Smith & Wesson, as well as most other gun companies, do send representatives around to various major matches, and of course they talk to a lot of "ordinary folks" at the SHOT Show and NRA Convention each year. They also get feedback from they're distributors. On the other hand they have made some major (and minor) marketing decisions that they probably wouldn't have if they were closer to what they're customers are really interested in.
When the deal to buy Thompson Center went down they had no way of knowing that $4.00+ gasoline and some investment bankers with questionable ethics were going to tank the economy, and fortunately they did spot the trend toward tactical firearms and got going before the president-elect was known to anyone outside of Chicago.
And there is no way that they can build revolvers like they did during the 1950’s and 60’s and sell them for a price most buyers would be willing to pay. The only way you are going to ever get such a gun is on the used market, and the longer you wait the more it’s going to cost you.
While there is apparently a large number of members on this forum (and including me) that detest their internal lock, the fact is that an overwhelming number of buyers don’t care, and it’s unlikely that they’ll change to satisfy a small minority other then to make special (and expensive) short runs of various models without the lock. You may not like it, I don’t particularly like it, but that’s the way it’s going to be. Those who feel otherwise can go to
www.gunbroker.com or the auctions at
www.armsbid.com and get exactly what they want – but it won’t necessarily be cheap.
For the record, Smith & Wesson wasn’t the only one that has been caught off guard by the shift away from traditional firearms to tactical ones. Those companies that make only traditional hunting and target arms are for the most part having serious hurts, and their future at this point doesn’t look too good. This is in no way good news for us, because if the long (and maybe short) run when the industry is in trouble it will affect users sooner or later.
Last but not least I will again point out that a free subscription to
The Shooting Wire (see opening post) will go a long way toward keeping everyone who is interested informed and up-to-date on what is happening.