Is the wheelgun market soft?

[WestKentucky]

I love revolvers and watch gunbroker a lot even when I don’t want to buy anything..or don’t have the cash...always want to buy. There are certain guns I keep an eye on, and right now all are down regularly by about 10-20%, and more guns are shaking out from their safes too... just search for a Rossi Cyclops. Normally there are 2-4 guns listed and they are in the 800+ range and often push over 1k for the nice ones. Right now there are more than ever and they are hurting my soul at the 650-700 range since I am not in the market right now due to life and bills. Anything Colt is usually hot, but I just watched a NICE DS sell for $560. Even some odd guns are selling at bargain prices to a point in slinging lowball bids and kinda hoping I don’t win and have to have a chat with the enforcer (wife). What’s up right now?

 

[Riomouse911]

Could be that people saw the AR market crash and thing the revolver market is next. With Colt snake guns selling for a house payment or two in the past few years, I can't see how anyone other than the well-heeled are buying them. And if there aren't any buyers, sellers will drop prices to move them.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

The Colt bubble has burst and prices have fallen a bit. They will never be dirt cheap, but prices have gone down compared to a few years ago...if Colt were to ever close the doors, I am sure they would skyrocket again.

 

[Jonesy814]

I think the whole handgun market in general is soft. . To be honest in my area revolver sales have been soft for years. This whole area of NW PA is rural My county plus 3 neighboring counties only number 100,000 all together and a large percentage are fairly poor. My buddy picked up a nice 2.5 inch model 66 for $425 a month ago and I got a 2.5 inch 686 for $515 in late December. Same buddy got a nice 686 no dash 6 inch for $510 last week .These were all from gun shops. People we know down south and out west say we paid at least $100-200 less than what those guns are going for in their area I feel the 686s we bought would have been $75 more a year or 2 ago and the 66 he got should have been $200 more, even now but the small dealer didn't realize what he had
Saw an ad last week for a 3 inch model 65 ladysmith with smooth Rosewood factory grips and full underlug like a 66 for $400 .Didn't call fast enough so I missed it .It's a buyers market

 

[Old Dog]

I have seen prices on new revolvers (S&W, Ruger) seemingly come down a bit over the past year -- but the premiums asked for used (do I need to add "pre-lock, pre-MIM?") S&W and Colt revolvers in my region remains as high as ever. Perhaps with all the rain up here, revolver collectors are much busier and more folks are looking for them ...

 

[TTv2]

Prices on new revolvers... I haven't seen them move much really. They're the same as they were a year or two ago.

Used revolvers tho... yes. They are quite a bit lower than they were this same time last year and before. I've looked from time to time at H&R .32's that were not top breaks. Before, the snubbies were selling at $180 a piece and now they aren't even moving at $110. The longer barrel models were hitting $250, now they're going for around $150.

Used Ruger's are holding where they've been for a while. Smith's I don't look at, Colt's... yeah, they've probably pulled back about 10% from where they use to sell for.

But I'll second what Jonesy said: I think the whole of handgun market has gone soft. When Ruger comes out with cheap polymer 9's and is dropping more expensive ones or larger size ones in favor of compact size pistols, that shows they're trying to inject interest into a market that's largely not excited people to go out and spend money. Glock came out with the 19x, the Gen 5's... everyone is feeling it. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't we just have a bunch of rebates offered for handguns last Fall?

I don't know how much further the prices go, but I don't see them going up until we get closer to November.

 

[CajunBass]

It seems to me that the price of "shooter" grade guns may have softened a bit at my local dealer (I don't even look anywhere else) but really nice examples are holding the line.

 

[huntsman]

At the high end I believe it was about getting into hard assets a fear play, Remove the fear the market stabilizes.

what I didn’t understand is the demand for shooter quality duty guns? I guess if one can’t afford the collectible then what’s available becomes collected. So if the market at the top softens then it’ll cascade on down.

 

[PapaG]

A decent domestically made revolver at a fair (accurately graded blue book) price doesn't last long on the shelf here. I think sales have suffered in IL since we got concealed carry and since the proliferation of cheaper semiautos. Shoot, you can buy a new Ruger 9mm for $225.

 

[Sistema1927]

I think that mortality might have something to do with it. The revolvers have lasted longer than their owners.

 

[Charlie98]

I think the gun market has emerged from the Dark Ages of Uncertainty overpriced, we are simply seeing a market correction. AR's in particular, but the revolver market as well. With companies like Ruger kicking out new revolvers at a breakneck pace, the draw for older pieces is down, and there is also the element of market saturation.... I mean, how many $1500 Smiths can you sell?

 

[CoalTrain49]

I just bought a used revolver and a new Sig. Price was right on both of them. The Sig was about 35% less than MSRP. I'm not sure how someone can set around and not take advantage of some of these deals. Manufacturers and dealers are clearly getting a little worried about sales.

I think we are going to see prices drop some more for just about everything except the truly rare stuff.

The price of a first generation SAA or civil war spencer rifle isn't going to change.

 

[ray15]

I think the gun market has emerged from the Dark Ages of Uncertainty overpriced, we are simply seeing a market correction. AR's in particular, but the revolver market as well. With companies like Ruger kicking out new revolvers at a breakneck pace, the draw for older pieces is down, and there is also the element of market saturation.... I mean, how many $1500 Smiths can you sell?

Agreed, the market has been runnig amok for years now and is settling down to reality. But I think the reality is revolvers are still a niche market compared to semi-autos. A bit like the muscle car market, prices are coming down to meet the current demand. Most LGSs in my area only stock new revolvers if they are snubbies (and only have one or two), and when asked why they maintain revolvers are a tough sell.

 

[Charlie98]

Well... part of it is the autoloader market in general. With few exceptions, I don't think the auto market ever really bumped up, general production has been constant, and the release of poly autos, and perhaps more importantly... budget-minded poly autos, saturating the market. And Glock, who has turned into the firearm world's Microsoft... producing a new generation of pistol about every 3 years... forcing all the Glock Moonies to upgrade. The revolver market is, indeed, different.

It would be an interesting question... the effect the poly auto has had on the gun market. I don't view my poly autos like I do my revolvers or, for that matter, my 1911's... they are tools, expendable to an extent, used and abused for sure. I know I couldn't afford to replace my '80's era Smith 57, but I have 4 Kahr 9mm's...

 

[icanthitabarn]

On Monday I saw, in person, four S+W snubbies. I had to quickly leave but they were models 36 and 37, at least one was pinned. All were $350.

 

[TTv2]

I think the gun market has emerged from the Dark Ages of Uncertainty overpriced, we are simply seeing a market correction. AR's in particular, but the revolver market as well. With companies like Ruger kicking out new revolvers at a breakneck pace, the draw for older pieces is down, and there is also the element of market saturation.... I mean, how many $1500 Smiths can you sell?

The underlying issue there is that Ruger and Smith are both susceptible to poor craftsmanship and, in order to meet that demand at the lowest price possible, they've skimped on quality with their revolvers.

I can attest that my Ruger Redhawk is not perfect, but it's just a burr that was left in a spot, but a 30 year old used Charter that I got for a third what the Redhawk cost me, all it's missing is some blueing that's been worn off from holster wear and has a broken screw on the rear sight. Besides that, it has an amazingly smooth, light trigger.

When I can get that kind of quality, why should I take the chance on a new revolver these days?

 

[ATLDave]

I think the role of revolvers in marketplace has simply changed. Once, they were the default general-purpose handgun and/or the first handgun purchase by many new gun owners. That's rarely the case anymore (even though they still work very well in those roles). I think the market is still figuring out what they are "worth" in a new world where they aren't dramatically easier to make than in the past, have a far more limited appeal, but remain very good at certain things.

 

[ATLDave]

I can attest that my Ruger Redhawk is not perfect, but it's just a burr that was left in a spot, but a 30 year old used Charter that I got for a third what the Redhawk cost me, all it's missing is some blueing that's been worn off from holster wear and has a broken screw on the rear sight. Besides that, it has an amazingly smooth, light trigger.

To be fair, though, comparing a trigger that has 30 years of use (and therefore part-on-part polishing) to one that is new isn't exactly a fair comparison. Triggers usually get better with age/use.

 

[WestKentucky]

On Monday I saw, in person, four S+W snubbies. I had to quickly leave but they were models 36 and 37, at least one was pinned. All were $350.

Please don’t tell me where you were.

 

[ray15]

It would be an interesting question... the effect the poly auto has had on the gun market. I don't view my poly autos like I do my revolvers or, for that matter, my 1911's... they are tools, expendable to an extent, used and abused for sure. I know I couldn't afford to replace my '80's era Smith 57, but I have 4 Kahr 9mm's...

It's not had nearly the effect on the posters here than it has on the mainstream gun buyer. Since police forces nearly universally transitioned to semi-autos revolvers have largely fallen from the market's consciousness. I know when I show someone my GP100 they a fascinated - as much by the fact that it is blued as well as it being a revolver. Where as a kid I imagined a SAA or S&W K frame when I thought 'gun', the most recent generations think of a Glock. A small percentage of the CCW crowd opts for a snubbie Taurus, LCR or Smith, but it's a small market compared to the .380 or small 9mm one.

 

[huntsman]

^ I view the revolver market as two position play, collectible and novelty. May not be what hardcore revolver guys feel but they’re a minority of a minority.

 

[AlexanderA]

I view the revolver market as two position play, collectible and novelty.

That's an interesting point. It implies that revolvers have become a thing of the past in terms of everyday use/carry. Are there any police departments that still issue revolvers for duty?

 

[ATLDave]

^ I view the revolver market as two position play, collectible and novelty.

That would take a pretty broad definition of "novelty" to be correct. You'd have to count most handgun hunting as a novelty, for instance, not to mention various gun games that are heavy on revolvers. And woods carry in brown bear country means revolvers for most.

They're no longer the generic "handgun" that they once were. They are more than mere novelties and collectibles, though. They aren't like broomhandle mausers.

 

[TTv2]

To be fair, though, comparing a trigger that has 30 years of use (and therefore part-on-part polishing) to one that is new isn't exactly a fair comparison. Triggers usually get better with age/use.

Regardless, it's a used gun, doesn't weigh as much as a boat, nice trigger, and it well made. This one has the counterbore so the rim sits flush with the very rear of the cylinder.

I know near ever revolver manufacturer has stopped doing that to cut costs, but that just shows that older revolvers were in fact better made. Unless it's chambered for a cartridge that's relatively new, like .327, or is an LCR style revolver, I see no reason to buy a new Ruger revolver. Not with the QC they have these days.

 

[ATLDave]

Regardless, it's a used gun, doesn't weigh as much as a boat, nice trigger, and it well made. This one has the counterbore so the rim sits flush with the very rear of the cylinder. I know near ever revolver manufacturer has stopped doing that to cut costs, but that just shows that older revolvers were in fact better made. .

In what way is a recessed chamber "better made"? Is there an accuracy advantage conferred? Reliability? Safety? Long-term durability? No, there isn't.

It did require additional manufacturing steps. It was therefore "harder" to make. Does that make it "better"? I suppose that is subjective.

QC issues are something different.