page_title: Dan Wesson Firearms
section_title: Dan Wesson revolvers
hierarchical_section_title: Dan Wesson Firearms / Dan Wesson revolvers
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Dab Wesson Wechsel-Laufsystem
context_page_description: Dan Wesson Firearms, part of CZ-USA, is an American handgun manufacturer. The corporate headquarters, customer service and manufacturing plant is located in Norwich, New York. Dan Wesson Firearms is known for its revolver expertise and for some types of ammunition it has introduced over the years.
context_section_description: The double-action revolver design introduced by Dan Wesson was invented by Karl R. Lewis.  Lewis was responsible for a number of new firearms designs while working for various firearms manufacturers, including the Army's 40mm break-open grenade launcher and the .357 caliber Colt Trooper revolver. Lewis had previously invented an interchangeable barrel system for revolvers, and this system was incorporated into the Dan Wesson prototype. While nearly all revolvers are constructed with a barrel screwed tightly to a frame (which must be removed and installed by an experienced gunsmith), Lewis' idea was to house the barrel tube within a separate shroud secured by a nut at the muzzle, which places tension on the barrel and provides support at both ends of the barrel. By unscrewing the muzzle nut, the shroud and barrel could be removed and replaced with different barrel lengths and shroud configurations. The fact that the DW barrel is supported and placed under tension at both ends (along with the ability to fine-tune barrel-cylinder gap) resulted in markedly increased accuracy over conventional revolver designs.
  Another difference in the new design was the placement of the cylinder release latch. Other revolvers place this latch on the frame, behind the cylinder. The Dan Wesson revolvers have the latch mounted on the cylinder crane, which was intended to increase the strength of the revolver by placing the locking mechanism at the point where the cylinder crane fits into the frame.  Another change from most other existing designs was the use of a coil mainspring, which Lewis had pioneered with his design of the Colt Trooper .357. Revolvers with flat mainsprings must have a metal framework to anchor one end, while the other contacts the hammer. This framework generally forms the primary shape of the handgrip, to which the stocks are attached. The Dan Wesson design houses the coil mainspring inside a short extension of the frame, and the stock attaches to this extension with a screw inserted vertically through the bottom of the stock. The lack of a steel frame outline permits a wider amount of grip sizes and styles, since any grip that can accept the short mainspring housing can be used.
  The first interchangeable barrel revolvers produced were the Dan Wesson Models W8, W9, W11, and W12, all medium-frame size frame revolvers chambered in .38 Special or .357 Magnum.  The W8 and W11 had either a fixed rear sight, or a rear sight adjustable only for windage, while the W9 and W12 featured a rear sight fully adjustable for both windage and elevation.  The barrels and shrouds for both models were interchangeable and used a large externally mounted nut on the muzzle end to secure the barrel and shroud. The shrouds on these early models had an elongated flange (known to collectors as "Pork Chop" shrouds) which mated with the front of the revolver's frame.  Initial barrel/shroud options were 2 1/2-inch, 4-inch, 6-inch, and 8-inches. A custom barrel nut wrench and feeler gauge were supplied with each pistol, and barrel changes could be accomplished in two minutes or less.
caption: Dan Wesson, barrel system
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