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December 25, 2014
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I've been a member here for a couple months waiting til I actually had something Dan Wesson to add to the forum. I am approaching 60 and I have been in love with these revolvers since the late seventy's-early eighty's. That is the time-frame when I purchased my first DW. It was a pistol pac (15-2V) but sadly I only kept it a few years.
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I got into a different hobby and that has taken most of my time and money until recently. I've started to sell off those items and concentrate on firearms.
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I will quit rambling and get to the point. I recently purchased a DWA .22. I found it locally online, met the owner, checked it out and made the purchase. I was really looking for a .357 but I could not beat this deal. The pistol has a very low serial number-under 2300. It has a non-vent, non-heavy (standard?) 6" barrel. I bought just the firearm, nothing additional as the seller had nothing more. I am going to purchase another firearm (not a DW) from the same person so I plan to ask if he has any additional details on the .22 that he may have since remembered. It was a safe queen to him and is in excellent condition for it's age, although not flawless.
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I have a short list of firearms I want (still have two to get) and then I plan to collect various Dan Wesson revolvers. Pics are from the ad I purchased it from.
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I was looking at the Full Serial Number registry and have a few questions. I'm not trying to be picky here, I'm just trying to date mine with nothing from a previous owner to go by. jon reese shows his as a 1978 and it has a 5 digit sn (12,XXX) based on others and two listings down Drumwheel has one with a four digit sn 80XX based on paperwork. Unless I'm mistaken shouldn't the lower sn come before the higher one? Does anyone know when the first .22s were available?
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Dans Club
February 28, 2009
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to the 
.
We base our serial number table on when the guns were purchased new. We have no way of knowing how long a particular gun was in stock at a particular dealer. That may cause some anomalies.
-Mike
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Dans Club
December 4, 2011
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Welcome to the forum for the other side of the sate (Harrisburg area)! Â Thanks for joining and posting pics right away. Â That is a very nice looking 22 you found. Â I'll let SteveCT, our resident serial number list expert, answer your date question, but I will add that Dan Wesson serial numbers are still somewhat of a mystery that we are solving a little at a time. Â
I have seen quite a few nice Dan's for sale on Gunbroker out of a shop in New Castle, PA. Â Since its not too far from you, it may be worth a drive up to check out the place. Â They have been listing a bunch since late fall. Â
Post a range report when you get a chance.
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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Some strange (unverified) data has crept into the S/N Registry, but I can tell you that entries for Karl D and drumwheel  are valid.
.22's were definitely in production in 1979, possibly in late 1978.
Steve
December 25, 2014
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I appreciate the input. I have seen here that the serial numbering is a bit of a question mark.
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Scoripo, I just spent some time going through all the DW revolvers that were on gunbroker. I didn't find a listing from New Castle. If you see where they list something, please give me a heads-up.
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I will have a range report as I plan to try her out in the next week or two.
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May 2, 2009
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Also no idea how long some frames sat in the wharehouse before being assembled/shipped. Â Could have been years.
SHOOT
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December 4, 2011
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Here is a link to a recently completed auction they ran. Â You can get the contact info from the description.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=466398201
December 25, 2014
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Thanks Scorpio, I added them to my favorite sellers. I drive for a living. I have made and printed a list of the gun shops that are in the areas I normally go to. My plan, when the budget allows, is to stop at them looking specifically for Dan Wesson revolvers.
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Steve CT, Thank you for your reply. The gentleman that I bought it from said he had gotten it a long time ago at a gun shop that went out of business way back when. He said he had gotten no paper work (or anything else) when he purchased it. I will try to find out if he remembers around what year he bought it.
November 27, 2014
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Welcome to the Forum...if ya have a bad case of DWAS this is a great place to be with the best people on the net  welcome Hick
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Dans Club
February 22, 2009
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The guys have you covered, I'll just say welcome and add; if you're looking for something DW, place a Want to Buy add in the Wanted section of the Classifieds
Regards, Ron
Dans Club
April 18, 2014
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As a reminder, here is the forum link where Eric Wesson posted some relevant dates and serial info. This may be of some help for all to recall.  Â
https://www.danwessonforum.com/forum/reference-files/early-dan-wesson-serial-number-information/Â
Welcome to DWF. Serial numbering is hard to put in some real order. You will start to get a sense of things after you've spent some time here reading and studying. It is an adventure worth taking though.
Cecil
September 1, 2010
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Good looking Dan you have there, thanks for the picture.
December 25, 2014
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rwsem, Thank you for the link. I think I will try my gun shop shopping first. There isn't anything in particular that I am looking for right now in a DW, just a good deal if I come across one. I have to do this as time and budget allow. I will also keep an eye on the for-sale/trade section of this forum. Yes, I am looking forward to my tax refund.
ese927, I appreciate the link but, at least on my computer, it comes up as an "ERROR 404-Page not found".
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Thank you to everyone for the kind words and input.
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