Ruger seems to be doing well with its GP-100 line, but look at what's happening to the cost of commodities. Gold and silver are skyrocketing -- as is the cost of steel. I won't generally spend a hundred dollars or more for a knife, yet knife materials are rising at frightening rates.
With guns, 1911 pistols are already a grand or more and many revolvers are right behind them. S&W is no longer producing its excellent second and third generation of autos, nor could they at today's prices.
As I stated earlier, resale bluebook prices are fiction in most cases. It doesn't make sense that a current production S&W stainless revolver retail for close to a grand or more, but for a mint version of the same revolver to sell for hundreds of dollars less -- especially when they're made of superior materials -- is ridiculous. These things aren't cars (which depreciate the instant they leave the lot).
This all keeps good revolvers from circulating in gunstores, and people who scout out auction sites frequently complain that guns are selling for higher prices than expected.
The bottom line is that things are going to get increasingly worse. Raw materials will have to be cheapened and Jim Kramer says that China is intentionally keeping its currency in tow to virtually capture all manufacuring in the U.S.
It's really scary. Gold is already over a grand (about $1,100 the last I looked). Silver is almost twenty dollars, and as it rises, you'll see industrial products increase as well.
I'm not crazy about Ruger's brand new revolvers. With taxes increasing and raw resources increasing, we're living in a whole new world.
