Dan Wesson

__TOC__
=About=
Dan Wesson Firearms was founded in 1968 by Daniel B. Wesson II, who worked at Smith & Wesson from 1938 until 1963, and strictly controlled production quality. After the purchase of Smith & Wesson by the Bangor-Punta, Wesson set out to open his own manufacturing operation in order to produce high quality, American made revolvers for service as well as competition use. Dan Wesson Arms was incorporated in 1968, with its headquarters and production located in a former school building in Monson, Massachusetts.
Dan Wesson's unique double action revolver design was invented by Karl R. Lewis, who was also the designer of the M79 grenade launcher as well as the Colt Trooper revolver. Lewis's innovative idea for barrels and monogrips that could easily be changed by the firearm's owner with simple hand tools quickly became popular with shooters. Lewis' idea was to house the barrel 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 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. Because of this design, many revolvers shipped from the factory with several different interchangeable barrels, and complete sets are worth a premium to revolver collectors. Another distinctive feature of the Dan Wesson revolver is their cylinder latch, located on the firearm's crane, ahead of the cylinder. This allowed more structural integrity to remain on the revolver's sideplate, thus making the action stronger.
After the death of Dan Wesson II, the company continued to be managed by Wesson's son, Seth, but financial issues eventually led to bankruptcy. Despite Dan Wesson's death and financial issues, the company continued to branch out to producing rifles, designing ammunition, as well as a popular line of Dan Wesson 1911 semi automatics in various calibers. The company changed hands and locations several times, and was eventually moved from Massachusetts to New York, where it remains. Currently the company is owned by CZ-USA and the company's focus has shifted from revolvers to 1911s, with the only revolver still being made by the company being the 715 HV6.
=Information=
Founded: 1968
Country: USA
=Revolvers=
==Dan Wesson Model 14==
The Model 14 is very similar to the Model 15, only it had fixed sights. The Model 14 was a relatively obscure model and was not produced in large quantities from 1974 to 1981. The first revolvers the company made that were the precursors to the model 14, the Model 12 and 13, were produced in even smaller numbers from 1969 to 1974. 
===Film===
Title 	Actor 	Character	Notation 	Date
Black Out (2012)	Bas Keijzer 	Bobby 	2.5" Model 14	2012
Black Out (2012)	Kempi 	Björn 	2.5" Model 14	2012
Black Out (2012)	Raymond Thiry	Jos 	2.5" Model 14	2012
<BR clear=all>
==Dan Wesson Model 15 ==
The Model 15 is very similar to the Model 14, only it had adjustable sights. The Model 15 was one of Dan Wesson's flagship models, produced in great numbers from 1971 to 1992.
===Film===
Title 	Actor 	Character 	Notation 	Date
Beverly Hills Cop 	Various actors 	Beverly Hills PD 	 	1984
Code of Silence 	Chuck Norris 	Chicago Police Detective Eddie Cusack	4" model 15 and 6" model 715	1985
Code of Silence 	 	Hitman 	 	1985
Malibu Express 	Darby Hinton 	Cody Abilene 	chrome model 15 VH 	1985
Malibu Express 	Lori Sutton 	Beverly Mcafee 	chrome model 15 VH 	1985
Raw Deal 	Arnold Schwarzenegger	Mark Kaminsky 	 	1986
Raw Deal 	Sven-Ole Thorsen 	bodyguard 	 	1986
Hard Ticket to Hawaii 	Dona Speir 	Donna 	chrome model 15 VH 	1987
Picasso Trigger 	Guich Koock 	L.G. Abilene 	chrome model 15 VH 	1988
Predator 2 	Various actors 	Gangbangers 	. 	1990
Guns 	Michael J. Shane 	Shane Abilene 	chrome model 15 VH 	1990
Guns 	Dona Speir 	Donna Hamilton 	chrome model 15 VH 	1990
Do or Die 	Michael J. Shane 	Shane Abilene 	chrome model 15 VH 	1991
Hard Hunted 	Becky Mullen 	Becky 	chrome model 15 VH 	1992
Hard Hunted 	Michael J. Shane 	Shane Abilene 	chrome model 15 VH 	1992
Enemy Gold 	Mark Barriere 	Mark Austin 	chrome model 15 VH 	1992
Fit to Kill 	Michael J. Shane 	Shane Abilene 	chrome model 15 VH 	1993
Fit to Kill 	Sandra Wild 	Sandy 	chrome model 15 VH 	1993
The Real McCoy 	Henry Stram 	cashier 	8" Heavy Vented barrel 	1993
Last Action Hero 	Charles Dance 	Benedict 	Customized 	1993
Needful Things 	Ray McKinnon 	Deputy Sheriff Norris Ridgewick 	 	1993
The Dallas Connection 	Mark Barriere 	Mark Austin 	chrome model 15 VH 	1994
Johnny Mnemonic 	Takeshi Kitano 	Takahashi 	. 	1995
Day of the Warrior 	Kevin Light 	Doc Austin 	chrome model 15 VH 	1996
Return to Savage Beach 	Paul Logan 	Doc Austin 	chrome model 15 VH 	1998
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me	Mike Myers 	Fat Bastard 	. 	1999
The Insider 	Russell Crowe 	Jeffrey Wigand 	. 	1999
30 Days of Night 	Melissa George 	Stella Oleson 	Snubbie 	2007
30 Days of Night 	Josh Hartnett 	Sheriff Oleson 	Snubbie 	2007
Black Dynamite 	Irwin Keyes 	Thug 	 	2009
<BR clear=all>
===Television===
Title 	Actor 	Character 	Note 	Date
Longmire 	Robert Taylor 	Walt Longmire	 	2012
Vega$ 	Robert Urich 	Dan Tanna 	 	1978-1981
T.J. Hooker	William Shatner	Sgt. Hooker 	"The Protectors" (S1E01)	1982
<BR clear=all>
== Dan Wesson Model 715 ==
The Model 715 is the stainless version of the Model 15. It was one of the company's most famous models and is currently the only revolver still manufactured by the company, with its VH-6 barrel, the 6 inch-long barrel with a heavy vent shroud. It was produced from 1982 to 2006, and manufacturing began again in 2016 after a ten-year hiatus and continues to this day. 
===Film===
Title 	Actor 	Character	Notation	Date
Code of Silence	Chuck Norris	Cusack 	 	1985
<BR clear=all>
== Dan Wesson Model 744 ==
===Film===
Title 	Actor 	Character 	Notation 	Date
Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol	David Graf 	Sgt. Eugene Tackleberry	744 V 	1987
Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol	Bille Bird 	Mrs. Feldman 	744 V 	1987
Police Academy 6: City Under Siege 	David Graf 	Sgt. Eugene Tackleberry	744 V 	1989
The Punisher 	Mark Collie 	Harry Heck 	744 VH with 8" compensated barrel 	2004
The Punisher 	Thomas Jane 	Frank Castle 	744 VH with 8" compensated barrel 	2004
Flypaper 	Pruitt Taylor Vince	Wyatt "Jelly" Jenkins 	744 VH with 8" barrel; same firearm used by all three characters both in and out-of-universe	2011
Flypaper 	Patrick Dempsey 	Tripp Kennedy 	744 VH with 8" barrel; same firearm used by all three characters both in and out-of-universe	2011
Flypaper 	Matt Ryan 	Gates 	744 VH with 8" barrel; same firearm used by all three characters both in and out-of-universe	2011
===Animation===
Title 	Character 	Note 	Date
Archer	Malory Archer	744-V with a scope and laser sight	2009-2010
<BR clear=all>
== Dan Wesson PPC ==
===Film===
Title 	Actor 	Character	Notation 	Date
Black Out (2012)	Robert de Hoog	Gianni 	6" model, target sights removed	2012
===Video Games===
Game Title 	Appears as 	Mods 	Release Date
Team Fortress 2 	"The Ambassador" 	Stylized, stainless steel, engraved barrel, rosewood grips	2007
Call of Juarez: The Cartel	"PPC" and "PPC Scoped"	Black finish 	2011
Uncharted 3 	Mag 5 	 	2011
Days Gone 	The Sheriff 	 	2019
<BR clear=all>
== Dan Wesson Supermag==
After having revamped the tooling to handle the larger .44 and .41 Magnum frames in 1977, in 1982, despite the recent death of the company's founder, Dan Wesson firearms made a huge leap in firearms technology by introducing not only the new Dan Wesson SuperMag, a revolver much larger than their standard offerings that was capable of handling much more powerful cartridges, but also three different super magnum cartridges: the .357 Maximum, a magnum version of the .357 Magnum, the .414 SuperMag, a magnum version of the .41 Magnum, the .445 SuperMag, a magnum version of the .44 Magnum, and the .375 SuperMag, based on the .375 Winchester rifle cartridge.
On paper, the Supermags looked great, as they could fire both the magnum and special counterparts of their super magnum cartridges. The Supermags proved to be unsuccessful, however, as the proprietary rounds were both expensive and impractical, and the guns large and also expensive. The .375 Super Mag was perhaps the least successful, as it was meant to fit between the .357 and the .414, but it used a relatively obscure bullet size and had a tapered case that was prone to sticking in the cylinder after firing. The .41 Magnum was already a flop, so a .410-caliber super magnum was not on anyone's minds, and the .445 would soon after be eclipsed in power by the .454 Casull, which would be added to the SAAMI. The only Supermag that was remotely successful was the .357 Maximum, and that was probably only because other firearms manufacturers were already making guns in that caliber. And even then, the .357 Maximum would ultimately fade into obscurity. The Supermags are popular now with firearms enthusiasts, hunters and reloaders, but at the time were too ambitious and not enough to save the company's failing product line. 
=== Film ===
Title 	Actor 	Character 	Note 	Date
Cyber Tracker	Kevin Carr 	Cooley 	With 8" compensated barrel	1994
K-911 	James Belushi	Det. Michael Dooley	With 8" compensated barrel	1999
K-911 	James Handy 	Captain Byers 	With 8" compensated barrel	1999
===Television===
Title 	Actor 	Character 	Note / Episode 	Date
Firefly 	Adam Baldwin 	Jayne Cobb 	With 8" compensated barrel and red dot sight / "Bushwhacked" (S01E03)	2002
Tremors: The Series	Michael Gross	Burt Gummer	With 8" compensated barrel and hogue grip/ "Project 4-12" (S01E05) 	2003
<BR clear=all>
Category:Gun
Category:Revolver
Category:Manufacturer