anyone familiar with these?

Discussion in 'Firearms' started by monkeyman, Aug 7, 2006.


  1. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Ive been wanting to get a smaller handgun for CCW and spoted one today that while it had a lot of holster wear looked in good shape and in the right price range so was wondering if anyone knew anything about them.

    Its a Dickson Comander 6 shot snub nose revolver with about a 2" barrel for $150. I was just wondering if anyone knew anything about them and how they are as far as durability, reliability and so on. Basicly to make sure they are not one thats known for real crapy barrels or blowing up or any nasty stuff like that.

    Thanks for any info in advance.
     
  2. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

    Im not sure , arent they 22lr?
    if it is timed right and doesnt split lead should be fine.
     
  3. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    No its a .38 special. It didnt seem to be real loose or anything, just not familiar with the brand so dodnt know how their reputation was. I went ahead and put it on lay away for $30 but wanted to be sure aside from anything else that it wasnt likely to be a problem to use +Ps for instance. I figure with a revolver as long as it wont fall apart or blow up then function isnt to much of a question.
     
  4. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Well I finnaly found a mention of a Dickson Commander .38 spl revolver. The only one I have found so far but its one with a 4" barrel and the one Im getting is a snub nose, I think about a 2" barrel.

    Heres a link to the 4" modle thats up for auction at gun broker, for the price its at currently looks like may not be a super price on the one Im getting but figure at $150 cant get hurt to bad as long as it works and it seems like it should function fine. http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=54047782
     
  5. TailorMadeHell

    TailorMadeHell Lurking Shadow Creature

    Okay, I'm going to post this. I don't know if it deals with your situation though it can be a heads up for anyone buying German handguns.

    I once had a guy barter a pistol to me for some services. It was a simple 22 handgun and I don't recall who manufactured it though I do know it came out of Germany. It was a little dirty and needed some new grips put on it as the grips looked like an angry beaver chewed on it.

    I took it to a gunsmith that I knew lived in the area and was going to get him to fix it for me. Upon his inspection he told me that it was not worth the money. He told me that it was manufactured in Germany after WWII and during that time the only metal they were using to manufacture weapons was called 'pot' metal.

    I asked what that was and he said that it was basically a low grade metal that consisted of taking a bunch of garbage and melting it down such as railroad nails and other assorted goodies and they would mold it into a pistol and sell them.

    He said that he could bring it back up to specs though as low as that was the first time I fired it, I risked running a 'blow out'. This blow out he said would literally take off my hand as the heat from the round could actually superheat the chamber, sealing it off and this would then turn into a sort of grenade in my hand.

    Long story short, I had him destroy it so that it could not harm anyone. And yes he did melt it down. He turned it into a hitch pin for his utility trailer. Functional now. Haha.

    This may not be the case with the weapon you are looking at and I know there are good German arms, though make sure you find out what you are getting. If it is sub-level metal, it may cause more harm than good. Just my thoughts. Good luck.
     
  6. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I'll look at it closer and if nothing else will test it out the same way I do my black powder guns when I get them. Load it with the hottest load I would ever be fireing in it, tie it to the back of a tree and pull the trigger a few times with a string then inspect it to be sure it didnt do anything. While it would be possible that its low quality I gather the maker has a high reputation so more than likely it would be at least servicable and safe.
    Thanks for the heads up though.
     
  7. BRONZ

    BRONZ Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    MM

    Brother don't get anything you have never heard of. Cheap guns are cheap for a reason. Be safe brother
     
  8. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I tend to agree, wait a little while and save up for something better. Everynow and then I still see a steal on a S&W in the classifieds. Revolvers are not as popular so they are going down in price. Save your $, then wait for a steal.
     
  9. Seacowboys

    Seacowboys Senior Member Founding Member

    look around for a used Taurus; they are easy to find and are decent for the price.
     
  10. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Well since I already put $30 down on it I will most likely go ahead and get this one and try to do a little more research on it and if it turns out to not be or reasonable or better quality sell it off later or just trade it in toward something better when I can get some cash together to go along with it.

    I have found that the maker has an excelent reputation for their shotguns so I really doubt it would be so low of quality as to be dangerous at least and the one person I have found familiar with them said they were prety decent even if not top of the line. Main thing is I want to get something I can conceal well when closeing hte convenience store at midnight or so.
     
  11. 155gunner

    155gunner Monkey+++ Founding Member

    There are very high quality Dickson shotguns made in Scotland, not Germany. I doubt this firm would be making that type of revolver, or any revolvers at all.

    If the revolver has German proofmarks on it I would not have any problems firing it, but only in the caliber it was made for. I don't think +P ammo was around when this revolver was made. I would only shoot .38 Special in it.

    The postwar German proof is an eagle over N.
     
  12. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I will have to look closer at it when I pick it up, I dont recall if it was stamped on it where it was made or not.
     
  13. Seacowboys

    Seacowboys Senior Member Founding Member

    MM, not to fault you for wasting $30.00 but Dickson Shotguns and Dixon pistols are not made by the same folks and that particular pistol is a notorious piece of shit saturday night special and will probably blow up in your hand or the hand of the next person to buy it. As for proof-testing with hotshots, forget about it; that's not only dangerous but stupid. Everybody has very nicely tried to steer you away from it and all these folks are somewhat expert. I've seen some of your posts on other sites about it and I can tell you that they are wrong about Dickson shotguns and Dixon import revolvers being the same folks.
     
  14. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    This one is spelled Dickson on the barrel and not Dixon but since Im going to town tomorrow I may see what else they have and if they will let me transfer the money to something else and have another look at it to see if I can see anything more telling on it and go form there.
     
  15. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    An ounce of prevention.....

    Most of those cheap handguns are exactly that. Plus, so many of them are out of business so if you did have a problem or were injured you are screwed. It's best to just wait awhile, save up, then buy something with a good reputation. Transfer that $30 towards something else if they don't let you take it out.
     
  16. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I went ahead and went up today and checked it out and it was German and had a '67' on it that I think was the year so with the contradicting info I had gotten on them I looked at what else they had and nothing comeing close to fitting the basic need was under about $350 so got what I could back. They kept $6 and gave the other $24 back, would have let me transfer it all but the next lowest priced small sized large bore handgun they had was a 2 shot .40 cal derringer for $350 then jumped to around $400 from there. Guess for now work will just have to be under the '15 seconds to fight' theory and try to get some extra cash as soon as can to find something better. Still beats getting it and haveing it blow up though.
     
  17. NY PRO

    NY PRO Monkey+++

    For $150-$200 you could've purchased any used S&W model 10 or a Ruger that won't ever blow up or be of questionable value! You get what you pay for.:rolleyes:

    Unless you wanted it for a collection only....I'd pass.......besides.....if it's for self defense....How much is your life worth? foosed

    A self defense piece should withstand the thousands of rounds that are necessary for practicing saving your life or you shouldn't even consider buying a handgun at all. Let criminals buy such trash so you'll be better armed should the day ever come that you have to defend your life against such trash......heck.....his may even misfire or blow up on him....which will give you an edge when you poke many holes in his body to let out all that bad blood he carries around with him!:D See? Now go back to the dealer.....no...on second thought.....run back to the dealer and ask to move your deposit to a decent gun you can bet your life on. If he wants your continued business....I'm sure he'll do it!;) :D
     
  18. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    They only have at best a couple dozen handguns on hand and no modle 10s or anything like that. In fact the only other snub nose revolver they had was IIRC a lady Smith or some such for about $400.

    I will have to put some money together and see what I can find but even when its your life the price unfortunatly matters if the price is more than you have, same reason a lot of my medical treatment has been in my livingroom instead of an ER.

    Most likely will try to come up with a couple hundred then have to watch online since none of the papers out here do clasified ads for handguns and VERY few even do them for long arms, so unless you run into the person looking to sell by chance you have to go through a dealer and around here they dont have a lot of competition.
     
  19. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    [bestpost]
     
  20. NY PRO

    NY PRO Monkey+++

    If your local dealer can't handle it then go through the internet and get one. Here in NY....you can buy used revolvers all day long for a song, cause everyone has to have something new and exciting (But they still can't shoot it!:D ) Never mind after they spend all their cash on the latest "commando-gun-of-the-week".....they have no money left over for at least 2000 rds of ammo(the minimum needed to get used to your piece) ,or for holsters ,or spare mags, or a decent belt to carry it all on!:eek: But they feel good cause they got the "GUN" that some elite commando unit uses or the "GUN" that their friend in the local SWAT team uses!:D


    When I teach someone how to shoot....the first question I ask is what is your budget.....not what gun do you want! The two are usually never the same. If you blow your whole wad on the gun without anything left for ammo,accessories,or training.....then the latest "GUN" of the week is of no use to you no matter what the Gun Rags or your friend who's in Special Forces says![violin] :rolleyes: :D

    Having the gun always with you and being very proficient in its use is more important than having something you can't afford to shoot or carry home in your safe!:rolleyes:


    1) First rule of a gunfight is have a gun!(preferably something that will go bang every time and not something that will go Kaboom in your hand!):D
     
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