one.


Did I mention this is a pretty gun?
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[rwortman]

That's awesome shooting. They are great guns. I wish I loved my .22 more than I do. It looks just like that one only with a smaller hole in the end.

[PT7]

As always, NCG, your targets are the proof of your excellent shooting ability, notwithstanding the excellent accuracy of a DW revolver.

I remember well your excitement when you got and posted about your DW 715. That excitement was palpable, and about jumped off the computer screen! Once again, this vintage DW 15-2 is another exciting addition to North Country Gal's gun cabinet ---not too many revolvers, not enough revolvers.

There is only one problem I have with the post. I shouldn't have read it when I saw the subject line. I cannot afford one now (and maybe never will be able to get one), but the 'ole "want-that-DW-revolver" bug has again bitten. Nuts.

Absolutely, positively agree. It is a pretty gun. I'd choose the vintage model with the wood grips for my gun cabinet...great-looking wood on that one.

Congrats, and thanks for the Range Report, too.
PT7

Have had our current production DW 715 357 revolver for awhile, now, and as I've posted, I fell in love with it, right away. Been wondering how it compares to the old original Dan Wesson 357s, though, so have been hoping to find one of those to add to our collection. Besides, I just like vintage revolvers, not to mention a girl can't have too many 357 revolvers, right?

Anyway, got lucky this week and found one at our LGS at a very reasonable price. Here it is. It's a Dan Wesson 15-2 357, 6"barrel, made in 1979, a vintage when DW was at the peak of their game.

Did I mention this is a pretty gun?
upload img

[CT_Shooter]

Great post, NCG. Thanks again.

[North Country Gal]

Thanks, folks. As revolvers go, it really is a very accurate revolver to shoot. Little wonder it was so popular on the silhouette circuit. Interestingly, the DW design was way ahead of its time. It used a ball detent lock up and threaded barrels inside a shroud, something the S&W now offers on their higher end models. That threaded barrel on the DW allows for a very stable and evenly torqued barrel fit and, of course, also allows easy interchangeability of barrels and even allows you to set barrel/cylinder gap. The other great feature of the DW for those who like DA shooting is the very short DA travel and the excellent grip design that allows proper leverage when working the DA trigger. Sights are also very well designed and the front sight is user interchangeable. All in all, very interesting revolvers.

[Henry88]

That gun (blue) is gorgeous, and the shooting speaks for itself.

[RetiredSeabee]

Oh my! You have done it again..... you are truly the undisputed gun whisperer.
That fifty yard target is amazing. Props to Dan Wesson for an incredibly well made gun. But the shooter is incredible.

I bow to you ma’am.

[RanchRoper]

50 yds...now THAT is some fine marksmanship.

Isn't that the famous Dirty Harry gun?

[ESquared]

Just fantastic shooting and a great addition to your collection. Congrats on both and thanks for sharing!

Dirty Harry's was a .44 Magnum, wasn't it? He'd have had nothing on this fine specimen.

[North Country Gal]

Dirty Harry's gun was a S&W 44 mag, Model 29, but in the movies he was supposedly just shooting 44 Specials in it. This was another classic case of a movie creating an insane demand for a product. It caught S&W completely unprepared for the demand. People waited for several years to get their Dirty Harry gun, the Model 29, after that movie. Used Model 29s doubled and tripled in price, overnight. Those early vintage Model 29s still command a high price, even today.

Interestingly, the DW 44 mag revolver, the Model 44, is actually one of the most sought after Dan Wesson revolvers with DW fans. Like the Model 15-2, the Model 44 was extremely accurate. That, and not many were made. Would love to find one.

Speaking of 44 mags, during this range session with the DW, I was also working with a 44 mag Contender rig with a 10" round barrel and a nice Burris scope. New find on the barrel and wanted to get it sighted in. Typical Contender - very accurate - but also a typical Contender big bore in that recoil was not much fun. Made it through half a box of ammo and called it quits. Keep in mind that with a Contender, there is a 150 to 200 fps boost in velocity over a revolver, since there is no cylinder gap and the barrel is longer. That extra oomph translates into more recoil. That, and the Contender frame is not especially recoil friendly. With a hard kicking Contender, you don't control the recoil as much as manage the recoil. Shooting the DW was a joy by comparison.