Have a Dan Wesson 357 Magnum (715). Need a new frame, any leads?

jsnyder · November 3, 2018, 07:45 PM

Hello Everyone,

My father has owned a Dan Wesson 357 Magnum since the mid 80s, and he's loved owning it. However 5-7 years ago the frame had cracked in multiple places, it is really beyond any repair, so we were looking to find some spare parts to see if we could rebuild it. After searching ebay, gun broker, and many other sites I was unable to find anyone selling a frame. I know this is most likely a long shot but we'd love to get the gun fixed and firing again as it really is a great pistol.

Does anyone have any leads as to where I could find a frame being sold for one of these? Again is a DW 357 Magnum, 715. If you're interested I can post some photos of it/the damage later tonight.

Thanks for any and all help!

Dan-O · November 3, 2018, 07:49 PM

I’d reach out to Dan Wesson/CZ customer service and see what they have to say.

Dan-O · November 3, 2018, 08:07 PM

I just checked their website. Guess you probably would need to call DW directly.

http://cz-usa.com/company/contact

jsnyder · November 3, 2018, 10:50 PM

Yea I dropped the DW service line an email, but they usually don't respond to those. I'll just call in monday and see if they can do anything for me

reddog81 · November 3, 2018, 11:46 PM

Finding any revolver frame is going to be a rare find. Realistically a new gun is probably the most likely outcome. You can find older 715's for around $500 if you look around.

Additionally the frame is the gun. You are not going to find a frame for sale on eBay. You are more likely to find a parts kit from old revolvers were the frame is destroyed and they are selling off everything else since everything but the frame can be sold without going through FFL's.

tallball · November 4, 2018, 02:51 AM

The same thing happened to my FiL. He wasn't able to find a frame for a reasonable price. I found a Dan Wesson with poor finish for around $300 to give him for Christmas so he could finally replace the cracked frame. The joke was on me. He bought himself a Ruger GP100 for Christmas!

Luckily my friend at the LGS was able to sell the Dan Wesson for me on consignment. All's well that ends well. Good luck to the OP.

DWFan · November 4, 2018, 03:33 AM

There are two M15-2 (blued) frames on gunbroker right now. Have you considered building a duo-tone Dan Wesson?
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/790528813
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/790527607

1stmar · November 4, 2018, 04:26 AM

I would call Jim Milks from innovative custom guns. He may be able to repair it. He has done some amazing work repairing cracked and damaged frames. Mostly 1911s. He is awesome to deal with and an excellent gunsmith.

http://www.innovativecustomguns.com/?m=1

jsnyder · November 4, 2018, 12:17 PM

Reddog, This was my mindset, possibly turning this gun into a decoration, and simply buying him another one would be the easiest way. But I figured I'd give it a shot to find an entire frame.

tallball, great story, glad it worked out for both of yall. thanks.

DW Fan, I was not aware you could use the 15-2 frames with the rest of a 715. I'll run this idea past my father as we did find a few of those frames for not too much money.

1stmar, Thanks for this. I will definitely give this guy a call and see what he has to say about it.

DWFan · November 4, 2018, 03:47 PM

All small frame Dan Wessons are the same internally except for the rimfire (firing pin location and shorter cylinder). All barrels swap between the same caliber models. Later model barrel shrouds can be used on earlier "pork chop" models with an adapter from EWK Arms.

Radny97 · November 4, 2018, 10:30 PM

GunBroker usually has frames for sale, usually model 15s. But if you check pretty often for a few months you’ll see a 715 pop up.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

jsnyder · November 5, 2018, 01:04 PM

Thanks for help, I'll keep looking around for a frame while I pursue some other options as well

Brutus · November 7, 2018, 06:44 PM

I gotta ask, what caused the frame to crack in the first place?

jsnyder · November 7, 2018, 11:40 PM

Brutus, I was only 10 at the time so all I remember was it misfired twice and it never had done that before. My father eventually chalked it up to hot rounds, he had purchased self filled ammo from a friend, who had been reliable before but I guess not this time, but nothing else makes sense as the gun was very well taken care of prior to the incident.

1stmar · November 8, 2018, 01:34 AM

If you speqk w milks let us know if he can repair it.

Brutus · November 8, 2018, 06:35 PM

That's a shame.
Rule #1 never shoot other peoples handloads. Best of intensions can cause hard feelings and a loss of property.
I've had a lot of friends ask me to reload some rounds for them, especially in .44 and .357 Mag. Not for hot loads but my easy shooting target loads and on occasion I have complied but always with the understanding that @#$% happens and you use them at your own risk. I try real hard to discourage the requests but after all they are "Brutus's bullseye bullets".

hemiram · November 16, 2018, 06:03 AM

I've owned 15's and 715's since about 1977, and a 44 since 2007, and I've fired thousands of pretty potent loads through them and the only damage was when I fired a round into the back of another that was stuck in the barrel from a squib in one of my past 15's. I had to pound the bulged barrel out of the shroud, but I was back shooting in 10 minutes. Other than that, a couple of springs breaking is the total things that went wrong in 41+ years. All my DW's were/are bought used. Must have been some insanely hot reloads in the OP's dad's gun.

RJay · November 16, 2018, 03:20 PM

Several cracks?? Odd that, A gun that was fired with ammo hot enough to devolpe several cracks, Me myuself and I would knot use any of the parts on anything, but that\s justd me

November 4, 2018, 03:33 AM	#7
DWFan Senior Member Join Date: April 25, 2008 Posts: 305	There are two M15-2 (blued) frames on gunbroker right now. Have you considered building a duo-tone Dan Wesson? https://www.gunbroker.com/item/790528813 https://www.gunbroker.com/item/790527607 Last edited by DWFan; November 4, 2018 at 03:46 AM.

November 7, 2018, 06:44 PM	#13
Brutus Senior Member Join Date: September 11, 2005 Posts: 1,023	I gotta ask, what caused the frame to crack in the first place? __________________ Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak out, Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen, Winston Churchill.

November 8, 2018, 06:35 PM	#16
Brutus Senior Member Join Date: September 11, 2005 Posts: 1,023	That's a shame. Rule #1 never shoot other peoples handloads. Best of intensions can cause hard feelings and a loss of property. I've had a lot of friends ask me to reload some rounds for them, especially in .44 and .357 Mag. Not for hot loads but my easy shooting target loads and on occasion I have complied but always with the understanding that @#$% happens and you use them at your own risk. I try real hard to discourage the requests but after all they are "Brutus's bullseye bullets". __________________ Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak out, Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen, Winston Churchill.

November 16, 2018, 03:20 PM	#18
RJay Senior Member Join Date: November 2, 2005 Location: Arizona Posts: 1,936	Several cracks?? Odd that, A gun that was fired with ammo hot enough to devolpe several cracks, Me myuself and I would knot use any of the parts on anything, but that\s justd me __________________ Ron James

November 3, 2018, 07:45 PM	#1
jsnyder Junior Member Join Date: November 3, 2018 Posts: 5	Have a Dan Wesson 357 Magnum (715). Need a new frame, any leads? Hello Everyone, My father has owned a Dan Wesson 357 Magnum since the mid 80s, and he's loved owning it. However 5-7 years ago the frame had cracked in multiple places, it is really beyond any repair, so we were looking to find some spare parts to see if we could rebuild it. After searching ebay, gun broker, and many other sites I was unable to find anyone selling a frame. I know this is most likely a long shot but we'd love to get the gun fixed and firing again as it really is a great pistol. Does anyone have any leads as to where I could find a frame being sold for one of these? Again is a DW 357 Magnum, 715. If you're interested I can post some photos of it/the damage later tonight. Thanks for any and all help!

November 3, 2018, 07:49 PM	#2
Dan-O Senior Member Join Date: August 3, 2011 Location: Northern Colorado Posts: 969	I’d reach out to Dan Wesson/CZ customer service and see what they have to say.

November 3, 2018, 08:07 PM	#3
Dan-O Senior Member Join Date: August 3, 2011 Location: Northern Colorado Posts: 969	I just checked their website. Guess you probably would need to call DW directly. http://cz-usa.com/company/contact

November 3, 2018, 10:50 PM	#4
jsnyder Junior Member Join Date: November 3, 2018 Posts: 5	Yea I dropped the DW service line an email, but they usually don't respond to those. I'll just call in monday and see if they can do anything for me

November 3, 2018, 11:46 PM	#5
reddog81 Senior Member Join Date: October 16, 2014 Location: Iowa Posts: 1,634	Finding any revolver frame is going to be a rare find. Realistically a new gun is probably the most likely outcome. You can find older 715's for around $500 if you look around. Additionally the frame is the gun. You are not going to find a frame for sale on eBay. You are more likely to find a parts kit from old revolvers were the frame is destroyed and they are selling off everything else since everything but the frame can be sold without going through FFL's.

November 4, 2018, 02:51 AM	#6
tallball Senior Member Join Date: October 17, 2014 Posts: 2,444	The same thing happened to my FiL. He wasn't able to find a frame for a reasonable price. I found a Dan Wesson with poor finish for around $300 to give him for Christmas so he could finally replace the cracked frame. The joke was on me. He bought himself a Ruger GP100 for Christmas! Luckily my friend at the LGS was able to sell the Dan Wesson for me on consignment. All's well that ends well. Good luck to the OP.

November 4, 2018, 04:26 AM	#8
1stmar Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2012 Location: Connecticut Posts: 2,378	I would call Jim Milks from innovative custom guns. He may be able to repair it. He has done some amazing work repairing cracked and damaged frames. Mostly 1911s. He is awesome to deal with and an excellent gunsmith. http://www.innovativecustomguns.com/?m=1

November 4, 2018, 12:17 PM	#9
jsnyder Junior Member Join Date: November 3, 2018 Posts: 5	Reddog, This was my mindset, possibly turning this gun into a decoration, and simply buying him another one would be the easiest way. But I figured I'd give it a shot to find an entire frame. tallball, great story, glad it worked out for both of yall. thanks. DW Fan, I was not aware you could use the 15-2 frames with the rest of a 715. I'll run this idea past my father as we did find a few of those frames for not too much money. 1stmar, Thanks for this. I will definitely give this guy a call and see what he has to say about it.

November 4, 2018, 03:47 PM	#10
DWFan Senior Member Join Date: April 25, 2008 Posts: 305	All small frame Dan Wessons are the same internally except for the rimfire (firing pin location and shorter cylinder). All barrels swap between the same caliber models. Later model barrel shrouds can be used on earlier "pork chop" models with an adapter from EWK Arms.

November 4, 2018, 10:30 PM	#11
Radny97 Senior Member Join Date: July 8, 2015 Posts: 1,021	GunBroker usually has frames for sale, usually model 15s. But if you check pretty often for a few months you’ll see a 715 pop up. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

November 5, 2018, 01:04 PM	#12
jsnyder Junior Member Join Date: November 3, 2018 Posts: 5	Thanks for help, I'll keep looking around for a frame while I pursue some other options as well

November 7, 2018, 11:40 PM	#14
jsnyder Junior Member Join Date: November 3, 2018 Posts: 5	Brutus, I was only 10 at the time so all I remember was it misfired twice and it never had done that before. My father eventually chalked it up to hot rounds, he had purchased self filled ammo from a friend, who had been reliable before but I guess not this time, but nothing else makes sense as the gun was very well taken care of prior to the incident.

November 8, 2018, 01:34 AM	#15
1stmar Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2012 Location: Connecticut Posts: 2,378	If you speqk w milks let us know if he can repair it.

November 16, 2018, 06:03 AM	#17
hemiram Senior Member Join Date: November 6, 2005 Location: Toledo, ohio Posts: 762	I've owned 15's and 715's since about 1977, and a 44 since 2007, and I've fired thousands of pretty potent loads through them and the only damage was when I fired a round into the back of another that was stuck in the barrel from a squib in one of my past 15's. I had to pound the bulged barrel out of the shroud, but I was back shooting in 10 minutes. Other than that, a couple of springs breaking is the total things that went wrong in 41+ years. All my DW's were/are bought used. Must have been some insanely hot reloads in the OP's dad's gun.