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

"...not an old (relatively speaking) curmudgeon at 42..." You're not trying hard enough. snicker.
"...the decline of the revolver..." Came from PD's converting to DA large capacity pistols. Not enough TV and movie cops either.
"...They went out of business..." No, they didn't. Taken over by Remington's holding company.
"...single-shot rifles and shotguns..." Yep. Ruger No. 1's and high end skeet/trap guns.
"...meant for self defense..." Only in the U.S. Highly unlikely that most handguns are sold Stateside for that either. Also highly unlikely to be any statistics one way or the other though.
 
Revolvers may never be as popular as they used to be and they'll probably never regain their ground with agencies. As a few others already pointed out, they continue to shine in two areas and I don't see anything that will change that anytime soon.

First is the very concealable and very reliable small-frame revolver. The LCR represents "modern" and "cutting edge" technology on this front. I know it remains a niche cartridge but paired with the "modern" and "cutting edge" technology of the .327 Federal Magnum, that platform has been given a chance to shine like never before. A light pocket revolver with six legitimately powerful but easily controllable shots is fantastic.

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Second is the high-end big-bore revolver. Whether it's emergency bear protection with something like the Ruger Alaskan or hunting with something like the XVR, wheel guns are still top of the heap. They can handle not only more power but more variety of bullet shapes and weights. Semi-auto forays into the big leagues can approximate .44 magnum power levels but can be awkward and sometimes lack the capacity advantages that make semis stand out in more moderate, everyday chamberings.

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The revolver to semi-auto question might be asked again in 100 years.

Other.
I don't understand "how much life does the revolver have left in it?" as to the meaning of the words.

It's difficult to even obtain marketing data/info from my perspective to be able to attempt an analysis.
Someone inside the industry may have access to distributor's numbers sold;

a large retailer's numbers sold;

a manufacturer's numbers, quantities and dollars, sold (if they even make both revolvers and semi-autos);

perhaps amount of ammunition cartridges sold; and if a holster company, how many of each type of holster sold.

Regardless of the numbers, there could be a niche manufacturer which can produce and sell every one of its product, hopefully at a suitable profit. I'm thinking of Uberti, Korth, and Freedom Arms, and others.
 
T. O'Heir:
"...They went out of business..." No, they didn't. Taken over by Remington's holding company.
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Taken over by Marlin and promptly put out of business.
The Handi Rifles and single shot shotguns have been out of production for quite a while now.
 
The ATF publishes an annual report that summarizes firearms manufacturing activity for each year

2011 - 572,000 revolvers manufactured in the US
2013 - 725,000
2015 - 792,000

That's a 38% increase from 2011 to 2015. If anyone thinks that revolvers are on the way out those statistics prove them wrong.

S&W has introduced many new revolvers over the past couple of years - M69, 929, 460 XVR, reintroduced the M66, and I'm sure many others. Ruger of course introduced the LCR not too long ago and is probably one of their most popular guns
 
I don't see the revolver going away, now or in the future.

The little J-frame size revolvers are quite popular with the ever increasing numbers of women who are choosing to arm themselves.

My local club puts on women's firearm and self defense courses and the small revolvers run about 50% as the choice among these ladies.

I wont give up my revolvers. I carried one in my career in LE, and if I was to get back into it, (doubtful at my age) the revolver would be my choice.

As mentioned, the revolver is "re-loader friendly". They aren't as picky as pistols.

After the past shortage of 22s, and the higher prices when they came back to the shelves, if one cast bullets, 38s are much cheaper to shoot. The average price of 22 RF is about $5 a box of 50, where as I can load and shoot 38s for about $2 per 50.

To be honest, you can shoot, lets say, 9mm for the same price as 38s, if one finds the right mold and has a barrel that allows lead bullets.

The different powder I use increased the price to about $4.50 for 357s, but still compares with 22s.

If you live in snake country, and have rattlers in your yard (as I do) revolvers work better with shot then pistols.
 
JSMidd beat me to it! I was going to mention the S&W 627 pictured in his post #10. I am more of an Automatic guy than a revolver guy, but that gun is on my list! You will be challenged to find a more compact pistol that can shoot the equivalent of 8 rounds of .357. About the only auto I am aware of that that is comparable in size and "punch" is the Glock 29SF 10MM - it has a 10 round capacity.

Still, there are some advantages of the 627 revolver over the Glock 10mm. It doesn't fling your brass all over the ground. It's rock solid and never going to jam. And, it's freaking beautiful and much classier than the Glock.
 
Semi-auto forays into the big leagues can approximate .44 magnum power levels but can be awkward and sometimes lack the capacity advantages that make semis stand out in more moderate, everyday chamberings.
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As an owner of several magnum semi auto pistols, I have disagree with part of this. I'll give you the "awkward" part, because awkward is in the eye (and hands) of the individual shooter. Personally, I find the S&W X-frames to me more awkward than any of my semis. And that's without mounting a scope.

"Approximate .44 Magnum power" should be "match or exceed .44 Magnum power". I have semi autos in .44 Magnum (& .357 Magnum). That's not "approximate".

.44AMP (Auto Mag Pistol) exceeds .44Magnum, if loaded all the way up, and with 44mag loads can deliver 100fps more than the revolver round. And the .45WinMag is right up there too. While I don't have one, the .475 Wildey also surpasses the .44 Magnum by a significant amount. Granted these are not common cartridges, but restricting oneself to what is common is a personal decision.

"Capacity advantage"...this is where I have to disagree most. As far as I'm concerned, capacity "advantage" is only an advantage when you are shooting things that might shoot back. I see no advantage to a gun that holds 1, 3, or 8 more than a revolver for HUNTING and recreational shooting.

Every magnum semi auto I know holds at least 6 in the magazine, and most hold 7 or 8. People who claim 7, 8 or 9 rounds of .44magum power (plus, if desired) isn't sufficient capacity simply baffle me. Especially when they also think that the 6 (or sometimes 5) in a revolver is enough.

For me, the main advantage of a semi auto magnum over a revolver is the grip shape (and weight) of the magnum semi turn .44Mag+ recoil into something far less punishing than even the best revolver grips. The downside to this is that the semi grips are huge, too big for smallest hands, and so making the pistol very awkward to handle for some people.

The most awkward feeling gun I've handled recently was at a gun show a couple of weeks ago. Someone had turned a Ruger Redhawk into a snubnose, with a very small rubber grip. Except for the comfort of the rubber, it had the fine balance of a cast iron frypan. In other words, ALL the weight was felt to be well infront of the hand, and the weight was considerable and not comfortable in the slightest.

Revolvers aren't going away any time soon. I've got over a dozen, and mine aren't going anywhere. They may be antique outdated technology to some folks, but you know, you can still get saddles for horses, too, and I think, overall, more people own revolvers than horses...:D
 
Snyper said:
T. O'Heir:
"...They went out of business..." No, they didn't. Taken over by Remington's holding company.
Click to expand...
Taken over by Marlin and promptly put out of business.
The Handi Rifles and single shot shotguns have been out of production for quite a while now.
Click to expand...
T. O'Heir is more correct.

H&R/NEF was owned by Marlin long before Cerberus bought Marlin and rolled them into Remington. H&R, though struggling in the modern world, was still profitable and constantly introducing new chamberings and model variants while owned by Marlin. Many of today's most sought-after H&R single-shot models were produced under Marlin.

H&R continued to produce the single-shots under Remington, but couldn't meet both Remington's desired price point and the desired profit margin, without reducing quality (which was already slipping in the hands of Remington's labor force). So, everything was discontinued.
 
So barring any political reasons, how much life does the revolver have left in it?

I do not see revolvers going anywhere anytime soon. They have a strong following, including myself. Aside from defensive carry and home defense applications there are plenty of us who simply enjoy shooting a fine well made and fitted revolver. Personally I gravitate to the older revolvers like the early S&W and Colt manufactured guns and that includes the S&W N Frame guns as well as the large frame Colt guns.

Ron
 
I refuse to believe that my descendants will eschew my beautiful Ruger Super Blackhawk. If they do, I'll have a codicil in my will that they should undergo a vasectomy ASAP. :p

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Point taken, 44 AMP. There are some extremely powerful semis out there that do get up over the .44 magnum threshold. They just seem a bit more exotic. I know Desert Eagles and other semis have been adapted to fire revolver rounds. I was just thinking about specific semi-auto cartridges. As per capacity, I only bring it up because it's a mainstay of the "revolver vs. semi" argument. I know Glocks and Witnesses are 14+1 in 10mm, and some of the .45-caliber conversions can be done on large double-stack models, but what about those more exotic behemoths?

Yeah, awkwardness is in the hand of the beholder. I know I'm not the only one who likes the feeling of a 8.38" XVR. :D It's obviously a special-purpose arm but so are the big semis. The XVR shoots surprisingly well, not just from the weight but the compensator and those amazingly comfortable grips. (You can actually put those on a 686 and it works wonders for .357 magnum.) Do they have cushioned grips like that for semi-autos?
 
Here's another reason loosely linked to my previous point as to why revolvers will stick around.

If we agree that both political pressure and urbanisation of the population tends to push toward a decrease in firearms ownership then it stands that those that still hold on to shooting in their lives will have a genuine interest in it.

With that will come more than just a cursory knowledge of firearms and their relative virtues. And anyone who knows firearms will know that revolvers have their strengths when compared to semis and as such a market will remain.

As to the size of that market...
 
My first handgun was a S&W 66. I loved it because it was louder than any semi-auto I'd shot or seen. I was young and dumb and now i'm older and harder of hearing. But anyways, after I got rid of my first (Dumb but finances demanded it) I went through a succession of semi-auto's, then a few years later I found an old cut down .32-20 Colt army special. that was it for revolvers for a long time. More semi-autos later I started reloading, then the game changed.

Now I have probably three times as many revolvers as I do semi autos.
Besides my aversion to hunting through the weeds to find my brass, I have a mental block now.
My brain sees semi auto's as obnoxious in the way that the slide bashes back and forth, flinging my precious shiny brass away without a care and rudely shoving another cartridge in....while revolvers are refined, gracefully rotating the cylinder into alignment with precision, parts working in cooperation to perform multiple operations at once along multiple axis. My precious brass stays cradled safely and securely in its chamber until I decide to extract it.

Yes I'm weird.

Technically speaking though, revolvers do have a few advantages in defensive use. Contact shots are possible that would put most tilting barrel semi auto's out of battery hence out of action. Misfires are not a big deal, no tap-rack-bang, just pull the trigger again. Simplicity...no levers or buttons other than a cylinder release, and they have an obvious reloading sequence. You don't have to remember to rack the slide to chamber a round, or disengage a safety, etc...

I also really like that I don't have to round up a bunch of magazines for my revolvers when I go to the range. I dislike having to purchase extra magazines for $$$ if a gun doesn't come with enough of them. A semi-auto with a lost or broken magazine is a very slow loading single shot. I've never had to go hunting for a type or brand of magazine to get a reliable revolver.

Revolvers do and always will have a significant place in the world. Revolvers also do not have nearly a "tactical" vibe as most semi-autos imo, and some people are looking for a shooting experience without that vibe. Sometimes I like going to the range and doing mag dumps, tactical drills, defensive drills, etc..and sometimes I go to do some leisurely long range and slower paced target shooting, usually done with revolvers. Its hard for me to think of any centerfire semi-auto as a "plinking" gun.

I know when I shoot a revolver I feel more like I am using a tool, and when I shoot a semi-auto I feel more like I'm handling a weapon.
 
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So barring any political reasons, how much life does the revolver have left in it?
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More than me that's for sure! :D !

(This is probably my last Christmas so - that ain't saying much.. LOL!)
 
Revolvers will always have a place in my carry rotation and Im sure they're several other people feel that way !!!
 
Revolvers do and always will have a significant place in the world. Revolvers also do not have nearly a "tactical" vibe as most semi-autos imo, and some people are looking for a shooting experience without that vibe. Sometimes I like going to the range and doing mag dumps, tactical drills, defensive drills, etc..and sometimes I go to do some leisurely long range and slower paced target shooting, usually done with revolvers.
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Exactly. Thirty years ago I was all about the tactical. Not so much anymore. Nowadays I like to just go to the range and put holes in the target as close as possible.
 
When I first started shooting handguns, I was a revolver guy - because that's all I knew and what I learned with. In my 20's, I became enamored with semi-auto handguns and lost all interest in revolvers. While I am still mostly interested in Autos, a few years ago, I started to regain an interest in certain revolvers. There's a different kind of beauty and craftsmanship that comes with revolvers.

Tastes change over time; and they change again and again. Who knows, maybe some day I might find it interesting to collect cheap Saturday night specials, like Lorcins and Rohms.....or maybe not.
 
They're not going anywhere, and I tend to think we've more or less stabilized in their use / popularity as compared to semi autos.

I still prefer revolvers for defense and carry, but because of recent problems with my lower back, I've been gravitating towards a lighter polymer auto, in this case a S&W SD9VE. My preference being steel S&W K and L frames.
 
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