And it has sights!
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Ruger LCP MAX
- Thread starter Huey Deer Processing
- Start date
If only they could drop the MSRP on their GP100 by about $100. I still don’t understand how they became so expensive all of the sudden.
All revolvers have jumped up in the past few years, not just Rugers. My gut feel is that it's two factors in combination...
First of all, revolvers are labor-intensive and expensive to make compared to plastic pistols. The market for them has also shrunk dramatically over the last 30 years or so as well, reducing the economies of scale for companies like Smith and Ruger.
They also have to justify the resources revolver production consumes compared to more popular types of guns with much higher sales. If you have only so many square feet of production area, does it make sense to use that on GP-100s or LCP IIs? The LCP will sell a ton more units, so for revolvers to make sense they have to have a much higher profit margin.
Until the Walking Dead came out that wasn't possible. Anyone who wanted a revolver wanted it for a particular purpose. It was a tool and people don't pay a lot of extra money for a tool. Also, one of the last real advantages for the revolver was as a backup gun, but with the micro-380s and then the micro 9mms taking that over, revolvers seemed to have no real purpose and sales flatlined.
This conflict between companies needing to price revolvers higher and the lack of a market for those higher priced guns lead Colt to stop revolver production altogether. You saw Smith and Ruger radically trim their revolver lines and focus engineering and production on new pistols and rifles.
Then the Walking Dead came out in 2010 and suddenly a whole generation that thought of revolvers as Fudd guns saw Rick blowing away zombies with his Python and discovered that revolvers were actually pretty cool.
Since Pythons were out of production their prices skyrocketed. Manufacturers saw their own revolver models (especially the full size ones) sell out and realized that this new revolver market might not be as big as it was 30+ years ago, but it was a lot less price sensitive.
Companies like Smith and Ruger started actually expanding their line ups with new revolver models, since they could now make a good profit on these guns and still sell as many as they used to, or even more. Ruger has come out with all kinds of new GP models, and Smith came up with their whole 'retro' line. Even Colt has now gotten back into the revolver game.
The key is that todays revolvers are toys, not tools. They are discretionary items that aren't nearly as price sensitive as they were as tools, and in some cases the higher price is a selling point. Not many cops could walk around with a Python on their hip, but a tom of Pythons make it to BBQs that way today.
People talk about Gun Culture 2.0 all the time. These are the Millennials that have gotten into gun culture differently than the way past generations did. While we have a ton of veterans out there today from roughly 20 years of war, we also have a lot of people that discovered guns through video games, TV and movies, and other 'non-traditional' ways.
These folks are rediscovering the 'art' that went into the revolver, and are willing and able to pay for good examples. Colt's re-introduction of the Python at $1600 is a good example. They couldn't keep them on the shelves for months, even with some very prominent bad publicity right out of the gate.
All the major companies that make revolvers today have lots of $1000+ models available. The saying 'a rising tide floats all boats' applies here. If a Performance Center Smith or tuned-up Ruger goes for well over a grand, it's not a stretch for the 'regular' revolvers to be in the $800 range.
The people who are coming to appreciate revolvers don't mind paying that, and the companies sure don't mind the profit margins they are getting, so I'm thinking this will be the new normal unless revolvers suddenly fall out of favor again.
You make some very good points, I got my first Gp100 back in 2016 and it was from Barrows of course lol it was a 6 inch stainless and I’m pretty sure I paid $700 out the door. That was my first introduction into revolvers it was my very first handgun actually. I’ve had several since but haven’t looked for another until recently and I was blown away by the price jump. They’re well worth the money though and I don’t mind paying a few bucks more for a better product.
I picked up my first GP 100 for around $450 off ODT, and for years they were in the $600 range new. These days $800 new seems pretty standard though for any 'general purpose', traditional revolver from Smith or Ruger.
You can’t hardly find an old security six for $600 now a days lol
GA Arms had it in stock........ still higher priced than normal but not a $1 per rd........ like some of the “deals” on here
I have both big and expensive revolvers that are nice to show off and fun to take to the range,
and small frame revolvers that I view as tools for self-defense.
But I agree that manufacturers know that the American public isn't interested in revolvers as a utilitarian tool anymore -- unless there's steered in that direction by listening to the advice of friends (many of whom would fit into the category of "Fudds") and gun store clerks who are taught that newbies who come in asking for something simple and inexpensive should be steered toward a snubby 38 revolver.
The short barrel small frame defensive revolver is pretty much dead in today's market and one of the reasons is stupid gun manufacturers will not put decent sights -- quick combat sights-- optimized for 7 - 10 yards-- on their lower cost utilitarian defensive revolvers.
But the company's semi automatic pistols , even the small ones, generally do have excellent combat sights!
Then there's the issue of the trigger pull-- but I can't really blame the manufacturers for that, because I know it is difficult and expensive to have a revolver's action with a light and smooth DA trigger that still reliably fires each primer with a good hard hit.
Inferior triggers. Inferior sights. Half to one-third the ammo capacity...
revolvers ARE at a huge disadvantage to semi-autos, at least at the low to medium price ranges for utility firearms.
Literally the only real use I have for a .357 is a hunting handgun but you’re right even in that aspect they’re quickly becoming more of a personal preference instead of a gold standard as .45 acp is fine for killing a deer as long you have a good bullet and hit it behind the shoulder, and we all know that 10 mil outperforms .357 in just about all aspects.
