| Pros | Cons |
| ✅ Excellent value airsoft gun | ❌ Full powered models fire too hot for many indoor, CQB fields |
| ✅ Classic looks, beautiful finish | |
| ✅ Realistic size and weight | |
| ✅ Solidly built and put together | |
| ✅ Very powerful | |
| ✅ Indoor-power options available | |
| ✅ Smooth, easy cylinder and trigger action | |
| ✅ Lots of accessories available |
Dan Wesson is one of the more respected names in firearms, known for its expertise in revolvers and for being founded by the grandson of Daniel Baird Wesson, co-founder of the legendary Smith & Wesson company.
The DW15 series was their take on the .357 magnum revolver, a legendary caliber of ammunition long favored by firearms enthusiasts, police and even Hollywood.
The ASG Dan Wesson 715 is a CO2 airsoft pistol replica of the DW15 series that has become quite well known in the airsoft community in recent years.
Although airsoft revolvers aren’t everyone’s cup of tea when it comes to tactical loadouts, the Dan Wesson 715 series has attracted a lot of attention to its good looks and powerful performance.
If you think you might be interested in picking one up for your next game, or if you just might be interested in a .357 magnum replica, then read on as we take a closer look at the Dan Wesson 715 line to see if they’re worth adding to your collection.
Specifications
| Airsoft type | Gas Blowback Pistol |
| FPS | Full Power Models: 410-500+ FPS @ 0.20g with CO2 (depending on length) Low Power Models: 320-330 FPS |
| Recommended Gas | CO2 |
| Action | Single/Double action revolver |
| Hop Up | Adjustable |
| Construction | Full Metal |
How closely does the Dan Wesson 715 series resemble the real thing?
| ASG Dan Wesson 715 | Dan Wesson DW715 .357 | |
| Weight | ~1.7-2.3 lbs ( | ~ 2.5 – 3.25 lbs (1.13-1.47 KG) |
| Barrel Length | 2.5”, 4″, 6″, 8″ | 2.5”, 4″, 6″, 8″ |
| Overall length | 2.5” – 8.26 in (210mm) 4” – 9.52 in (242 mm) 6” – 11. 73 in (310 mm) 8” – 13.6 inches (345.44 mm) | 2.5” – 8 in 4” – 9.3 in 6” – 11.5 in 8” – 13.5 in |
| Action | Single/Double action airsoft revolver | Single/Double action revolver |
| Caliber | 6mm | .357 Magnum |
| Capacity | 6 rounds | 6 rounds |
| Construction | Full Metal | Stainless Steel |
| Sights | Fixed front, adjustable rear | Fixed front, adjustable rear |
| Rail | On the 4” model | No |
Generally speaking the ASG Dan Wesson 715 series is a pretty faithful airsoft replica of the well-known Dan Wesson model 15 357 revolver.
Their overall profile and barrel options are correct and, while a little lighter due to being an airsoft gun rather than a real steel revolver, they have a very realistic heft and solidity to them.
The ASG Dan Wesson 715s come with many of the same exterior components as the real steel versions, as well, with adjustable rear sights, functional and realistic cylinder, vent rib barrel and rubberized/textured, finger-grooved pistol grip.
One area where they do differ, a technicality really, is that the ASG Dan Wessons come in both silver and black, whereas the 7 in the original DW715s stood for stainless, so if you really are a stickler for true-to-life accuracy, stick with the stainless.
The ASG Dan Wesson 715 is a licensed product, and so has the Dan Wesson trades, including a handwritten “signed” Dan Wesson stamped on the barrel, an engraved “.357 Magnum” and a nice button-style DW logo on the grip.
While most of these aren’t generally available on real steel models, they are kind of a cool touch, being nice to look at and make the gun generally stand out from other airsoft revolvers and 357s a little bit.
How Well Does the Dan Wesson 715 Perform as a CO2 Airsoft Pistol?
Build-quality and construction
When you first pick up a Dan Wesson, of any length really, the first thing you notice is that it is a very robust airsoft gun.
It is a durable airsoft revolver designed for CO2, with the barrel, frame and cylinder all made of metal, with really the only obvious non-metal components being the orange tip, grips and shells.
The finish comes in either a chrome/nickel-style or black finish, and it is a really beautiful finish out of the box, with the chrome in particular providing a nice glint in the sun (those looking for a more stealthy revolver should probably stick with the black finish).
The Dan Wesson 715 revolvers have a good amount of heft to them, as well.
With most models coming in at around 2 lbs, they do feel much like a real steel 357 should in-hand.
And that weight feels pretty appropriate given the overall size of these revolvers. Ranging from 8 to nearly 14 inches overall, when you pick one up it becomes obvious that these aren’t your typical compact tactical Glocks.
In terms of build quality, we found that ASG did a really good job with these and put things together quite nicely.
With revolvers, there aren’t too many actions and components to deal with. Their simplicity and reliability of action, after all, is a large part of their appeal among pistol enthusiasts.
And the Dan Wesson 715s largely hold true to this.
Besides the main cylinder, which holds six airsoft shells, there is a cylinder release button, a trigger, a hammer, a safety catch and an adjustable rear sight, and that’s about it.
Each of these components is pretty solidly attached to the gun.
The cylinder action is smooth, pivoting and rotating easily and is extremely satisfying to spin and swing closed, as it does so with a nice metal snap.
The hammer action is very solid as well, in our experience it drew back smoothly and rotated the cylinder with a very nice and audible click.
The adjustable rear sights are a nice touch, as well. They do a pretty good job accounting for windage and elevation, although they are matte black and so will be a little harder to pick out on a low-contrast target.
That said, a bit of white-out or white paint can solve this issue fairly easily and cheaply.
One thing that tends to divide Dan Wesson 715 owners are the grips. While they do feel extremely strong, due to a metal core, they are rubberized with a bubble-textured pattern and prominent finger grooves.
While some airsofters may prefer bone or wood, we actually feel that these are a superior choice to either.
The rubber is very grippy, something that is only enhanced by the texturing and grooves, and allows users to get a very firm grip on the gun, even when wet or if using gloves, meaning once you get a hold of the 715 there is little likelihood of it slipping out of your grasp.
As with most gas airsoft revolvers, the CO2 cartridge is held in the pistol’s grip, which is snug and pops open with a little effort.
One thing that is kind of interesting is that the Dan Wesson comes with an allen key built into the inside of its grip, sort of like a Swiss Army knife attachment, that can be used to tighten or loosen the cartridge.
We actually had mixed feelings about this key placement.
While it is convenient and does mean that you won’t misplace your key, the size of the grip in hand means you can’t maneuver the key as freely or get quite as much leverage when using it.
That said, it can be really helpful to have a built-in backup key, especially if you have to make an unexpected CO2 cartridge swap in the field.
Performance and Accuracy
Although you may purchase the Dan Wesson 715 for its looks and the joy and novelty of using a revolver, it actually performs very well.
It has an excellent trigger pull for an airsoft revolver.
In contrast to other revolvers out there, the Dan Wesson 715 triggers tend to be short and light on single action (manually cocking the hammer before firing) and are smooth and surprisingly easy even when being used in double action (pulling the trigger to simultaneously cock the hammer, rotate the cylinder and fire).
Airsoft CO2 pistols in general, and revolvers in particular, are known for being quite powerful.
In this regard, the Dan Wesson 715 is no different.
They do shoot quite hot – a 6” model using 0.20g BBs on CO2 delivers around 450 FPS, with some users reporting 500 FPS or more.
While intimidating to your foes, and great for backyard plinking, it does limit its usefulness as it isn’t something you’ll be able to take to most indoor or CQB fields.
For that reason, ASG does produce a lower powered version of the Dan Wesson 715 series, which comes in a grey steel, which will shoot about 320-340 FPS with 0.20g BBs and are suitable for most airsoft fields.
There is also the possibility of using power-down shells with the Dan Wesson.
These power-downs constrict the flow of CO2 and, therefore, bring the Dan Wesson 715’s FPS down to more reasonable (albeit still pretty powerful) levels, usually around 250-300 FPS, which can be very helpful if you love the power of the 715 but want to bring it indoors from time to time.
Unlike most other airsoft revolvers, which tend to be more miss than hit in the accuracy department, the Dan Wesson 715 is actually fairly impressively accurate.
We saw some tight 2-3” groupings at around 30 feet (10 meters) and could pretty easily hit center-mass sized targets at 50 feet out (15 meters), although the weight and size of the longer barreled versions means you’ll probably want to something to rest on when you’re shooting further out for stability.
In terms of gas efficiency, the Dan Wesson 715 does pretty well. You should be able to get about 90 shots per fill, or about 15 reloads, which makes it pretty cheap to run.
With all that said, where the Dan Wesson really shines is in its revolver action.
These guns are simply a lot of fun to use.
Loading and firing shells is a rather unique experience in airsoft (particularly if you’re more used to magazines and semi-auto replicas). and the combination of the CO2 release and the audible snap and click of the gun’s cylinder and hammer when firing makes shooting the 715 a really great experience overall.
One thingthat helps the Dan Wessons stand out among airsoft revolvers is their inclusion of an adjustable hop up.
The hop up is located at the top of the gun and is fairly easy to adjust on the fly.
This is a big improvement over older models, which had a fixed (or non-existent) hop up, which caused a their overall precision and accuracy to suffer past about 60-65 feet or so (20 meters).
What length barrel should I pick?
The Dan Wesson 715 series, like the real steel DW715 357s, comes in a few lengths – a 2.5” snub-nose, as well as a 4”, 6” and 8” barrel.
Unlike the real steel version, sadly the ASG Dan Wesson 715 doesn’t allow you to swap barrels, so you will ultimately have to choose a length of gun that’s right for you.
It’s important to keep in mind that if you are actually planning to use one of these revolvers in a skirmish that you will have to draw it.
The Dan Wessons are solid metal revolvers and can be a little chunkier and bulkier than your typical Glock or 1911 replica, and with their prominent sights and protruding cylinders, they can get snagged on clothing or other gear.
As a result, it can be a bit of a hassle to draw and maneuver the longer models (the 6” and 8”), given that their overall length is somewhere between 12-14”.
We tend to recommend that users go with the 4” inch barrel version, as we feel it offers the best balance between power (coming in at around 410-420 FPS on stock shells), accuracy and convenience of use.
We also like the 6” model, due to its intimidation factor and sheer good looks, although it will probably take some time to get used to its overall size as it is nearly a foot long in total.
If you are looking for something to use as a sneaky back up, the snub-nose 2.5” can be an option.
It is a fun and relatively compact secondary that makes you feel like a 1970s detective, and its overall accuracy doesn’t suffer quite as much as it would in a real steel snub nose, just keep in mind that it is a little heavier and bulkier overall han other super compact airsoft pistols, like the CZ 75D P-07 or the M84.
Should I get the full or low powered model?
When it comes to the Dan Wesson 715s, the term low power is a bit of a misnomer.
Although they have a slightly redesigned gas system, they are still CO2 pistols and still deliver well over 300 FPS, putting them in the range of other respected airsoft CO2 guns such as the 1911 TAC.
While the full powered versions are a lot of fun, very impressive and can use down-power shells, the down-powers tend to cut their performance by half, which can disappoint some players.
As a result, we tend to recommend that most airsoft users go for these models, since they are more flexible in terms of usability.
Bullet type and capacity
The Dan Wesson 715 comes with six airsoft revolver shells that are pretty good replicas of .357 magnum bullets and are actually pretty fun to look at and handle.
Mechanically they work like any other airsoft revolver shell, you load a single BB into the shell, load the shell into the gun and away you go.
As with most revolvers, there are six airsoft bullets, providing six shots, so these isn’t the most practical or competitive airsoft pistols out there in game but they are a lot of fun to use, which is honestly why you purchase an airsoft revolver in the first place.
The Dan Wesson 715 series is compatible with most WinGun and Dan Wesson revolver shells, making it a little easier to find replacements, and because it does shoot hot for most airsoft fields, you can use the company’s power-down shells.
The gun comes with a spring-loaded speedloader, which is fairly useful. Rather than inserting six bullets manually, you can quickly drop them into the speedloader, press the tip into the cylinder and the spring automatically pops them home, saving some time.
ASG has also introduced a series of brass moon clips for the Dan Wesson, a ring-shaped piece of brass that lets you carry and insert six shells simultaneously during a game, kind of like a magazine for revolvers.
Accessories & Customizability
In terms of potential for accessories, the Dan Wesson 715 airsoft revolvers are very traditional looking .357 replicas, and there isn’t a lot going on that lends itself to accessorizing them beyond changing the grips up a bit.
Their outer barrels aren’t threaded, so you won’t be adding too much in the way of silencers or tracer units to it (not that most people would).
One thing that is a bit of a quirk to the line is that the 4” model comes with an undermount picatinny rail, but the other models do not.
That said, ASG does make rail attachments specifically for the Dan Wesson line that slide over the barrel and add rails to the 12 and 6 o’clock positions, if you really feel the need to attach an optic or flashlight to your revolver.
In fact, ASG makes quite a few extras for the 715, such as leather holsters, grips, carrying cases, speedloader and moon clip caddies, so if you’re someone who likes to collect and build custom loadouts, you can really go to town with this more than most other revolvers out there.
Price
Coming in at around $100-120, the Dan Wesson 715 series is a great airsoft revolver for the price.
At this price, it is solidly in the middle pricewise with rival airsoft CO2 revolvers, yet boasts an extremely attractive design, solid build quality, helpful accessories and features and good overall performance.
And it’s just a blast to use.
Advantages of the Dan Wesson 715 Airsoft Pistol
Excellent Value
Coming in at around $100-120, the Dan Wesson 715 series of airsoft CO2 pistols offers users a full metal classic revolver look and action with good CO2 performance and build quality at a price that users can afford.
Well-built, solid airsoft revolver
ASG has put the Dan Wesson 715 series together pretty well. It feels very realistic and has a smooth cylinder rotation, an easy trigger pull and no real rattling or looseness to speak of.
Easy to hold, easy to use
The Dan Wesson 715 series comes with grooved, textured and rubberized grips that are very easy to hold even in poor conditions.
With fewer moving parts that can go wrong, the gun is also extremely easy and reliable to use both in single and double action.
Beautifully finished, full metal construction
Whether in black, chrome or gunmetal gray (in the low powered versions), the Dan Wesson 715s are beautiful to look at and really replicate the feel of a real revolver.
Extremely intimidating on the field
There’s no question that the size and bulk of a Dan Wesson 715 revolver can be an intimidating sight to other airsoft players, particularly with the longer barrel lengths.
Options to down-power
CO2 airsoft revolvers aren’t exactly known for their restrained FPS, and the Dan Wesson has something of a reputation for being powerful.
That said, the company does offer lower powered (sub 400 FPS) 715s that are usable in CQB and indoors, and also offers down-power shells for those interested in having more overall FPS flexibility with their full-powered replicas.
Gas efficient
Although they are revolvers, the Dan Wesson 715s are actually pretty gas efficient, with users getting about 90 shots per fill, or about 15 reloads per CO2 cartridge.
Lots of fun to use
Let’s be honest- the reason most people get an airsoft revolver is for their looks and revolver action and not their tactical efficiency. In other words, for the fun of it.
And the Dan Wesson 715s, with their great feel, smooth mechanics and loud, powerful action are a lot of fun to use, both in game and when casually plinking at home.
Disadvantages of the Dan Wesson 715 Airsoft Pistol
Revolvers aren’t the most practical guns out there
Not specific to the Dan Wesson 715s, but to all revolvers, is the fact that they aren’t really all that practical for airsoft games. They are slower, have a longer trigger pull and typically only hold 6 rounds out of the box – there’s a reason most police and militaries use semi-autos.
Full power models can be too powerful for many fields
Dan Wesson 715s have something of a reputation for their power, which (depending on the length of the gun) is fairly well-deserved.
Full powered versions of these guns can easily blow past the limits of an indoor range and may require down-power shells or other tweaks in order to be used.
Bottom Line
The Dan Wesson 715 series of CO2 airsoft revolvers are durably built, beautiful to look at, are powerful, and are extremely cool and fun to shoot, all at an affordable price point for the quality of build.
If you’re looking for a high quality airsoft revolver to add to your collection (or to just hang on your wall), check out the 715.
Will Martin – Will has been into airsoft and paintball for well over 10 years, and has done it all – from upgrading and fixing gearboxes as a tech to building custom airsoft loadouts for his friends to supporting off those friends as a DM.