Have revolver prices skyrocketed in general?

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atomd

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What is with the pricing I am seeing everywhere? I was looking at getting a new 4" stainless .357 recently and I can't believe how much they've gone up. I know the price of all guns have gone up but it seems revolvers took the biggest jump by far. A year or so ago a GP100 was around $550. I just saw one in the store for $699! Even the Vaquero went up $100. Last year I almost bought a 686ssr and that is now $75 more than it was when I almost bought it.

Now to compare this to popular semis.....Glocks, M&P, H&K, Berrtta, FN, you name it...their prices have gone up but not much. I can still find them for the same price if I shop around but if I just grabbed one off the shelf it might be $25 more or so than it was last year. I have NEVER seen an on the shelf semi for $150 more than it was last year. In fact, I don't think I've seen one for more than a $50 increase. Why revolvers and not other guns?
 
Produced in more limited numbers than semis, and the people that buy them have better taste :)
 
I have gotten some pretty good deals on revolvers in the past year or so....that said, I personally think revolvers are less likely to be a persons first or only handgun, and with the popularity of semi autos growing, are often looked at with more of a collectors eye by many people.....kind of like a high capacity semi is the necessity, but a good revolver is the second gun, or range only fun gun....seems the general attitude with people my age anyways. So the people that appreciate revolvers tend to be more enthusiastic about guns in general and willing to collect multiple handguns and will pay more for the "luxury" of owning a revolver...just thinking out loud...lol.
I really started appreciating revolvers when I started reloading.
My first handgun was a s&w 66 I bought for $400 in 2001...
Bought another 66 last year for $375 in comparable shape
If you adjust for inflation, I paid even less for the second one...until you add shipping and FFL fees, then I would think they would about even out
 
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well, they have at my local Gander Mountain, that's for sure. An ordinary (non-3T model) S&W Model 19 6" for $1000.00!
 
Quality used revolvers have gone up a good bit in the past couple of year.....Two years ago I carried a 4" blue Python with original grips to a gunshow and was asking $850. It took a while to find a buyer. I think that same gun would bring over a grand today....I also took a mint King Cobra and was asking $750. I never got an offer. I am glad I brought that one home, tucked it away and got over the itch to sell
 
There's a mint King Cobra at my local Cabelas and they want $1600. Ridiculous, but Colt DAs are selling for crazy prices lately. Check gunbroker.com. Makes me sick
 
By the way, semis are fun, but I'll always be a revolver guy at heart. I'm 32 years old. Don't worry. Revolver affinity is surviving in the younger generations. I plan to start in on my nephew as soon as he's old enough.
 
32yo here as well. My revolvers outnumber my semis 3:1. I appreciate them from a reloading perspective as well. Good raw HP. Love em
 
I don't have a lot of hard evidence, but anecdotally it seems like some of the more popular items have indeed gone up somewhat.

My good buddy is keeping an eye out for a 3" SP-101. We haven't seen any out in the wild lately, but the asking prices for brand new nowadays seem to be $550 minimum; often closer to or even surpassing $600. To me, that's a lot of scratch for what it is... but back when I got mine in '01 it was a $400 gun. A whole lot has changed since then, obviously.

I find it very ironic that right now the .22 SP-101 is fairly easily found, and it is the 3" .357 that is rare as hen's teeth. Once Ruger gets around to making a run, they'll be back.



This is just one make of gun that I've been halfway keeping an eye out for, and I'm not really in the market myself, so I'm not paying the closest attention to it all. I think prices will come down much closer to what they were if you can wait a few months and if nothing happens (big if on the 2nd one there). S&W J-frames seemed about normally priced last show, maybe a tad high but not outrageous. Patience will go a long way if you can wait.
 
Pricing has seemed to have gone up on Ruger, S&W, and especially the old Colt revolvers. Can't say about Taurus, Charter Arms, and so forth as I don't pay much attention to them.
 
Pre lock smiths have gone up a lot lately because of collect ability and of people's distaste for the lock on revolvers. Another huge factor is revolvers actually still use metal vs plastic (smith stainless revolver vs say a glock).
 
Another huge factor is revolvers actually still use metal vs plastic
Click to expand...

I did take that into consideration but even the all metal autos (ie: CZ75, Sig, Beretta etc) all seem to be just about the same price as they were a year ago or within a few dollars. Even a gun like the LCR which has a polymer frame is $50 more than it was a year ago. The only revolvers I see at the same price are the S&W J frames it seems.

Kind of strange. I would understand the supply/demand idea but it doesn't seem like there's a shortage of them. Oh well, I found a couple of good used deals I need to check out.
 
I was in a LGS yesterday, just browsing to see what they had in stock. I was looking at Ruger Vaqueros, Blackhawks, and Single Sixes, all north of $600. Yes, they have gone up.
 
With the increase in demand, what I'm seeing is a change in the asking price of new revolvers. Used to be the only place you saw the MSRP on a tag was at GM or some other big box store. Most LGSs were always under. Lately it seems, MSRP is the norm and I have even seen stores asking for more than MSRP because they can. While the amount of companies making autos has increased, quality revolver manufacturers are still few. Since the price of new guns is up, so is the price of used. Around here, I see no difference in the price of a used pre-lock smith and a used post lock smith. Prices generally are set on condition relative to what they sell for new.
 
In 4 years time, when Hillary becomes prez an the House and Senate go Dem, revolvers will become real popular because of a new 7 round max capacity law that will be the law of the land sometime in 2017.
 
Not sure, but there is guy that posted under 'disposable firearm' topic quoting $1200 price for 340PD. That seems real high to me.
 
I've seen run-of-the-mill used Taurus .357s for $400.

Not only would I not buy one at that price, I'd be happy to sell one that I've got.
 
Not that I've noticed. Just last month I picked up a pristine 5" S&W Model 10-5 for only $300, which seemed like a nice score to me.

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I think that a lot of the price increases or variances are also geographic area. With only two exceptions, the only guns I've bought in the last 3/4 years are all S&W's. It seems that in my area S&W's go for $400 to $600 depending on model and condition. Any thing priced above $600 just sits unless it's something special or a 1911.
 
No? Was at a gunshow last weekend that had new Smith J-frames for $389

And i saw a new 686+ with 4 inch barrel for $700
 
By all reasonable metrics, prices seem to have bumped up recently. After purchasing a Performance Center.44 V Comp recently, I decided to acquire a similar .357 V Comp (8 round). Between when I began shopping for the .44 and the .357 I believe prices went up on the S&W web site.
When I found a used 627 V Comp of the vintage that I hoped to find, I jumped at it. But had to (or rather, I chose to) pay a significant amount. Less than a new one and nicer than the current one which has a different and seemingly odd two-tone finish which is not to my liking.
I think it was a win/win for buyer and seller. I'm very pleased with them both, but not inexpensive and seemingly still on the rise.
B
 
I've been seeing higher prices on the used S&Ws more than anything. If it has no lock and no MIM parts, it will fetch a premium around here. For example, I saw a blued, 6 1/2" (I think) Model 27-2 listed at $950, without box or papers. That was about a month ago. The older S&Ws are selling for almost the same as the new ones, or in some cases, even more.
 
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