Log In
July 9, 2026
Offline
I was at a gun show and ran across a six inch 22 rimfire Dan Wesson 22VH6 for a decent price. I have wanted a pistol pack since about 1980 and just never found one at the right time and the right price. I looked it over as best I could and it appeared to be in pretty good shape, or so I thought. So it went home with me.
It turns out it had problems. The three worse were that the fired cartridges would not eject without hitting the ejector rod with something hard. The next bad problem was it would not carry up to lock if you cocked it very gently or let your finger drag on the cylinder very lightly. It would carry up and lock if you cocked it smartly. The third major problem was that it would fail to fire almost every time in double action and sometimes in single action. Also the front sight was too short causing it to shoot high with the rear sight bottomed out and the action especially while shooting double action was absolutely horrible.
To cure the ejection problem I cut some approximately 3/8 inch wide strips out of a Birchwood Casey lead removing cloth as it is an extremely fine abrasive. The strips were wrapped around a 22 caliber wire brush much like the stripes on a barber pole. I used a cordless drill to spin them in the chambers I'm moving back and forth. I used medium speed for about a minute total. The results were amazing. The fire cases will now almost fallout. I can push them out with the tip of my pinky finger with absolutely no trouble.
To fix the carry up I fit a new hand and a new ejector star / ratchet. It now works every time and locks up solid. It is currently just a little tight and if it does not wear in some I will give it another stroke or two of the file.
A new full power hammer spring helped with the failure to fire issue although it did not fix it.
Swapping out to a taller front sight fixed the point of impact issue. I used a Partridge sight to improve the sight picture while I was doing it.
For the horrible, grindy, gritty, seesawing feeling double action I used a fine (around 800 grit) and a extra fine (maybe 2000 grit) Spyderco knife sharpening stone to polish the sides have the moving parts, internal side plates, and bearing surfaces of the action. The change in the feel of the double action trigger was astounding! Dramatically smoother all the way through and probably dropped a couple of pounds. The single action trigger pull dropped slightly. For the engagement surfaces on the trigger and sear all I did was hit them with a red sharpie and use my fine Stone just enough to remove the sharpie. I was very sure not to change any angles even in the slightest.
When I finished working on the insides I did a thorough cleaning and then lubed with a high-speed fishing reel bearing lube.
This action polishing also helped with the failure to fire. It is now 99% in single action. I still get lots of misfires in double action that I believe are from light hammer strikes. I am not finished working on this problem.
It is now a pleasure to shoot and an absolute tac driver! As soon as I get the double action 100% reliable the world will be right again.
If anybody has any tips on fixing the misfires I would greatly appreciate you sharing those with me.
Dans Club
December 7, 2020
Offline
Chad Mathis said
As soon as I get the double action 100% reliable the world will be right again.
If anybody has any tips on fixing the misfires I would greatly appreciate you sharing those with me.
Try loosening the grip screw. It compresses a spring in the tang when over-tightened.
DWF Supporters
July 12, 2020
Offline
Welcome to the forum from PA!!! Looks like you have some experience with DW's or you have done some reading on here
Try what Scout mentioned first and see if it remedies the problem. If not there is a lot of help available here.
June 8, 2009
Offline
Welcome and congratulations on almost solving all your problems. I also had sticky fired cases with my DW22. I was never happy with its accuracy. I sent my cylinder off to a fellow that would check the cylinders out and either ream or hone them. Mine needed both. He was having some $ and health issues and did not have the proper hone so I covered the cost of that for him. I was delighted with how smooth the holes looked when I got it back. I just shot it some more the other day. The fired cases slipped out just fine. I only shot standing, so can't say how the accuracy is. I didn't even take sight adjustment tools with me...just needed to shoot some.
Unfortunately, the fellow (Dougguy) passed away not too long after he finished my cylinder for me. He did a lot of cylinder work for folks, and it was a shame to lose his talent. He was a very nice and skilled guy to work with. He also did a ream and hone job for my .480Ruger that corrected how the factory sets them up.
Your fix cost a LOT less than mine did...and you got to do it yourself. Way to go!
Supporter
Dans Club
March 25, 2013
Offline
Chad, the grip screw screws into a main spring seat that is staked into position at the bottom of the grip tang. The staking may have failed and the seat went in further than it should . If it is able to be turned it has been pushed in too far. Try backing it out and see if that fixes the problem . If so,stake it into the correct position again and problem fixed.
1 Guest(s)
