Dan Wesson Kodiak, handful of fury.

I took my time with the Dan Wesson Kodiak, review with myself and many friends taking just over three months to run some 400 various rounds downrange. In that time we learned a few things.

First Impressions

The controls are finished in an attractive bronze color with plenty of real estate on the extended thumb safety. The grip safety features a palm swell for reliable disengagement and a generous beavertail for a solid purchase.

Front green fiber optic sight.

Serrated adjustable rear sight.

The front strap and magazine release is well serrated.

All steel mainspring housing with incorporated extended magazine well is also well serrated. The G10 stocks are plenty durable and offer added traction on the pistol.

An accessory rail is machined into the dust cover, and the Kodiak is factory equipped with ambidextrous thumb safety. The Kodiak features a match grade supported bull barrel instead of the standard barrel and barrel bushing,

Range Time

Three shot groups fired from a rest at 25 yards

All the innards looked just fine after my review, except being a little dirty. If something were ill-fit, it would have shown up in the time we were running the pistol.

Conclusions

Dan Wesson builds excellent pistols, but they are, indeed, expensive. Dan Wesson pistols are not your rack grade but are hand-fitted guns built with forged materials and no MIM steel. When that sort of time and cost of materials is involved, you have to expect the price to reflect it in the end product. The new Kodiak proved to be reliable over some 400 rounds of various types of defensive and range ammunition, and plenty accurate. I see this pistol serving well in a few roles, while home defense and concealed carry a possibility it is a large handgun. For the trail, woods, and hunting applications this pistol would genuinely shine. Many states regulate handgun barrels to be at least six inches to be legal for hunting, and the Kodiak satisfies that with some to spare The 10mm Auto is a formidable cartridge for defensive and hunting with a myriad of ammunition available to suit a particular application. If you were into handgun hunting, the Kodiak would be well at home as a secondary or primary firearm. You could swap in some defensive ammunition if you had to head into town and not be empty-handed. With the addition of the accessory rail and ambidextrous thumb safety, the Kodiak is set apart from the other longslide Dan Wesson 10mm Auto, the Bruin as reviewed here. The Kodiak I reviewed is a bi-tone but can also be had in black still with bronze controls. I am completely satisfied with the Kodiak and believe this is an excellent addition to the Dan Wesson line of fine handguns.

Specifications

SKU: 01852

Model: Kodiak

Caliber: 10mm Auto

Magazine Capacity: 8

Frame Material: Forged Stainless

Slide Finish: Duty Finish

Grips: G10

Overall Length: 9.7 in

Barrel Length: 6.03

Height: 5.8 in

Width: 1.5 in