Prices of Revolvers

Everything seems to be up. Even 1895 Nagants are getting scarce and pricey, when you used to be able to get them for $80 each. The reason is supply and demand, judging from the auction wars. But Rugers are still reasonably priced in most cases, as are vintage service pieces.

It's just you

Prices are up because they no longer make DA Colts, lots of people don't want Smiths with locks and not everyone wants a run of the mill Ruger....Vintage Colts and Smiths are well made and almost works of art.

I think I paid $509 for my GP100 blued a couple months or so ago. My LGS had the stainless steel version in last week and it was $559. Pretty reasonable. I bought a Smith Model 60 earlier in the year and although I cant recall how much it was, it was definitely well priced. That said, this particular LGS has had some very decent prices.

But...

Judging by some of the listings I see on armslist et al, some people are pretty proud of their used revolvers.

It's not so much the market as it is the US dollar being in the toilet.

Like everything else prices continue to go up and the value of the dollar goes down.

It's not so much the market as it is the US dollar being in the toilet.

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The U.S. dollar's been in the toilet for almost 10 years now, but the prices of a nice/clean/well-kept S&W without a lock have only skyrocketed in the past few years.

Prices are up because they no longer make DA Colts, lots of people don't want Smiths with locks and not everyone wants a run of the mill Ruger....Vintage Colts and Smiths are well made and almost works of art.

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This is our answer. People are holding onto these older revolvers, which means less of them popping up for sale. They are highly sought after and when there's fewer and fewer popping up, it's a classic case of supply and demand.

Last time I sold a pre-lock S&W revolver I regretted it. Luckily I was able to replace it last year for not much more. I will never make that mistake again, not unless I am really, really strapped for cash.

Some folks see these revolvers changing hands for good money and they assume that their newer model should fetch the same. Along comes a fool and sets the "new" market price.

The OP did not address "older" revolvers or pre-lock S&Ws or old Colt Pythons. He asked about revolver prices in general, and one answer is that a revolver is more complex, requiring more precise machinery and greater care all around in the manufacturing process than an auto pistol.

The dollar value vis-a-vis foreign currency is not much of an issue, since very few revolvers are imported, the major current makers being American.

Jim

The decline in the value of the dollar is one reason for the rise in prices. Its not the value relative to other currencies, but to its purchasing power in the past that comes into play. Wanna little bit of a shock (if youve been an owner/buyer of guns for awhile) ?
Pull out the receipts for guns that you bought in the past and compare them to the prices you'll have to pay today. I'm glad I own several of the revolvers that I have, because today they are out of my price range. Over the last 100 years the dollar has lost over 95% of its purchasing power due to excess money printing (though its all by computer keystrokes rather than the actual physical printing presses today).
I havent checked out prices for several months now on guns. Of course, a big part of the immediate price rise was the very high increased demand during the buying panic. I do see some ammo available that hadn't been a couple months ago, so perhaps revolver prices have dropped a tiny bit from the recent highs.

Pull out the receipts for guns that you bought in the past and compare them to the prices you'll have to pay today.

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I'll bite. I have a SIG Sauer P239 that I bought back in 2000 for $485. Three years later, in 2004, SIG decided to raise all of their prices so that all of the models with comparable trim where the same price. In other words, the basic pistols in centerfire calibers were all priced the same. What was once a $485 gun was increased to $800, a price trend which remains today.

This price hike had nothing to do with the plummeted dollar. These guns were being made in the US, rather than being imported, yet what we were seeing was much more than a 25% increase due to the exchange rate of 2004.

All I'm trying to say is that there is always much more at play than the "value of the dollar." Companies determine price points, Markets (or is it Marketing?!) determine the actual value. At any given time the two may not line up, but eventually they tend to come around.

Wasn't that what I wrote ? That price inflation is one factor in price increases ?

Using government figures which are likely low, because of a number of reasons - $485 in 2000 takes $656 today to buy the same basket of goods. So at minimum $200 of the rise in price is attributed to price inflation - which is entirely different than differences due to changing foreign exchange rates. (And using other methods that are likely more accurate, the number of dollars needed today is considerably greater than this. For example, the govt takes out food and gasoline when calculating inflation. Guess they don't drive or eat.)

Had anyone told me that a Colt Python Target, 8" barrel, nickel, in .38 Special, that sold for $850 just two years ago, would bring north of $3k, I'd have thought the person was just nuts. However, that's the territory today.

Early last year I passed on a nice (90%) 3.5" Model 27 in blue. I could have had it for $450. A couple of months ago I paid $1k for a pristine (98%) model, and I thought I got a screaming good deal.

Pinned barrel S&W's and I/E frame Colts (Pythons, OMM, etc.) are very desirable among collectors and shooters alike. Neither are being made anymore. Strictly the market.

There are much less revolvers available than semi-autos. Simple supply: demand.

If fools will pay it, the prices will continue to rise.

Like I read somewhere once: You used to could buy a new Colt SAA for a twenty dollar gold piece. Today you still can.
I recall that in the 50's and 60's top line handguns were 1-1 1/2 times the prevailing weekly wage. Today they still are.

Prices keep going up because people are paying the higher prices. I'm being priced out of the buyers market on the stuff I like. First this happened with Colts, now it's happening with pre-lock Smiths.

Not the prevailing wage here.

How much is the prevailing weekly wage today?

There are still deals to be had, they just seem to be a bit fewer than before. I believe a part of it is the that the internet has fueled a rise in prices due to increased visibility and perceived desirability of the earlier guns.

I still find a deal now and then, but even a "deal" on a gun is quite a bit pricier than they used to be. I may be part of the problem as I buy every early S&W and Colt revolver that I can remotely afford.

I just picked up this 1954 Smith that was converted into a PPC gun back in the day. While not a collectors piece, it is still a fun gun to shoot with the best double action trigger I have ever tried

highpower - congrats on your new Smith. Those old ones can have incredible triggers on them.

Yeah sometimes you find a deal out there . . . but not as easy as in the past. Glad I picked up a few that were on my long time 'Want List' during the six months before the big panic hit. They all seemed to come available one after the other so I was doing a lot of buying (for me, anyway). Afterwards, prices shot up and/or I could no longer find them listed anywhere. Now, many of them are outside my price range.

If your question is if I have noticed the mechanically simple, easy to load and unload even by weak folks, can use a wide range of ammunition from mouse fart to serious hair burner, no external safeties to mess with, easy to learn to operate and shoot, easy to conceal, small and lightweight enough for daily and concealed carry, revolver prices no I haven't.

I can barely even find revolvers around here. The LGS's are almost bare shelved on wheel guns. Probably 20:1 ratio, autos to revolvers. Did the panic make them all get sold?

What kind of surprises me is that even second-tier revolvers, like Charter Arms, Taurus, and Rossi, are seeing some pretty high prices lately.

I'm kind of glad to see a new appreciation. There for a while (mid-80's to mid-90's), everything was "wondernines", then it was compact and then ultra-compact semiautos.

But everything old is new again. And as BSA1 pointed out, there are a lot of good reasons to give revolvers a try.

ColtPythonElite said:

How much is the prevailing weekly wage today?

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'Bout the same as the price of a good revolver.