Dan Wesson Now what?

Hammer · May 5, 2019

Recently I bought a Dan Wesson A2 parkerized. After taking it out a few times a few changes come to mind. A trigger job with existing parts. Serrate or checker the front strap and a set of night sights. I'm thinking Harrison wide u notch with a Trijicon HD front sight. Maybe get the feed ramp polished but it's fed fine so far.
Anyone have any suggestions or ideas about anything I may have overlooked.
Or other than new sights just leave it alone and enjoy it as is.
Had to edit. The reason for the feed ramp polish is the feed ramp is parkerized along with the rest of the frame. It hasn't been a problem yet but that doesn't mean it won't be down the road.

Fred_G · May 6, 2019

I pretty much have to have the front strap checkered. As far as the trigger, a trigger track stone is cheap, and will last a long time. Use the stone on the trigger track, and polish the trigger bow and see if you get a little better trigger. I would not touch a feed ramp unless you are having problems with it feeding.

If you don't want to mess with it yourself, you can always send it off to a smith... Just decide what all you want done, as shipping will be a bit pricey.

azpoolguy · May 6, 2019

Checkering, trigger, sights, and dehorn to remove anything sharp on the outside.

Baldwin · May 6, 2019

Are you good with the arched main spring housing?

Hammer · May 7, 2019

Baldwin said:
Are you good with the arched main spring housing?

It seems to work well for me so far.

m/v MOJO · May 7, 2019

I added the Wilson combat u-notch rear sight & a Dawson fiber optic front sight. Great combination for my aging eyes. The u-notch seems to make it much easier to center the front sight. Polish all the fire controls. If it's for competition, lighten the recoil spring (I run 8 lbs) and lighten the main spring if you want an even lighter trigger pull.

SparkyAZ · May 8, 2019

m/v MOJO said:
I added the Wilson combat u-notch rear sight & a Dawson fiber optic front sight. Great combination for my aging eyes. The u-notch seems to make it much easier to center the front sight. Polish all the fire controls. If it's for competition, lighten the recoil spring (I run 8 lbs) and lighten the main spring if you want an even lighter trigger pull.

I will disagree with several of your statements...
You seriously run a 8 lb recoil spring on a 45acp 1911? Is this some "one shot" competition you participate in?
The mainspring has nothing to do with trigger pull but then again you would probably be better of just removing it if you run a 8 lb recoil spring...

m/v MOJO · May 8, 2019

Ready, Fire, Aim! I never said my DW was a .45 acp, but the principle of lightening the springs is caliber independent whereas the actual strength of the spring is caliber dependent. My DW Specialist (not an A2) is a 9mm that I shoot competitively. I run an 8 lb recoil spring in it. It will shoot fine down to a 6 lb spring, but I don't like the feel of the gun with that light of a spring. The dwell time during recoil is fairly long and just feels weird. Using lighter recoil springs is common practice to "tune" a gun to the ammo to get it to shoot flatter, making follow-up shots faster. As for the main spring, it's simple physics. Less tension on the sear means less pressure required to move the sear. Lightening it definitely does lighten the trigger pull. Going to a 15 lb main spring in my STI open gun took the trigger from 2 lbs to 1.5 lbs, with no other changes.

Having said all that, I do not recommend changing springs in a carry gun. These changes, while making the gun shoot faster, flatter, and more accurately (lighter trigger = more accurate for many shooters), can (not will, but can) sacrifice reliability. That's a risk competitive shooters are willing to take in the interest of speed. It's not a risk I would recommend in the interest of saving your life!

Rooster · May 8, 2019

Hammer said:
Recently I bought a Dan Wesson A2 parkerized. After taking it out a few times a few changes come to mind. A trigger job with existing parts. Serrate or checker the front strap and a set of night sights. I'm thinking Harrison wide u notch with a Trijicon HD front sight. Maybe get the feed ramp polished but it's fed fine so far.
Anyone have any suggestions or ideas about anything I may have overlooked.
Or other than new sights just leave it alone and enjoy it as is.
Had to edit. The reason for the feed ramp polish is the feed ramp is parkerized along with the rest of the frame. It hasn't been a problem yet but that doesn't mean it won't be down the road.

Check your pm. You can easily get a more fantastic trigger just by swapping sear springs with a Cylinder Slide Lightweight sear spring sold at Brownells for $6.

If it's running good leave the feed ramp alone.

I like the serrating the fronty strap idea. Sights are personal, but I do like a wide notch with my older eyes.

I don't know if the A2 has a thick bushing, crowned barrel and custom plug, but I always have that done as I just love the look. I've never had one shoot any better because of the hand fit thick bushing. Purely cosmetic.

Good luck, and nice choice in DW.

Liggett · May 8, 2019

I'd just keep the A2 as is and get one of the other DW offerings that has what you want already. Valor, Silverback, Specialist, TCP, etc.
If you can't afford it now, shoot the A2 with maybe some skateboard tape on the front strap until you can purchase another model of DW.

KHFrench · May 9, 2019

Hammer said:
Recently I bought a Dan Wesson A2 parkerized. After taking it out a few times a few changes come to mind. A trigger job with existing parts. Serrate or checker the front strap and a set of night sights. I'm thinking Harrison wide u notch with a Trijicon HD front sight. Maybe get the feed ramp polished but it's fed fine so far.
Anyone have any suggestions or ideas about anything I may have overlooked.
Or other than new sights just leave it alone and enjoy it as is.
Had to edit. The reason for the feed ramp polish is the feed ramp is parkerized along with the rest of the frame. It hasn't been a problem yet but that doesn't mean it won't be down the road.

You won't get a better trigger with the existing internals. You will certainly have to change out the hammer (due to the geometry of the hammer hooks that CZ - I mean Dan Wesson uses). Hammer spring and striker spring will also need modifications along with some rework of the sear face and the secondary angel. Polishing the trigger bow is not much help. If you checker the front strap, then you will likely want to refinish the entire frame - and I believe they are alloy, so anodize or paint/coat?? Good luck - best option is use a good gunsmith who is experienced with the DW.

Hammer · May 10, 2019

Got a quote from Bob at NH this morning. Quote seems very reasonable . Bob has been very good to work with, very prompt answering questions. At the moment NH seems to be the direction I'm leaning.

Babboonbobo · May 10, 2019

Hammer said:
Got a quote from Bob at NH this morning. Quote seems very reasonable . Bob has been very good to work with, very prompt answering questions. At the moment NH seems to be the direction I'm leaning.

Quote for work to your A2? Or to buy a NH? Either is a good way to go, just asking for my own clarification. Congrats and enjoy that sucker!