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Old January 9, 2017, 10:40 AM   #22
Rogervzv
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Join Date: February 5, 2011
Location: Huntington Beach, CA
Posts: 1,075
Quote:
Dan Wesson makes a nice production line gun but they aren't 'high end". The hand work and attention to fit, finish, etc., aren't anywhere near what Baers, Browns, Wilsons, Nighthawk, GI, etc., receive.
I don't agree at all. I have compared a Dan Wesson PM-7 to various Baer .45s (haven't had a chance to do that with Nighthawk or Wilson) and frankly, I thought that the fit and finish on the Dan was better. Reliability was better too. Baers tend to jam until you've put a thousand rounds or so through them. The Dan Wessons are reliable right out of the box due to the precision with which they are manufactured. By analogy, a hand-made table or rocking chair may have more charm, but a CNC manufactured one will be made better and cheaper. That's why you don't see much hand-made furniture (or much else) these days.

The real difference between Baers and Dan Wessons is the manufacturing process. Baers are hand-fitted "by a member of the Baer family." Dan Wessons are manufactured by means of state-of-the-art CNC machinery which allows for very fine tolerances in a production process not requiring much or usually any hand-fitting. This allows the cost of the Dan Wesson to be much less for what appears to me to be a better gun. Digital manufacturing processes make for greater precision than can be realized by expensive hand-fitting (which is 19th Century manufacturing technique.)

In terms of accuracy, Dan Wessons are about as good as any. It may (or may not) be true that expensive hand-fitted guns will shoot a tighter group than a high-end CNC-made gun such as a Dan Wesson, if the guns are compared on a fixed rest, eliminating human error. But any difference is likely marginal. I've shot both and I certainly couldn't tell much or any difference.
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Last edited by Rogervzv; January 9, 2017 at 10:48 AM.
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