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Post by Quick Draw McGraw on Mar 30, 2020 3:47:10 GMT -5
Hi Everyone,
I won a GunBroker auction for a Dan Wesson 7445 First Issue FCP in .445 SuperMag with an 8 inch barrel. I will upload pictures soon. I have been enamored with the double-action SuperMag revolvers for almost 20 years now, and I am so excited to bring one home. But I have some questions that are hard to answer as these revolvers are quite rare. I figured there would be no better group to ask.
1.) Do these revolvers have any particular known issues I should be aware of? I think I recall Bradshaw mentioning something about their hammers having issues in double-action firing.
2.) Is there anything in regards to special care for these revolvers? I want to take good care of this baby, and keep it looking and functioning as close to perfect as I can. And if I need new parts, that will be tough to come by.
3.) Does anyone know the meaning and/or value behind the "FCP" aand "First Issue" markings present?
Finally, is in regards to reloading. I read Mr. Taffin's articles on the SuperMags and on the .445 SuperMag as well. He mentioned, IIRC, that some bullets had trouble not stripping off their copper jackets in the barrel, thus causing an obstruction. Sounds like a terrifying way to damage the gun and/or me.
4.) Is stripping off the copper jackets of some bullets still an issue, and if so, what bullets should I avoid and what bullets should I stick to?
5.) Last but not least, what reloading dies are recommended to reload with? I currently have the .44 Special/.44 Magnum Carbide Lee Precision dies. Will they work, or do I need to get specific .445 SuperMag dies? Any recommended die sets?
Any info would be greatly appreciated. I am real excited to bring home a legit Dan Wesson SuperMag. If Lee, Whit, Mr. Bradshaw, or Mr. Taffin have any information they are willing to share, I would be immensely grateful.
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Post by oddshooter on Mar 30, 2020 10:43:32 GMT -5
I would suggest checking out the danwessonforum.com/forum/
There are a lot of dedicated Dan Wesson freaks out there and that's where a lot of them hang out.
You also might want to become familiar with the EWKarms.com for parts. Nice guy, but I haven't seen a barrel there in awhile.
Try getting barrels from CZ (the new DW owner). I picked up some there a couple of years ago.
I'm a real fan of the 357 SuperMag myself. And their 22 Vent Heavy is the biggest beast of a .22 I've ever held.
Prescut
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Post by jfs on Mar 30, 2020 11:57:27 GMT -5
Good score....
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Post by bradshaw on Mar 30, 2020 13:21:09 GMT -5
The Dan Wesson Arms Model 445 Super Mag is built on the M44 .44 Mag frame----stretched for a 1.610-inch case. powder I worked with most successfully include IMR/H4227, Winchester 680, and Accurate Arms 1680----the powder which approximates discontinued Win 680. Some guns shoot .44 Mag very well, others less so. Similar in this regard to the Blackhawk .357 Maximum, some examples very accurate with .357 Mag, even .38 Special. I suspect the two major variants which make-or-break accuracy with the shorter case to be CHAMBER LEADE (angle between CHAMBER WALL and EXIT HOLE), and FORCING CONE.
I would not put the M445 .445 Super Mag against the M44 .44 Mag in a top championship silhouette match. Velocity of the .445 certainly tops .44 Mag from same barrel length, it’s just that to get there you endue earthquake concussion. With charges running 30 to 38 grains of slow powder under 240 to 300 grain bullets, efficiency lags well behind the 1.283-inch .44 Mag.
The .445 Super Mag signifies Elgin Gates’ apoplectic response to Dick Casull’s .454 Casull. It is a cartridge born to eat its mother. Its eyes were bigger than its stomach, and the .445 SM cannot reach its teeth around the .454 Casull. Anytime you want to drive pressure into the Rock & Dynamite stratosphere, you must shrink the SPECIFICATION PACKAGE. DWA gives up nothing to Freedom Arms for accurate barrels, good DWA barrels are brilliant. Nor does a proper DWA give up tight chamber alignment to Freedom Arms----or anyone else. Nor does a proper DWA forcing cone give up anything to the standard short, smooth, concentric cones of Freedom Arms. No, the challenge with Rocks & Dynamite is to keep maximum gas pushing the bullet through departure at the muzzle.
The DWA crane allows for a bit of endshake. I never tried to eliminate fore & aft cylinder movement for silhouette competition, as IHMSA production rules prohibited any custom work, other than to dress hammer & trigger interface (and to bend or trim springs). A whiskey keg of gunpowder under high pressure leaks wherever it can. Any appreciable cylinder/barrel gap BLEEDS VELOCITY.
Load below full house and you should experience fine accuracy, which much better brass life. Possibly without melting you earmuffs.
Don’t recall shaving jacket from the .445 Super Mag. My first M44 VH8 (Vent Heavy 8-inch) .44 Mag shaved a bit of jacket on occasion. That was a phenomenally accurate M44.
David Bradshaw
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Post by Quick Draw McGraw on Mar 30, 2020 17:03:19 GMT -5
I really appreciate the responses. Am I safe with the .44 Magnum dies?
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Post by bradshaw on Mar 30, 2020 18:06:45 GMT -5
I really appreciate the responses. Am I safe with the .44 Magnum dies? ***** Yes. Be sure you have clearance for all operations. Deep seating works in .445 SM brass. The “7” prefix in DWA Models indicates stainless steel. Barrels are chromoly, however, regardless exterior finish. The muzzle nut is mild steel. Best to clamp shroud in vise for barrel removal. Insert spanner wrench in muzzle and push hard before turning. For a newly acquired revolver, heat muzzle nut butane or small propane torch to defeat any Loctite which may be present. Dan Wesson Arms made hardened muzzle nuts at my request, which didn’t work out. A warped nut binds on muzzle threads, making it about impossible to set cylinder gap. Once barrel shroud is removed, barrel in frame turns freely by hand----unless secured with Loctite. In which case, heat loosens. Forget double action on the Big Dan. Smooth as the pull may be, the hammer and trigger are sintered metal, plated for hardness. wear through the plating and you are down to soft interior. DA is an affectation on the Big Dan, consider it a single action on a double action frame. Single action may be tuned for a dead clean break, which holds for many thousands of rounds. Unlike a Smith & Wesson, Colt, or Ruger, the full cock notch is on the trigger. Big Dan lock time is clean and fast. A coil may be trimmed from the rebound spring. Do not cut hammer spring. David Bradshaw |
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Post by 41freak on Mar 30, 2020 18:45:11 GMT -5
I love the DW revolvers, I have several in 41 mag, 44 mag, 45 Colt and 445 SM. All are very accurate and great guns. I do wish I could find a 7414 (414 SM) at a price I could afford, and I may pick up a 357 mag and a 22 LR some day to round out my collection.
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Post by tonyrumore on Mar 31, 2020 14:01:35 GMT -5
Over the years, I have owned several 445's, but they all ended up getting sold off. However, I did keep this 414.  |
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Post by oddshooter on Mar 31, 2020 17:43:11 GMT -5
41freak,
You can't finish off that "Big Dan" collection without a 357 SuperMag, my personal favorite. That and the Ruger SRM are two on my top favs list.
The 357 Max will surprise you and maybe make you rethink the 41 addiction. I really doubt that; I think it more likely to give you a second addiction. I find the two very similar.
Prescut
On the other hand, Tony's 414 above is absolutely stunning. Bud, I hope you have a grip collection for that hawgleg. And would you please drop by more often. If that 414 is any indication of your choices, you must have quite a stable and a set of stories to share.
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Post by 41freak on Mar 31, 2020 21:36:22 GMT -5
Over the years, I have owned several 445's, but they all ended up getting sold off. However, I did keep this 414. Tony, you are killing me.... that is a beautiful 414 SM. By chance do you have any other barrels for it? It seems that when they were being sold there weren't many pistol packs built, I usually see 8" and 10" guns but no additional BA's. I would love to build a pistol pack of sorts with a 6", 8" and 10" barrels in both VH and Vent shrouds. I have thought about having a spare 7445 I have built into a 414 but haven't moved forward on it. Oddshooter, I have been looking for a 740 but never seem to be able to get one bought (if you have a spare one you want to send to a good home let me know.) I have had in the past had a 10.5" Ruger Max but in a fit of being stupid I let it get away to someone that had to have it and paid well for it. I still have brass and dies for it just no gun. |
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Post by tonyrumore on Apr 1, 2020 7:28:43 GMT -5
Unfortunately I don't have any additional barrels for the 414 or the box/paperwork. However I do have the original brass door-knob style wrench that came with it as well as the factory 414 ammo.
This one has a 6" full underlug barrel, but most of the 414's that you'll see came with 8" barrels.
A good friend of mine, that now works with me at Tromix, ordered this gun from Bob Serva. It arrived at my shop on March 28th, 2000. A few years ago I procured it from him.
Tony Rumore Tromix
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Post by 41freak on Apr 1, 2020 17:56:47 GMT -5
Unfortunately I don't have any additional barrels for the 414 or the box/paperwork. However I do have the original brass door-knob style wrench that came with it as well as the factory 414 ammo. This one has a 6" full underlug barrel, but most of the 414's that you'll see came with 8" barrels. A good friend of mine, that now works with me at Tromix, ordered this gun from Bob Serva. It arrived at my shop on March 28th, 2000. A few years ago I procured it from him. Tony Rumore Tromix
I can't remember when the last time I saw a 6" 7414, it looks like a great gun. |
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Post by Lee Martin on Apr 1, 2020 21:20:16 GMT -5
I have two Dan Wesson .445's and they shoot. AA1680, AA5744, and even SR4759 group exceptionally well with HEAVY bullets. Mine seem to thrive on 300 grains and above. This link contains a bunch of load data: www.singleactions.com/TheSuperMags6.html  Every Dan Wesson SuperMag I've ever worked with are flat accurate...and I own a few: .357 Maximum:  .375 SuperMag:  .414 SuperMag:  -Lee www.singleactions.com"Chasing perfection five shots at a time" |
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Post by Quick Draw McGraw on Apr 2, 2020 6:51:43 GMT -5
Here's the pictures from the auction:
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Post by Quick Draw McGraw on Apr 2, 2020 6:54:37 GMT -5
Also, Tony and Lee... BEAUTIFUL REVOLVERS!!! And Lee, you have now inspired my to collect a revolver in each of the Super Mag calibers! My wife will not be pleased.
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