Why does this system give Dan Wesson revolvers an accuracy edge? All firearm barrels flex, whip, and vibrate as bullets pass down their bores in discharge. Conventional revolver barrels attach only the breech end of the barrel to the receiver or frame; the other end is left hanging.

It doesn't matter how big, fat, and heavy the forward portion of the barrel may be; the only secure point is the thin-diameter threaded part that screws into the frame. By contrast, the straight, tubular Dan Wesson barrel is held in place at both ends--screwed into the frame at the breech and locked at the muzzle by the enclosing shroud and barrel nut.

The result is a more secure foundation, less barrel vibration, and less variation in the flexing of the barrel from round to round. The result, at the longer ranges where it shows and where it matters, is superior accuracy and superior ability to withstand continuous heavy-load stress.

There are other Dan Wesson design features that the company's technical staff say contribute to their guns' accuracy and endurance. One is the width of the barrel/cylinder gap, which can be carefully and precisely controlled--and altered--by carefully screwing the barrel in or out until optimal performance is reached. Another factor is the cylinder/crane assembly that locks shut to the frame by a latch in the crane itself--as opposed to a latch at the rear of the cylinder alone (like Colt) or at the rear of the cylinder and the front of the ejector rod (like a typical S&W).

The benefit of the crane-latch system (pioneered by the S&W Triple Lock .44 Special revolvers at the beginning of the century and then abandoned by that firm) is that it holds the crane tightly against the frame in firing. Systems that latch the crane only at the rear or in conjunction with the tip of the ejector rod allow the crane to move slightly away from the frame under stress.

This results in variations in chamber alignment with the bore at the moment of truth and loss of consistency in round-to-round accuracy. Sustained use of such latching mechanisms merely increases the amount of play and slop in their system.

Still other important ingredients in the accuracy and durability of the Dan Wesson system include the use of a one-piece sideplate-free frame and modular construction on all large-frame big-bore magnum models, broached rifling for more crisp edges to the lands and grooves for better "bite" on the bullet, and "choke bored" barrels.

A choke-bored barrel is slightly larger in actual bore diameter at the breech than at the muzzle. This results in an increasingly tight bullet engagement with the rifling as it moves toward the muzzle. By deliberately choke-boring barrels, a manufacturer ensures that a barrel bore will not actually wind up being a little bit bigger at the muzzle than the breech. If it were, the barrel would be "looser" around the bullet the farther along it moved, and rifling stabilization would diminish.