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October 17, 2008
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Hi, I need to know if the Dan Wesson gun frame I have is a 44 or a 445 ? The frame seems very large and hard to hold up as it is heavy.I have a DW 22 and a DW 357 which are light and small compared to the 44. I don't know how to tell which frame I have.I have 44 barrels on it but it had a 445 on it when I got it.It also has a small 44 at the start of the S/N Can anyone tell me which it is?Thanks Jim
Dans Club
May 17, 2009
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JamesT to the 
. I have both a .44 Mag and a 445 SM. The cylinder length on the .44 Mag is 1-3/4" and on the 445SM it is 2-1/16". Compare yours to mine and that may answer your question. I believe the barrels on the .44 Mag and the 445SM are interchangeable, at least they will screw into either frame. Again I believe that to prevent the wrong barrel being screwed onto the wrong frame DW made the threads different so you couldn't make that mistake and hurt yourself or the gun.
If I am off base here someone will certainly pipe in as we tend to look out for each other here. At least the measurement thing should be correct.
I just tried to put a 445 cartridge into my .44 Mag cylinder and it doesn't go in; the casing hits the forcing cone in the cylinder. 
Now for the mandatory 
, so anti up! 
Glad to have you on board!
Ed
Range Officer
Range Officers
Dans Club
February 28, 2009
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Jaggman pretty much covered it. Also if your serial number begins 44 (not 445) it is a .44 magnum and most probably made in Norwich, although I think that some late Palmer guns begin their serial numbers that way (with the caliber) too. the caliber designation may be followed by a B (for blue) or an S (for stainless).
Also, the reason it seems heavy to you is because it is heavy. The 22's and 357's were built on the small frame, while the 41's and 44's were built on the large frame. The SuperMags were all built on a streched large frame so they are even heavier.
to the . I hope you enjoy your stay with us and I hope you stay a long time.
I hope we've helped you some.
-Mike
October 26, 2008
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Monson and Palmer did the Caliber designation as far as I know Norwich used only letters in their caliber code on the frames Monson used the letters as well. Monson and Palmer used the S or B in the serial # to designate stainless or blue respectively.
My 715s are all Monson made and have the following:
357S0071xx
SD0089xx
S/0010xx
James yours is a .44 due to that being in the serial #.
and of course
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January 24, 2009
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superdan said:
Monson and Palmer did the Caliber designation as far as I know Norwich used only letters in their caliber code on the frames Monson used the letters as well. Monson and Palmer used the S or B in the serial # to designate stainless or blue respectively.
That's correct with what I've found, too. Although I might add that the early Monson guns used no letters...
I am pretty sure the letters came along with the introduction of the .357 SuperMag. I believe with all these new calibers, it was starting to get confuzing were record keeping was involved.
October 17, 2008
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Thanks so much guys for the Dan Wesson info on the .44, it is a .44 as I checked the cylinder length and it is 1 3/4 long so I know with all your info that it is a .44.It just felt very large and heavy compared to the other DW`s I have.Here is some pictures of my Dan Wesson collection.James 
July 5, 2009
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JamesT,
You have a mighty fine collection of packs! They look like their in great condition. You must be suffering from DWAS like the rest of our members.
DWF Supporters
Dans Club
Moderators
November 17, 2008
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Wisdom is merely the realization of how little one knows, therefore I am wise.
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Moderators
January 24, 2009
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That's a nice lookin' pack of Pac's, way to go!
Yep, that's a classic case of
if I ever saw one.
It looks like the .44 in the lower left, from what I can see, then a .22 on the upper left & the other two are 357's I assume? I like what you did with the large one in the upper right, that's got pretty much anything a guy would need. I also notice you have a few of the newer style Norwich patches, including one I don't recognize (blue one on the lower right stack). Could you show us a pic of those? We've got a thread devoted to that sort of neat stuff here...
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Range Officer
Range Officers
May 2, 2009
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Nice looking set of Pac's. Please post a close-up photo of those Modern DW patches--they will make a nice addition to the history thread CF linked above.
SHOOT
April 25, 2008
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Very impressive James!
The Savantist
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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Lots of great stuff, you're a lucky guy.
Welcome to DWF, when you have a chance, please stop by New Members and tell us about yourself, and how you acquired so many Packs
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman "Were is the Self Help Section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
George Carlin
Range Officer
Range Officers
Dans Club
February 9, 2009
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there James Looks like you came to us with a full blown case of . Glad you joined the to share those pics of your results. I hope you find us informative and friendly here always.
A man cannot have too many SuperMags
October 17, 2008
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I hope these pictures come out ok.These are the patches I have.Thanks Jim[Image Can Not Be Found]
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Moderators
January 24, 2009
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Thanks for adding that pic, Jim. Looks like the blue one is the same thing used on this hat, that was on eGouge a while back.
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Range Officer
Range Officers
May 2, 2009
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JamesT said:I hope these pictures come out ok.These are the patches I have.Thanks Jim[Image Can Not Be Found]
I added this pic to the history thread.
SHOOT
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