The used market for revolvers has definitely been going up in the last few years, same as the cost for new ones.
Contrary to people thinking that revolvers are simple, they are far more complicated to make, test and support than any polymer gun ever will be.
The cost of new revolvers has been climbing for a while now. With a shrinking market the economy of scale that companies like Smith and Ruger used to see just aren't there any more.
And even with modern manufacturing eliminating hand-fitting, all guns are still assembled by hand, and as anyone whose taken a revolver down to the frame can tell you that's a lot of work.
On a new revolver that translates into higher labor costs, which are per-unit, not shared across an entire production run like a CNC machine would be. Each one gets 'x' hours of labor charged to it no matter what, and labor costs always go up.
On the used side, the increased cost and generally reduced quality of new guns, added to things like the Smith lock-hole make people want the older guns more. There's also a nostalgia for a revolver that was around in its heyday, and that shows the craftsmanship that used to go into some of the better ones.
Revolvers have always had a cool factor, even when they were common. With Millenials and newer owners never dealing (or even seeing) revolvers on a regular basis they are seeing them as collectible, connoisseurs guns, kind of like a previous generation thought about WWII Lugers and 1911s.
So yeah, revolver prices are going up across the board.
I bought my first Ruger "Security 6" on here for $250. The last one I bought (years ago) was almost $450. And that's for a revolver almost no one knows about or appreciates. I bought my first Smith (a nice 686) at a gun show for $550, but it would easily fetch $800 or so today.
On the new side you used to be able to get a GP-100 for around $500 almost anywhere. I haven't seen one for much under $700 in years now. And the price of a new 'retro' 586 is pushing $900 on discount sites.
As the market for new revolvers shrinks, and with the limited number of used ones out there to be collected, I wouldn't expect this trend to reverse any time soon.
Contrary to people thinking that revolvers are simple, they are far more complicated to make, test and support than any polymer gun ever will be.
The cost of new revolvers has been climbing for a while now. With a shrinking market the economy of scale that companies like Smith and Ruger used to see just aren't there any more.
And even with modern manufacturing eliminating hand-fitting, all guns are still assembled by hand, and as anyone whose taken a revolver down to the frame can tell you that's a lot of work.
On a new revolver that translates into higher labor costs, which are per-unit, not shared across an entire production run like a CNC machine would be. Each one gets 'x' hours of labor charged to it no matter what, and labor costs always go up.
On the used side, the increased cost and generally reduced quality of new guns, added to things like the Smith lock-hole make people want the older guns more. There's also a nostalgia for a revolver that was around in its heyday, and that shows the craftsmanship that used to go into some of the better ones.
Revolvers have always had a cool factor, even when they were common. With Millenials and newer owners never dealing (or even seeing) revolvers on a regular basis they are seeing them as collectible, connoisseurs guns, kind of like a previous generation thought about WWII Lugers and 1911s.
So yeah, revolver prices are going up across the board.
I bought my first Ruger "Security 6" on here for $250. The last one I bought (years ago) was almost $450. And that's for a revolver almost no one knows about or appreciates. I bought my first Smith (a nice 686) at a gun show for $550, but it would easily fetch $800 or so today.
On the new side you used to be able to get a GP-100 for around $500 almost anywhere. I haven't seen one for much under $700 in years now. And the price of a new 'retro' 586 is pushing $900 on discount sites.
As the market for new revolvers shrinks, and with the limited number of used ones out there to be collected, I wouldn't expect this trend to reverse any time soon.
