Revolvers?

[Magyars]

Was in McGalliard Guns in Muncie today and they had a used newer 3" Smith 686 and an older Model 19-4 nickel 4". But it is rare to see 357s revolvers in most of the places I visit. I was actually suprised to see those.

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S&W screwed the pooch when they added the frame safety ( commanly refered to as a hillary hole!), Personally I won't own one.

 

[Colt556]

Was in McGalliard Guns in Muncie today and they had a used newer 3" Smith 686 and an older Model 19-4 nickel 4". But it is rare to see 357s revolvers in most of the places I visit. I was actually suprised to see those.

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Do you remember the prices, approximately, by any chance?

 

[Trapper Jim]

S&W screwed the pooch when they added the frame safety ( commanly refered to as a hillary hole!), Personally I won't own one.

I said the same thing but I have been running a 586 for a year now and while the lock is a visual reminder of itiots that made it a thing, it really does not affect the shootability. Don’t just blame SW, most manufacturers dance with the devil in some way.

 

[Hopper]

I said the same thing but I have been running a 586 for a year now and while the lock is a visual reminder of itiots that made it a thing, it really does not affect the shootability. Don’t just blame SW, most manufacturers dance with the devil in some way.

Indeed. Bill Ruger got on board with 10-round limits before he passed, S&W did the lock, on and on it goes. I guess we all have to pick a hill to die on. I very much agree that it's an unsightly wart on an otherwise beautiful gun, but mine shoot just fine, as do my Rugers. Honestly, S&W revolver barrel canting bothers me a LOT more than the lock. Look this up if you've not heard of it.

But back to the OP's original posting. I've wondered if revolvers are making a comeback as they don't have detachable magazines, and capacities are below potential upcoming magazine limit restrictions. I also suspect manufacturers who have been scrambling to keep up with demand over the past year have been focusing more on semi-autuos than revolvers... faster to produce, better scales of economy and all that.

There's a S&W Model 19 Carry Comp in the classifieds now. The price is more than I'm willing to shill out (though not silly high with the market we're in right now), but that's one I'd love to own.

 

[Trapper Jim]

Assembly always trumps manufacturing for profit margins.

 

[led4thehed2]

As other have said, shops don't tend to stock many revolvers in the first place. When I first started looking for handguns 15 years ago, there were a lot more revolvers for sale. Recently, I tend to see SP101s, GP100s, various S&W .38s and .357s, and maybe on .500 or .44 Magnum. That's about it.

Younger gun buyers (my age - mid 30s) are not terribly interested in revolvers, if my peer group is any indication. Everyone has a polymer striker-fired gun, some have ARs, some a 12 gauge. I'm the only person I know who has revolvers- oh well, their loss!

The 3" barrel is a very cool choice and I wish it was a more commonly sold barrel length. My feeling is there is still a smaller demand for revolvers, but it's still there, and they'll continue to sell.

Good luck with your search!

 

[SnoopLoggyDog]

Very first handgun was a S&W Mdl 13 .357 mag purchased in 1982. It was the same profile as my Fathers police duty revolver. Popular style gun at the time.

Then, the FBI Miami shootout happened in 1986 and the gunfighting limitations of revolvers made the news. At the same time, Glock started making inroads into the police market. Then in the 90's, states started allowing CCW. The public transitioned from revolvers to semi-autos and the market followed.

1986 FBI Miami shootout - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[700 LTR 223]

Do you remember the prices, approximately, by any chance?

Don't recall on the 686 but I'm pretty sure it was the 3" version. Seems like most of the revolvers they have are consignments and are priced at a premium. They are close today and Monday , open Tues. at 9am if I remember right.

 

[Bosshoss]

S&W screwed the pooch when they added the frame safety ( commanly refered to as a hillary hole!), Personally I won't own one.

Cool that leaves more for the rest of us.

Speculation then and now is that S&W probably would NOT have survived if they didn't play ball and implement the lock.
As already stated pretty much all the manufactures have done things that gun owners object to.

 

[DadSmith]

S&W screwed the pooch when they added the frame safety ( commanly refered to as a hillary hole!), Personally I won't own one.

Smith and Wesson Internal Lock: Is it a Deal Breaker?

Revolver owners don't hide their hatred for the Smith and Wesson internal lock but is that one feature enough to make the firearms unusable?

www.luckygunner.com

Found an article on it. Interesting read.

 

[Bosshoss]

Honestly, S&W revolver barrel canting bothers me a LOT more than the lock. Look this up if you've not heard of it.

I hear this all the time and hate to break it to you but this is nothing new. The guns that come through the shop I see just as many canted barrels on older S&W revolvers, and yes the pinned barrel ones also, as I do on the new ones. I quit taking pictures to show the skeptics as I have plenty of them.
That doesn't make it right but it is what it is.
I also have seen Ruger revolvers with canted barrels.

I shoot revolvers in competition and the gun I used for 5 years(quite successfully) and probably 60K rounds and is now my back up gun has a canted barrel. In fact I was showing it to a interested shooter in a Safe area at a match and he pointed out that the barrel was canted.
I had never noticed and didn't care.
I did like the look on his face when I smartassing said "Damn that must be why I shoot like ****"

 

[Hopper]

Cool that leaves more for the rest of us.

Indeed. 3 of the 4 S&W revolvers in my house have the frame lock. Unsightly, yes. Screwed the pooch... nope, it absolutely means more for me!

And yes, I've seen reports of S&W pinned barrels being canted (even seen pics IIRC), and have also seen evidence that Rugers occasionally have this issue as well.

 

[MrSmitty]

There are older S&W's out there, used but serviceable, but prices are out there. In the buy/sell section here there is a model19 for $800, a Model 36 for a real good price.. A LGS (The Gun Shop, Jeffersonville) has several revolvers in stock, but his prices move them fast, Indiucky has a gun shop in Clarksville (Fall City Firearms) he has connections and usually has a few wheel guns in stock, he deals a lot on GB so PM him he might be able help, or point you in the right direction

 

[drillsgt]

Cool that leaves more for the rest of us.

Speculation then and now is that S&W probably would NOT have survived if they didn't play ball and implement the lock.
As already stated pretty much all the manufactures have done things that gun owners object to.

There's no reason they should have kept it all this time.

 

[Colt556]

There's no reason they should have kept it all this time.

I think some states mandate that all new firearms sold have a lock installed so they keep producing them with the lock. There are a couple models I’ve seen that can be had without the lock and some of the custom shop guns don’t have the lock either. None of mine have a lock but if I did find one I wanted I’d simply remove the lock. There are kits available to do this. I know some people are concerned about the legal ramifications of doing that if I ever needed to use it in a defensive situation but .....

 

[drillsgt]

I think some states mandate that all new firearms sold have a lock installed so they keep producing them with the lock. There are a couple models I’ve seen that can be had without the lock and some of the custom shop guns don’t have the lock either. None of mine have a lock but if I did find one I wanted I’d simply remove the lock. There are kits available to do this. I know some people are concerned about the legal ramifications of doing that if I ever needed to use it in a defensive situation but .....

That's just a few communist states that S&W can do without anyway. The lock especially on the K frames ruins the lines, it's not so bad on the L's and N's though but still an abomination.

 

[Indyhd]

OP,
Look in the classifieds right now !!

 

[700 LTR 223]

I hear this all the time and hate to break it to you but this is nothing new. The guns that come through the shop I see just as many canted barrels on older S&W revolvers, and yes the pinned barrel ones also, as I do on the new ones.

You would think that the new ones would have much less incidents of canted barrels considering there are a lot less of them and the modern manufacturing techniques and superior tolerances we hear of all the time.

With that said most of my Smiths are mid 1990s to mid 2000s and I am more than pleased with ALL of them , especially in regards to accuracy. This includes pre-lock , pre MIM 686s/586. MIM 629-5 and 66-5 and a 617-5 with MIM and the "Dreaded Lock."

 

[Route 45]

Lock delete kit for anyone that want's to fill Hillary's hole.

Lock Delete - ORIGINAL PRECISION - Home of J.D.'s Original Works

LOCK DELETE for S&W Revolvers & J FRAME MOON CLIPS and CNC MOON CLIP CONVERSION for sale. Engineered / Manufactured in Arizona U.S.A. by ORIGINAL PRECISION. We Invent our own products. 480-305-3236

www.originalprecision.com

 

[foszoe]

I carry a revolver all the time at home. Loaded with 2 defense rounds, 2 fmj, and a birdshot.

Just feels better.