The last of the series, the 414, never really had a chance to get off the ground. Learning a lesson from their 445 experience, the Gates family arranged for Starline to produce a large run of 414 brass right from the very start. Like the other SuperMags, the old Dan Wesson company would manufacture the new gun. Approximately 25 guns were produced when the company unfortunately went bankrupt and suddenly closed its doors leaving the 414 in limbo and the Gates family sitting on a large amount of brass with no gun to use for which to use it.

     Those 25 guns have evidently become collector pieces. Even to this day, I get around one call a month from people asking me if I know where they can find a 414 Dan Wesson revolver. Well now I can say yes. You can buy them from the new Dan Wesson company where they are in regular production.

     A couple of months ago, I arranged to get a 414 test gun from the new Dan Wesson. When it came, I could immediately see that this indeed was a new generation product. Fit, finish, and general workmanship were absolutely superb. Now, many people immediately ask me if the new DW guns are as good as Freedom Arm's revolvers. The honest answer is no, but on the other hand they aren't that far off either, and they don't cost as much.

     My 414 is one of the new SRS-1 models. SRS stands for Super Ram Silhouette. It's DW's top of the line model and is optimized for silhouette shooting. The gun can be had in both stainless steel and in blue. I was provided with the stainless.

     The SRS features an under cut partridge front sight covered with a very handsome slab-sided hood. The letters "SRS-1" are engraved on the left side of the hood. The hood is dovetailed on to the barrel shroud's top rib and is secured with a screw that is accessible through a hole in the top. The partridge front sight can also be removed by loosening a small set screw located on the front of the shroud.  A variety of other heights and styles of front sights are available from DW and it is an easy matter to replace one with another.

     The SRS rear sight is a Bomar with 18 clicks per revolution. As you would expect, the Bomar clicks were both very crisp and positive.  Even though the gun was equipped with an eight inch barrel (necessary to meet IHMSA weight limits) the sight radius between the front and rear units was 10 inches. This actually exceeds the sight radius of a 10" Contender barrel by at least an inch or more. The Bomar sight is standard on the SRS and is available as an option on other DW models.

     Let me say a few words about Dan Wesson's unique removable barrel/shroud combination. For those not familiar with this system, it features a barrel that easily screws into the frame and then is covered by a heavy steel shroud that is then secured by a screw-on nut at the muzzle end of the barrel.

     This system has three major advantages. The first is that is allows you to easily adjust the barrel cylinder gap. When I first received the gun, it had a standard factory .006" gap. I immediately adjusted it down to approximately .001". By reducing the barrel cylinder gap, I reduced the amount of propellant gases being lost through the gap, and therefore increased efficiency and velocity.

     By the way, the DW's cylinder was so perfectly aligned with the barrel, that even with this tiny barrel/cylinder separation, there was no interference problem at all. On most other brands of revolvers, the face of the cylinder will wobble front to rear and from side to side when the cylinder is rotated. This then requires a larger, energy robbing barrel cylinder gap to insure that the face of the cylinder doesn't bind against the rear of the barrel. Not a problem with the DW.

     I should also mention that the cylinder lock up is the tightest of any double action revolver that I have come across. The cylinder is secured three ways. First, by the beefy front cylinder latch. Many double action revolvers have their locking latches in the rear which does nothing to secure the front of the cylinder (the part that needs the most support). It's also secured with a bolt whose dimensions precisely match those of the cylinder notches to ensure an exact fit. Additionally, the dimensions of the bolt and the bolt window in the bottom of the frame are closely matched to insure there is no side to side movement. Lastly, the cylinder is also held in place by the mechanical hand that rotates the cylinder.

     To check cylinder lock up, just pull back the hammer on an empty revolver and pull the trigger without letting the hammer fall. Then with your other hand, try to rotate the cylinder. Most revolver cylinders will have noticeable side to side movement when this test is performed. When this occurs, it means that a cylinder's chambers aren't going to be perfectly aligned with the barrel's forcing cone. Consequently, the bullet won't enter the barrel dead on, but rather from one side or the other and accuracy will be reduced. The 414's cylinder had only the most imperceptible degree of movement. It was almost totally unnoticeable. This is quite an achievement for a double action revolver since the basic design of this type of gun precludes the total elimination of cylinder movement.

     The second advantage of the DW barrel system is that you can easily replace the barrel if it gets worn out. Barrels do wear out and need replacing from time to time - yes, even on revolvers. You could even say especially on revolvers since the breech end of a revolver barrel suffers significantly more abuse than barrels on closed breech firearms. On other revolvers, replacing a barrel is an expensive, complex job that has to be accomplished at the factory. With the DW, it's a five minute at home job.

     On my particular gun, the original barrel was an optional laser treated type that had a 1:18.75 twist, which is the industry standard for the 41 Mag. Accuracy was good but I felt it could be better, especially with heavy bullets. I recommended that DW use a 1:14 twist instead. They agreed and in time sent me a new barrel. It was then an easy matter to mount the new tube. Accuracy did improve, and the 1:14 is now the standard twist for the 414.

     The 3rd advantage of the DW barrel/shroud system is that it improves accuracy. When the barrel nut is tightened at the muzzle, it pulls the barrel forward, away from the frame. The barrel is now under tremendous tension. Because the barrel is in this state of very significant torque-like tension, it's unable to whip and vibrate to the same degree as it would otherwise when the gun is fired. Less barrel vibration equals increased accuracy.

     Another element of this system is extremely important but tends to be overlooked i.e. the barrel is secured at both it's ends versus just one end as is the case with all other revolvers. To appreciate this system, just take a yardstick and imagine that it's a gun barrel. Now hold it at one end and whip it up and down. This illustrates how a gun barrel vibrates when it's fired. Pretty easy to do isn't it?

     Now hold the yardstick at both ends and try it. It's almost impossible to make it move isn't it? Now, while still holding it on both sides, pull the ends apart as hard as you can and try to whip it up and down. Can't do it, can you? This barrel system gives the DW a tremendous mechanical advantage. In fact, a recent article in "Precision Shooting" magazine discussed this same technique with a rifle. Groups improved significantly when the rifle's barrel was put under tension.

     The barrel shroud is characterized by its very distinctive integrated ventilated top rib and its five, two inch cutaway slots (two on each side and one on the underside), which help bring down the DW's weight to help it meet IHMSA weight requirements. The right side of the shroud is laser engraved with the gun's chambering and a very handsome reproduction of Mr. Dan Wesson's signature inside a crown of laurel leaves, along with the words "Final Issue", and the serial number of the gun. The serial number is also engraved on the frame.

     As I mentioned in a previous article, Dan Wesson has also developed three heavy weight jacketed bullets in 41 caliber - a 240 grain, a 265 grain, and a 300 grain. The 210 grain bullet, which is the one most commonly found in the 41 Mag, was originally conceived for self defense applications and it works very well for that purpose. However, Dan Wesson is giving us more reloading flexibility by offering us even heavier bullets with which we can take full advantage of the 414's longer case.

     I was fortunate to have an opportunity to make a few suggestions in regards to the design of these new bullets concerning the length of the jackets, the placement and depth of the cannelures, and the hardness of the lead which were subsequently adopted. As of this writing the 240 grain and the 265 bullets have completed their development and the testing process. The 300 is almost finished. 414 performance with these new bullets in nothing short of fantastic. The 265 in particular shows particular promise. Accuracy is superb and its performance in ballistic gel is devastating. All three of the new slugs should be in regular production and for sale from Dan Wesson in September or October either as components or as loaded ammunition.

     One note of caution, always be sure to use rifle primers with this cartridge. They're needed to properly ignite the relatively large amounts of powder we're using in this cartridge and as a safety factor because of the increased pressures.

     As you might imagine, recoil was fairly stout with these full bore loads but it wasn't anything that an experienced silhouette shooter couldn't handle. The novice however would be well advised to start off with one of the milder loads listed in the table below. Even with the lighter loads, one need not be concerned about the rams failing to fall. Every load listed will do the job quite well.