"Monson" Dan Wesson .357?

[cracktheskye]

Hey brahs..

My dad may be interested in selling or trading his .357. Problem is, I'm having something of a hard time finding any kind of current listings for the same gun (nothing on gb or ga), so I figgered I'd bring it to you guys...

From what I could find, it's a "Medium Frame" Dan Wesson .357 made in Monson, MA, and it has a 4" barrel and an early serial. He bought it in ?1983? and has since been much more disciplined than I would, putting a grand total of... 12 rounds down the pipe. Apparently the Monson models are less common and much more desirable, and the 4" barrel is extremely rare in the case of this particular gun. Unfortunately my dad no longer has the original case and additional barrel attachments, but there is not a scratch, nick, dent on this gun, it is absolutely flawless. It is blued like the one pictured below, and has a black Pachmayr grip. So...



Can anybody tell me what it's worth?

[Z ME FLY]

I have seen Monson's go for as low as $300-$500ish. Depending on the finish and what extras included. Most of the ones I have seen before are blued.

[9mmepiphany]

i'm not seeing a picture

when you say he doesn't have the original case, do you mean it was originally a Pistol Pac. meaning he's missing the aluminum case, multiple barrels and shouds, 3 grips, 6-8 front sights, the barrel wrench/sight tool and feeler gauge?

are you saying its rare, because it has the external barrel nut at the muzzle?

BTW, the rubber grips aren't original. the Pistol Pacs originally came with Target, Combat and a grip blank

[cracktheskye]

I have seen Monson's go for as low as $300-$500ish. Depending on the finish and what extras included. Most of the ones I have seen before are blued.

Yeah I have only seen blued as well... though I did see one with a Duracoat on some forum.

i'm not seeing a picture

when you say he doesn't have the original case, do you mean it was originally a Pistol Pac. meaning he's missing the aluminum case, multiple barrels and shouds, 3 grips, 6-8 front sights, the barrel wrench/sight tool and feeler gauge?

are you saying its rare, because it has the external barrel nut at the muzzle?

BTW, the rubber grips aren't original. the Pistol Pacs originally came with Target, Combat and a grip blank

Yeah, he had the Pistol Pac and sold all but the gun with 4" barrel, after he put a Pachmayr on it. As far as the rarity goes, I have seen on two or three different websites that the 4" barrel is rare for this gun, even when the rest of the Pistol Pac is accounted for.

[9mmepiphany]

interesting...i didn't know that. i would have thought the most rare barrel length would have been the 2.5" vent rib/light shroud combo

it's going to be hard to get an accurate value on just the gun without any tools, but if you decide on an price, i'm interested and i'm just down in Sacto

[liketoshoot]

Not rare at all, might be hard to find but not rare, a lot of them are out there without the pistol pac, I picked up the same thing but with the 6" barrel for 425.00

[cracktheskye]

Not rare at all, might be hard to find but not rare, a lot of them are out there without the pistol pac, I picked up the same thing but with the 6" barrel for 425.00

If hard to find isn't rare, what is rare? My point was more directed at the 4" barrel, not a Medium Frame Dan Wesson.

[djleisure]

If hard to find isn't rare, what is rare? My point was more directed at the 4" barrel, not a Medium Frame Dan Wesson.

If a company made a million of something that was so awesome everybody bought one and never wanted to sell there's. That would be an example of something hard to find (nobody is selling there's) but not rare (there are a million of them.)

...okay, carry on...

[tmuller]

Seeing as how the pistol packs go for around 8-900 and the fact that I've seen a few 4" over the past month, I'm interested too but in SD, go for around $500 that's what I'd say it's worth. Or that's the most I'd be willing to spend.

[Z ME FLY]

Yeah I have only seen blued as well... though I did see one with a Duracoat on some forum.



Yeah, he had the Pistol Pac and sold all but the gun with 4" barrel, after he put a Pachmayr on it. As far as the rarity goes, I have seen on two or three different websites that the 4" barrel is rare for this gun, even when the rest of the Pistol Pac is accounted for.

Well, I have seen a few 4" and 6" ones, even an 8" I believe. The one I have NOT seen is a snubby. Overall I would love a Dan Wesson but only with a pistol pack so I can switch around barrels.

I am not sure why a 4" barrel would be rare because with a pistol pack you got a 2", 4", 6"?

For what it is worth, I would probably keep it vs. selling it.

[Z ME FLY]

Oh yeah and you can always try looking on gunbroker.com

[dfletcher]

Hey brahs..

My dad may be interested in selling or trading his .357. Problem is, I'm having something of a hard time finding any kind of current listings for the same gun (nothing on gb or ga), so I figgered I'd bring it to you guys...

From what I could find, it's a "Medium Frame" Dan Wesson .357 made in Monson, MA, and it has a 4" barrel and an early serial. He bought it in ?1983? and has since been much more disciplined than I would, putting a grand total of... 12 rounds down the pipe. Apparently the Monson models are less common and much more desirable, and the 4" barrel is extremely rare in the case of this particular gun. Unfortunately my dad no longer has the original case and additional barrel attachments, but there is not a scratch, nick, dent on this gun, it is absolutely flawless. It is blued like the one pictured below, and has a black Pachmayr grip. So...



Can anybody tell me what it's worth?

I can't view the photo, does this DW have an external barrel nut or an internal barrel nut at the muzzle?

The smaller framed DW was commonly known as the Model 15 and it went through several changes, DW even produced a fixed barrel version for High Standard.

The Monson, MA version is common but is better valued not because of any rarity but because of consistent quality. DWs made in Gardner and Palmer, MA may actually number fewer than Monson produced versions but because of QC issues are not as valuable.

Original DW grips are not difficult to find. The grip is actually a stud and from what I recall all DW factory grips will fit regardless of when the gun was manufactured.

Whether the gun was part of a "pistol pac" with 2.5", 4", 6" and 8" barrels and accessories is a moot point now, the gun stands on its own so to speak. Since barrels can be switched out I would not call a 4" version rare at all. I've had two pistol pacs to include one with the original wrapping paper, sold one about 2 years ago for $1,200.00 and it lasted all of 2 days at the gun store. An original but lightly used pistol pac in CA is fairly hard to find. I figure outside CA they're about $800.00.

I would guess that a 4" DW in excellent shape is an "about $350.00" gun in CA and perhaps a bit less outside CA, and a bit less with the non-factory grips.

[SHOOTIST357]

pricing

DW's prices vary wildly depending upon area. Model 15's are the most common DW out there. 4" barrels are no more rare than any other barrel. A DW in the original styrofoam box with a 4" barrel may be rare, because most of them shipped with a 6" from the factory. Since DW never marked the barrels with serial numbers, there is no way to tell if a Pistol Pac is original or not.

SHOOT

[cindynles]

I just sold a Monson 44mag (744VH) for $475 if that helps.

[Khram]

Dfletcher made the most informative post in this thread and I agree. DW's vary wildly in price in CA. Either listed with a outrageous high price due to non roster status or low price due to low resale at times IMO compared so S&W or Colt. It's a niche market the general gun buying public seems to not understand. I have a stainless 4" .41mag model purchased last year at $350 with tools and soft and an 8" blued mod 15 at $250 in 2007.

I have no extra barrels though! Both are Monson produced guns. I look for that and prefer that. I will be buying more of them, maybe a .22lr.