Are new "old-model" S&W revolvers selling in your area?

Z

Zander

Moderator
Have any of you noticed the well-observed phenomenon in my area of new S&W handguns languishing on the shelves?

Especially vulnerable seem to be the not-quite-the-same clones of "classsic" models. They don't seem to be moving fast enough to suit the dealers...and wholesalers seem to be abandoning them in short order.

Is this a nationwide trend?
 
The Heritage models are a hard sell because of their price.

They sell, just not quickly.

I know of a couple dealers in the Northwest who sell them as fast as they get them, and a couple others who have had the same ones in their case for a couple months.

The other new models are moving well at the dealers I frequent, and the lightweight models seem to move the fastest.

One dealer gets true old models quite often, and they barely hit the case before they are gone.

Another shop won't even take old models in trade because he says "Nobody wants revolvers anymore."

Another shop owner thinks any old Smith is extra valuable, and his prices are ridiculously high on them. He has a 38/44 in well worn condition for $800 with a sticker on it that says "RARE".

The Heritage guns are a niche all their own. They aren't really reproductions. They are made "in the spirit" of the originals. I have a friend with a Heritage 44 Special that is every bit as fine a gun as the original, and it is as accurate a handgun as you'll find.

Down the road a few years, the Heritage models could be quite collectable, especially if they cut back production or stop all together.
 
I've noticed that certain models definitely command a premium if the firing pin's in the right place and that on other models it doesn't seem to make a difference.

J-frames sell well no matter their vintage, and new-style ones seem to sell just as well as older ones.

3" and 4" N-frames really seem to carry a premium if they have the older-style lockwork around here. $500 seems to be the standard asking price for these guns lately. Which brings me to the topic of a separate thread... ;)
 
In my area,the older Smiths sell quickly,mainly because I buy them.The only new ones that seem to sell quickly are the lightweight snubs.The K and L frame guns sit for months.Everyone seems to want the plastic bottomfeeders.Maybe because that's what the police carry around here.
 
Two tone S&W

Latest find.Blued 17-7 with a stainless steel cylinder.200 assembled like this in 1994.Anyone know why?
 
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As mentioned on a different thread, the new Smith&Wesson products are not moving. Used hammer mounted firing pin models sell quickly.
 
Both new production and used, older production S&Ws sell VERY good in this area. Folks know who makes a quality product.

For the "cheapies", Taurus sells ok, but the dealers have to send a lot of them back after first attemped firing session.
 
Bear in mind that with their restrictive laws, some of the more populous states effecively ban sales of many new handguns. In the Occupied Territory alone some 30,000,000 potential buyers are shut out. Don't know how to explain slow sales in other areas except to say that there is still some resentment against S&W among consumers of handguns, the economy is a bit shaky, and as noted revolvers do not sell as well.

On the dual-tone M17, are you sure it's a stainless cylinder? S&W has made what are called "Pinto Guns" with blue/nickel combinations of parts.
 
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The dealer I go to can't keep S&W Revolvers in stock, for the same reason that S&W44 gives. I buy them, the minute I become aware that he has them.
There is another dealer in town that has a few that have been sitting there for six months or a year. Paying $500 for a used gun that I can buy new from another dealer for $475 takes the incentive out of the purchase.
 
In my area Ruger and Taurus are not in competition with new S/W's at all. The price difference is just so great it's not even the same market. Virtually nobody will buy any revolver even close to $500 so dealers rarely even bother to order a new S/W at all. You can imagine how long a heretage or PC model would set on the shelf.

When you visit my local shops you quickly realize S/W's only in competition with it's own older guns and it's older guns are cheaper, not hard to figure out the end result. Used S/Ws tend to be snapped up pretty quick even at inflated prices. New S/W revolvers are genereally not stocked at all.
 
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In Southern California most of emphasis is on autos. The stores have a few revolvers and these are usually Taurus and a few Rugers and Smiths. Oddly enough there usually is not only the small and medium frames but occasionally a .44 Mag or .45 Colt (Ruger) double action. The other day did see a 627 PC model sitting in the case of one of the gun store chains here (Turner's).
At $880 it will probably languish for quite a while. Most of the stores with large selections have closed up around here (B&B, B&E, etc.).

Mag
 
Where I am (Notheren California) older S7W N frames (all calibers) and J frames sell rapidly. The J frames are very popular as backup gins even with people who carry automatics as their main piece.
 
I guess it must be contagious - - -

- - -But I'm really getting a case of "the wants" for old S&Ws.

For a while there, I thought my old M-37 and a 1940s vintage Military & Police were about enough S&W sixguns. And I'd rather not have gotten the bequest 1917. Then along came the Mountain Gun in .45 Colt and I was overwhelmed! Ordered mine without even checking the price. Great piece, and I've never looked back.

Then came an orphan M19, shivering in the cold. And an unfired M12 . . . .

Now I'm pining away for the old 1926 Military .44 Special, from 30 years ago. Gotta get me another--Blue, four-inch, if any of you know of one that needs a home.

Third Model Hand Ejector in .45 Colt OR .455?

The Model 57 holds no particular charm for me, but, sure would like to own a Model 58 .41. Blue, preferably.

I don't know WHAT I'll do if all of the above show up at once. Borrow money, probably.

Only old N-frame I've seen in a local shop lately has been a doggy, poorly reblued .38/44, for entirely too high a price.

Best,
Johnny Guest
 
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