Which Revolver? Dan Wesson or Superhawk

[richierich88]

Hi everyone, I am new to the forum and airguns in general.
I Have a few questions about which revolver to purchase. If anyone could answer them that would be great I have searched every forum high and low and haven't come across a detailed comparisson of the two revolvers.

I am either going to purchase a dan wesson 8 inch (4 or 6 mm) in black or a superhawk in black.

Which of the two would you recommend?

Which of the 3 is more powerful? (dan wesson 4mm, dan wesson 6 mm or superhawk)

And if i wanted to shoot cans or birds from 20 yards away what would be the best choice.

Thanks very much

Richard

[delta1]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Pistols of the type you mention are simply not up to hunting, so please discount that straight away.

As a Board Policy, we do not approve of pistols as hunting tools due to the likelihood of an injuring shot without killing a quarry species cleanly.

As for your other questions, I'm sure some of the Dan Wesson owners will be along shortly.

[gingernut]

If you are looking for power and 20 yard accuracy these guns are not up to it.
They are all good within the limitations of smooth bore bbguns which means cans at around 10 metres.
For power and accuracy at that range you need a pellet pistol and a good one at that.
As Delta says no hunting with pistols.

[richierich88]

Thanks for the replys ok I'll rule out the hunting just which of the three to get now

[BobSki]

Air pistols in this country have a legal limit of 6ft lbs. If you can find one that gives you the maximum power of 6ft lbs you would be very lucky indeed as most are tuned to give less than 5.5 ftlb (or unlucky if Mr Plod found you with it on a hot day).

You can get pistols that are accurate at that distance, but NOT the type you refer to in your original post.
What birds did you have in mind? those on the general licence (crows, Magpies, Pidgeon etc) are not the sort of bird that could be easily killed by such a pistol, even with a really lucky shot. Anything else (Birds not on the general licence) would be a criminal offence.

Do you really and truly believe it is fair to shoot any animal or bird at a distance of 20yds with a less than 6ft lb air gun? Even with a top range air pistol that holds it's accuracy at that distance, it would still be grossly unfair and extremely cruel to use any live being as a target at that distance. I really hope you reconsider your intended use for the pistol.

Regards
Bob

[richierich88]

Tbh i really only threw the hunting question in as I was curious, im more concerned with which of the revolvers to purchase so if anyone has any advice on that I would greatly appreciate it, thanks

[blooregard]

I've a Dan Wesson 8" in .177, Its excellent and accurate as others have said, but its only accurate considering its limitations.

They work best with the heavier lead BBs but due to them using spherical ammo in a non rifled barrel and using CO2 as the power source they are suitable only for fun shooting. At this they excel.

As others have said pistols should be avoided for hunting, while I don't want to seem like I am repeating what they have said, its a point worth pressing home. Even the most accurate and powerful UK legal air pistols are not suitable for hunting, they do not have the power or accuracy to ensure a humane kill. If you want to hunt you could get yourself a cheap spring air rifle for the same amount as these revolvers. Spend a bit more and you could outfit yourself with a decent hunting set up.

These revolvers are plinkers, if used for this purpose they will keep you smiling, if used for anything else they will disappoint.

[MikeB]

I've a Dan Wesson 8" in .177, Its excellent and accurate as others have said, but its only accurate considering its limitations.

They work best with the heavier lead BBs but due to them using spherical ammo in a non rifled barrel and using CO2 as the power source they are suitable only for fun shooting. At this they excel.

This is the second post I've recently seen regarding lead BBs in the DW Revolver. I bought some Gamo Round Ball at weekend in 4.5mm 0.177 to try, but I haven't had the chance to put any through the gun yet.

What I did try, and what concerns me about them, is that I loaded a single lead BB from the breech with the cylinder swung open - and it just sat an inch or so in. Tipping the gun up muzzle topmost made it fall back out, so it wasn't jammed as such. I also tried inserting one from the muzzle end with the same result. In contrast, the slightly smaller steel BBs drop straight through.

I'm a little wary of trying them now - can you confirm that they don't jam the barrel up and are just a nice tight fit?

Thanks in advance,

Mike.

To the OP, I cannot speak about the Ruger, although I've heard that they're very accurate. However, if you want the authentic, cartridge-firing experience, the Dan Wesson cannot be beaten and in 0.177, it is as accurate at 6yds and 10m as some of my pellet-firing Umarex guns.

[ikarma70]

Dan wesson 6'' 6mm......don't bother unless you shooting indoors,a breath of wind and the 6mm bb's just go all over the place.....8'' 6mm....nigh on impossible to get one(if they do one at all) so I bought a 6'' 6mm which I sold a few weeks after I bought it.

The shop i went to stopped selling the Ruger has they were getting some returned with problem whereas the DW's had no problems.

[gingernut]

I know I may be a little odd but I tend to read the manuals that come with guns.
If it says use steel bbs thats what I use.
If you want to use other ammo you are taking a risk.

HW say dont put their pistols in foam cases.
Umarex say dont leave co2 capsules in your gun.
S&W say do leave co2 in my 78G.
Baikal say leave my 46 action open after use.

Im sure you get my drift.

OP I agree with Mike.

[richierich88]

I think we have established that the 8" ruger is more powerful than the 8" dan wesson in 6mm but how does it stack up against the dan wesson .117?

[Adam77K]

I know I may be a little odd but I tend to read the manuals that come with guns. So do I, but with a large pinch of salt.
If it says use steel bbs thats what I use.
If you want to use other ammo you are taking a risk.

HW say dont put their pistols in foam cases.
Umarex say dont leave co2 capsules in your gun.
S&W say do leave co2 in my 78G.
Baikal say leave my 46 action open after use.

Im sure you get my drift.

OP I agree with Mike.

I have an HW75 that has been kept in a foam case for over 15 years and still looks pristine.
At the moment it shares the case with an HW45 which has been in there for about two years except for when it's being shot. No problem again.

[harvey_s]

The problem is probably not the foam - but oil, either applied to the guns surface or leeching out and attacking the foam which then reacts with the guns finish.
Also there are many different coatings, all of which will react differently eg. traditional blue, paint, anodising, parkerising or the early Umarex 'blue' (not sure what that was) and also some oils are more aggressive than others (hydrocarbon based ones being the worst I would suspect).
A soft tissue liner would help here by preventing the gun coming into direct contact with the foam.

[tbonesnake]

I think we have established that the 8" ruger is more powerful than the 8" dan wesson in 6mm but how does it stack up against the dan wesson .117?

i have both of thease pistols and the dan wesson 6 in .177 cal definatly has the edge on penetration as it penetrates quite a bit deeper into a phone book but the ruger 6mm using steel bbs seems to have more impact energy due to the heavier bb.

[richierich88]

Thanks and what about the range?