What happened to used S&W revolver prices?

[45shooter]

What is going on with prices of older/used S&W revolvers?

I have been looking to get two used S&W 38 special or 357 mag revolvers with 3" or 4" barrel to give to my brother for use as personal defense weapon for past 2-3 weeks and I can't find anything under $300 I found a 4" model 10 in good condition for $325 and saw one with 3" in same condition for $375 Just a year or two ago I could have gotten a police trade revolver for $200 or less. Has the price risen really that much on these revolvers? Maybe I should have invested in thes revolvers instead of my 401K at work :banghead:

Whats the price for these revolers like in your area?

 

[18DAI]

Pre lock S&W revolvers have been steadily increasing in value. I have noticed that the examples that I come across have been averaging $400 to $450 (model 19/66) where I could get them for $325 to $350 18 months ago.

The other problem is that it is getting harder to locate nice examples, and for some models, locate any at all!

The new production revolvers from S&W are what is driving the increased price of the older, "good stuff".

The "innovations" are widely disliked, the mandatory key lock making them unsuitable for carry, hence the premium on the older "traditional" revolvers. My 0.02 TJ

 

[Starter52]

All S&W revolvers made before the "lock" have increased in price lately. Pre-1982 guns especially so. I've noticed the biggest increases in the N-frame guns and in J-frame .22s.

$325 for a 4" Model 10 seems high. You can find a Model 15 for less than that around here.

 

[gym]

How does that manditory lock thing work, I don't have a lock on my revolvers,they are all older , but why is it mandatory?

 

[M2 Carbine]

I've owned and been a big fan of S&W for 47 years.
Still buy them, the older ones.
I will not buy a new S&W with the PC lock.
I believe there's a lot of shooters out there like me, so the pre-lock guns are getting more expensive all the time.

 

[Bullet Bob]

"What is going on with prices of older/used S&W revolvers?"
________________________

More people have found out how good they really are.

 

[Gator]

OK, let me get this straight: You saw a 3" Model 10 for $375 and you didn't buy it?! Please, please, don't tell me it was a round butt too!

The pre-lock S&Ws are getting snapped up fast, get 'em while you can.

 

[DDG89]

If you think the price of used Smiths has risen have you seen the prices on the new guns? The lock has turned a lot of people off me included. I'll keep my old Smiths....

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

How does that manditory lock thing work, I don't have a lock on my revolvers,they are all older , but why is it mandatory?

Because most or all new-production models are not available without them.

The M&P pistol has the option of a lock or a magazine safety (mine has neither), so why not the revolvers?

 

[WildeKurt]

I have two revolvers with locks. Never used it. I can easily imagine locking one and loosing that stupid little key. If I want to keep them safe I put them in a safe. The safe is easier to open that fumbling with a key in the dark anyway.

 

[45shooter]

Oh yeah, price of used Colt revolvers made those S&W look cheap by comparison.
$450 for a used Dick Special?!?!?!
$700 for a Diamondback in 38 Special?!?!?!

 

[Old Fuff]

It this dang-blasted Internet. I've done everything I could to get people to buy new guns so that the price of older ones wouldn't go up. But in spite of my best efforts people have gotten the idea that older is better. Well that's mostly true, but there is no reason to advertise the fact. Also the police are using plastic pistols these days, so there aren't so many revolvers being traded in. All of this has made the older guns harder to steal.... Ah, I mean buy.

You might find a few fairly priced police trade-in's here, but you'd better hurry. The age of inexpensive .38 revolvers is about over.

www.cdnnsports.com

 

[Feanaro]

People realized that even if you pay the going price of a new S&W, or more, you are still getting a better value.

 

[BP44]

Darn that lock............

 

[def4pos8]

You are experiencing the symptoms of Murphy's Law of Firearms Acquisition: If you're even THINKING of purchasing a particular firearm, you should have purchased the bloody thing twenty years ago!

I've made several sellers very happy during previous two years by paying "high" prices for particular S&W revolvers that interested me. Within six months, my "high" price became a "bargain" value. I blame this on my Mother. She said that my ability to sense the future came from her.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Oh yeah, price of used Colt revolvers made those S&W look cheap by comparison.
$450 for a used Dick Special?!?!?!
$700 for a Diamondback in 38 Special?!?!?!

Where in the USA are you? I'm moving there. Seriously, they're really proud of them out here.

 

[CU74]

Unless someone drops manna from heaven on me in the form of a Colt revolver, I won't be adding any more Colts to my accumulation. They have become way too expensive - try finding a Python in good condition for under $1,000!

Pre-lock Smiths haven't reached the outlandish levels of Colts yet, but they are getting pretty pricey as well. One of the reasons for the Smith price run-up is that most of the law enforcement revolvers have now been replaced with semi-autos - LEO trade-in revolvers have become scarce.

I don't buy lawyer-lock revolvers, and I prefer pinned and recessed when I can find one at a "reasonable" price. I've never paid "Too Much" for a used revolver, but I sure have bought a bunch "Early". I have been fortunate over the years and now have just about all I "need", so the price increases don't really get my knickers in a knot. I do, however, sometimes have a hankering for Just One More................

 

[Blue4]

You ain't seen nothin' yet. Cheers

 

[Hkmp5sd]

1. First thing that started the increase on "used" S&W firearms was S&W caving in the Clinton Administration to avoid being included in lawsuits against gun manfacturers. The firearm community effectively quit buying "new" S&W guns as a protest.

2. The addition of locks.

 

[XavierBreath]

Smith and Wesson has several defining classifications among collectors. Some, such as tip-ups, top-breaks, and hand ejectors are intentional. Others are not so.

Among the hand ejectors, there was first pre vs post war. Then pinned/recessed vs unpinned. Finally, we have no lock and new lock.

With each new inovation that is viewed as a detriment, there is a hoarding of previous guns. The hoarding drives the prices up, and tends to keep it there.

Truth be told, the prices of S&W revolvers have only risen to what they are truely worth. They were always undervalued due to the volume on the market.

 

[Rob96]

I recently purchased a 95%+ S&W M67 for my wife. No box or papers for $449. The thing is like new. Cylinder gap is .005 everything locks up right and timing is on. I couldn't let someone else have it. It was made in 1972. I believe this was around the first year of production where S&W used an adjustable stainless rear sight and integral stainless front sight.

 

[Old Fuff]

While I kid around about it, The Internet has had much too do with it also. X-Breath's observations are right on target, and discussions on forums like this one helped pass the word. A displeasure with the perceived decline of quality isn't limited to Smith & Wesson by any means - look at 1911 platform pistols.

Returning to S&W, an additional factor in some quarters is the lack of quality blued guns. Some folks simply don't like stainless, and the only option is to turn to older ones if blued is what floats your boat.

Smith and Wesson, as well as other makers are caught between a rock and a hard place. Manufacturing economics don't favor revolvers, and there is no way the company could make them "the old way" and sell them at a price point people will pay. I suspect that as more time goes by revolvers will be dropped from the line in favor of polymer pistols which are more profitable.

This of course will drive second-hand revolver prices up even more. :banghead:

 

[ravencon]

It isn't just the lock that causes me to favor older S&Ws over new, it is the smoothness of the action. Try finding a new S&W (Performance Center guns excepted) with a decent trigger.

 

[johnny3]

Look at the price of the "new"S&W's, what happened to the 15 cent loaf of bread, 27 cent gas,dollar per hour labor, on & on.

 

[SAWBONES]

Nobody who knows anything about it wants the guns with the stinkin' locks!

If S&W's current owners had both sense and integrity, they would offer their guns in models with and without the locks, so that purchasers could have a choice. Too bad that they have such a vested interest (Saf-T-Hammer) in lock products. Their market share would probably increase dramatically if they could regain that fraction of the revolver-buying public that won't buy the ugly, dangerous obligatory-lock atrocities.