So barring any political reasons, how much life does the revolver have left in it?

C

cslinger

New member
Not let me preface by saying I am not an old (relatively speaking) curmudgeon at 42.

I have a great deal of firearms. They are my hobby. My golf if you will. Most of my go to defensive "tools" are semi autos but I love revolvers. Love me some .357/.38. I could go 100% revolver for defensive purposes without a thought. But I know I am a bit of an anachronism in this regard.

How long before ALL revolvers are relegated to SAA status. Still around, at a premium and only bought for the history or sport only?

Just musing as like I said I love a good steel and wood revolver and sometimes feel like a gunny out of time.

Yes I have a Glock or four......so no Glocks are superior blah blah etc. I get it. Not arguing. Just musing.
 
I think we're already at that point now. With the exception of J-frames for concealed use, and some big bore magnums for bear defense, VERY few people or organizations are buying new revolvers for defensive (or offensive) use.

Note that I said new revolvers. Purchasing a new revolver inherently means the buyer has the cash for a Glock or similar semi auto. This excludes budget conscious folks who are living with the compromises of a revolver due to price, etc.

I'm a revolver fan who has almost as many revolvers as autos. I love them, especially old duty revolvers from the 70s-80s-90s. I like stainless S&Ws in .357, .41 mag, and .44 mag.

I actually think that from a technical perspective, the new S&W model 66 revolvers are better than the classic revolvers. The two piece barrel has been shown by Dan Wesson to be a more accurate setup than traditional barrels. It was also redesigned to handle hotter loads, with a beefed up forcing cone. Aside from the dreaded lock. I'm considering buying one to save wear and tear on my classic model 66s.
 
I think for police work, they might be done.

For slow, accurate shooting my revolvers are still my go to guns. If my life depended on hitting a 3" plate at 25 yds, i would have my s&w 19-3 in hand. To kill a deer at 50-75 yds, my Ruger Bisley would be in hand.

Basically, there are a set of skills usually related to hunting, that revolvers do better at in my hands.

I had a S&W 640-1 that i sold to replace with a DW CCO....mistake ....maybe. It was small snd easily belt carried...also pleasant enough for me to shoot 357's out of with good speed and accuracy.
 
Revolvers will always be around because they are so robust and versatile.

The first reason revolvers will not go away is that they can shoot some insanely heavy bullets that most semi auto's other than a Desert Eagle that costs $1500 can't shoot.

Then there's the adaptability of revolvers that don't care what the length of the cartridge is, so long as you have a rim or something that acts like a rim allows the cartridge to headspace and the bullet has roughly the same diameter of the chamber throats and barrel, it's going to be shot. Pistols can't do that.
 
I agree with John C. I own a very fun and high quality GP100, a Colt Python, a Colt Detective Special, and briefly a 642 J-Frame.

With the advent of ultra-concealable 9mms, the last bastion of real relevance for revolvers, the J-Frame, has faded significantly.

They'll always be around for us gun folks but not like they were, ever again.


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It seems that Ruger is firmly behind the Revolver as a modern defensive platform...

At least they certainly appear to have no issues selling every LCR they can produce...
 
When semi auto pistols came out, everyone thought single action revolvers were dead. They still flourish today in the hunting fields, cowboy action shooting, and just plain fun shooting. Hell, I own and shoot 6 of them.

When hi capacity semis came out in the early 80's, everyone said DA revolvers are dead. Revolvers may not see may police holsters any more, but there are millions in peoples' nightstands, pockets, holsters, cars, etc out there. I own maybe 15 semi auto pistols, but I always bring a wheelgun or two to the range when I shoot. I also still trust my S&W 686 .357 as my nightstand gun should someone try to do me harm in my home.

Revolvers are too much fun and still viable tools to ever go away.
 
Hard to say. Certainly revolvers have been in a state of decline for many years. The auto pistol is rightfully seen as the best choice for self defense. I think revolvers will remain popular for sport shooting but will have less and less relevance for defense.
 
Well, when I had a budget that would allow me to buy almost any polymer semi-auto, I went with this for self-defense. Smith & Wesson 627-5 from the Performance Center. Eight rounds of .357, fully cut for moon clips. I would say the wheelgun ain't dead yet!
Here's my first 40 rounds from 15 yards, all double-action.











 
They will always be around I do believe. Yes Semi autos are more prevalent in use by LE etc. but wheelies will never really go away all together. There popularity is less with the "young" crowd but I know as do many others that a wheel gun with a full cylinder is a reliable weapon.

I was fondling a nice Stainless 4in K frame pinned barrel 357 mag yesterday thinking it would make a nice cold weather carry piece.

One of my favorite range shooters is my 6in 357 wheelie great accurate fun shooter especially with 38s in it on the range.


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Certainly revolvers have been in a state of decline for many years
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Your opinion and you are entitled to it. If that were the case why has Ruger and S&W, Kimber come out with all those new models of REVOLVERS????? So I disagree.
The auto pistol is rightfully seen as the best choice for self defense.
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Again your opinion and entitled to it. Again I disagree point being I could get off 5-6 rounds from inside a coat pocket, try that with a seme-auto.
I think revolvers will remain popular for sport shooting but will have less and less relevance for defense
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So you are saying all the folks carrying J frames or K frame revolvers are dinosaurs? In my opinion as long as man roams around and is carrying a firearm for SD the revolver will be relevant.
 
Howdy

This kind of question is a pitch in the dirt and I don't swing at them except to say that I collect revolvers. Not going to disclose how many I own, but it far exceeds the number of semi-autos in my collection.
 
I think revolvers will always be with us just like manual transmissions will always be with us in cars. The prediction of the demise of both is very wrong. There are a certain group of us that wants a mechanical device that we have more control over whether is is better than more automatic devices or not.
 
I think revolvers will always be with us just like manual transmissions will always be with us in cars.
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I hope you're correct about manual transmissions. Every car I have ever owned except one has had a clutch. But it is getting harder and harder to find new cars that come with a stick.
 
I think we're already at that point now. With the exception of J-frames for concealed use, and some big bore magnums for bear defense, VERY few people or organizations are buying new revolvers for defensive (or offensive) use
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I have to disagree. When it comes to sport hunting, one of the the fastest growing platforms next to crossbows, is the magnum revolver. Add to the fact that many shotgun only for deer states are now allowing straightwalled caliber handguns and their carbine counterparts for use, there has been a whole new offensive market created for the revolver platform. One only has to go to any revolver section of this or similar gun forums and read the "look what followed me home" threads to see there are many new revolvers bought every day. The inability to get many of the most popular revolver models from S&W is because they can't make them fast enough. Will that always be the case? Maybe not, but it does mean revolvers are not dead yet and will continue to be around and used for a long time.


How long before ALL revolvers are relegated to SAA status. Still around, at a premium and only bought for the history or sport only?
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Since DA revolvers are more desirable than SA for defensive purposes(against both human and dangerous game threats), I tend to see the SAs popularity more dependent on nostalgia and the interest of SASS type shooting, thus more vulnerable. For SD, hunting and range use, the swing out cylinders of most DAs compared to the loading gates of many SAs make loading, reloading and unloading quicker and easier. At the range I see many young shooters with both SA and DA, new and old. Thus.....I believe the use of the traditional equalizers will continue.
 
The day of the revolver being the dominant issue handgun for duty use in the police and military is past. No arguing with that.

Being that I am neither (and never was police) I don't give a large rodent's posterior about that.

Revolvers will be with us as long as privately owned firearms are going to be with us. There simply are genies that one cannot put back in the bottle.

We can, have, and will be debating the pros and cons in various situations for a long, long time yet. Usually its not a straight "apples to apples" comparison.

as to this,
The first reason revolvers will not go away is that they can shoot some insanely heavy bullets that most semi auto's other than a Desert Eagle that costs $1500 can't shoot.
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You're going to have to do some serious convincing to get me to accept that the FIRST (primary, most important) reason revolvers are not going away is their ability to shoot "insanely heavy bullets".

Just out of curiosity, do you own a Desert Eagle? (or know someone who does?) I do. I've had at least one Desert Eagle since 1984. Trust me on this, you don't want (and shouldn't) shoot anything but jacketed bullets through a Desert Eagle. NO CAST BULLETS! Unless your "insanely heavy bullets" are jacketed, they are automatically ruled out for use in the Desert Eagle.

If they are jacketed, then you have other issues to overcome. Length of the rounds is limited to what works through the magazine, and the Desert Eagle is gas operated, not recoil operated, and it requires "full power" loads to operate. Since insanely heavy jacketed bullets take up significantly more powder space in the case, you might run into a situation where the load simply doesn't reliably work the action. The revolver doesn't care what load is in it, as long as the bullet clears the barrel when fired. The Desert Eagle isn't like that, not even close.

The "insanely heavy bullet" advocates are a MINORITY of handgun owners. A very vocal minority, and currently in popular ascendency (I think mostly due to the internet), but still a minority. I don't believe that the ability to handle insanely heavy bullets is the primary reason most people own and use revolvers.

Revolvers are going to be a commercially viable proposition for generations to come, and even if their popularity for sport, recreation and self defense wanes, they aren't going to completely go away, ever.

You can, if you're interested still get percussion, flintlock, and even wheellock and matchlock handguns. Cartridge revolvers may eventually wind up in the same niche, generations down the road, maybe even centuries, but they aren't going away.
 
The J frame schema for concealed carry pocket guns will be around for a long time. The hunting larger caliber revolver will also survive for a long time.

The SAA will exist for the cowboy action folks and hobbyists.

The guns that might drop are those in the 'duty' category. The SP101s and SW K and L frames. However, this might be a touch tin foil - they are good to have around in case of a political turn that clobbers the higher capacity semi market. That might be a far fetched fear.

Also, for the uninitiated - a SW Model 10 type for the home defense with no real interest in firearms beyond point and shoot at a burglar will continue.
 
How many times has that same question been asked over the years? When the Luger and 1911 came out? S&W started building the 39 and 59’s.
When Glock came out? Or now since EVERYONE now builds Glock look alikes?
To me asking that is like asking “How much longer will the gas combustion motor be in use?” since just about every car company now has an electric car?”
How do you explain the interest in the new Kimber K6s?
How do you explain the price that old N frame S&W’s bring. Or J frame, or L, or K?
And now the Ruger LCR and the S&W bodyguard.
So other than political consequences I don’t see the wheel gun going away. And please god, don’t let it.
 
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