The Revolver of the Future

Status
Not open for further replies.
B

Boats

Moderator
In four main facets, the future of the DA revolver has been taking shape.

Weight Reduction. Whether scandium or titanium, and now polymer, weight reduction continues towards a diminishing returns point.

Capacity. Mainly spearheaded by S&W seven and eight shot .357 Mags are available.

Design. S&W has put a rail on a wheelgun to mixed reviews. Ruger has probably just made the first viable use of polymer on a wheelgun to a mixed reception.

Power. The power curve has risen remarkably from the point when the .44 Mag was famously declared ". . .the most powerful handgun in the world. . ." Even on the lower end, the .32 H&R Magnum is in the midst of a rethink as the longer cased and more potent .327 Magnum

Frankly, I have been awaiting the CAD/CAM revolution to hit the basic wheelgun formula. Could there be something just as wild but more practical than the Mateba coming along? Could there be an adequately strong break top revolver on the horizon? Will some cartridge designed from the clean sheet ever displace the evergreen .38Sp/.357 Mag.? What do you see? Do you even want to see it?
 
I would be willing to stand in a long line to get a 5 shot revolver, in either .32 H&R or .327 that is significantly smaller than the S&W J frames. I like small, and I will not carry a pocket sized auto.
 
Oooo... good thread.

Revolver design, until recently, has been pretty well static since the 1940s/1950s. They've gone for lighter weight and different chamberings, but nobody has disturbed the classic revolver silhouette or general design.

Some might say there's no point to messing with a winning formula, but if that were the case, we'd still be using Colt SAA style revolvers.

I wouldn't mind seeing development of cartridges and revolvers that are shorter than current models- the existing .38/.357 and the new .327 chamberings all rely on extending the case length in order to ensure nobody loads higher pressure rounds into older models. The result is a gun that is a bit longer than it otherwise needs to be.

I wouldn't mind seeing them chop back the .357 case a bit (maybe thickening the rim in order to prevent chambering the round in an older revolver) to 2/3 or so its current length. In general, try to make the revolver design itself a bit more compact.

Admittedly, I have a S&W 327TRR8 (the railed revolver) and am liking what I've seen of the Ruger LCR. Maybe I have some strange attraction to the oddballs.

I also kind of wonder if we aren't seeing a general rethinking of the revolver, and in another thread I said it was overdue. If we start seeing more magazine capacity limits, it might behoove manufacturers to start putting some brainpower into the topic- if you can only have ten or less, you may as well reopen the consideration of what kind of ten you can put in a given space.
 
It's a two-edged sword isn't it.:( One the one hand I love revolvers and hate the idea that they might be on their way out. But efforts to update the wheelgun and incorporate new technology makes for an ugly revolver. Yes the new models are amazing and in many ways I guess they're superior to the older models. But they sure don't have the esthetic appeal do they.

Oh well at least there are some serious efforts now being made to save the revolver and move it into the 21st century.

I'll just remain a shellback conservative and hoarde my all steel frame Colts and S&W revolvers from the past fifty - seventy years.

Having said that I have no problems with polymer framed semi-autos. Own a few of those. Guess I'm a hypocrite. :o
 
I wouldn't mind seeing them chop back the .357 case a bit (maybe thickening the rim in order to prevent chambering the round in an older revolver) to 2/3 or so its current length. In general, try to make the revolver design itself a bit more compact.
Click to expand...

That's called a .38S&W

I think light weight revolvers well be a passing fade. When people learn that the revolver and/or shooter doesn't hold up to regular shooting, they well get back to steel frames.
 
I sometimes think it might be possible to make an entirely polymer framed revolver with a steel insert barrel.

The trick starts with the cartridge. It'd be nice for it to have .357 power without the legacy black powder length. A short case would both shorten the cylinder and the frame window. The short case would also be less prone to catastrophic overloading with powder.

A shorter topstrap then might allow the entire frame to be made of steel reinforced polymer. Maybe putting in a tungsten or tungsten alloy cylinder would allow the old safety margin of an all steel framed model and still save weight overall.

Ruger's use of a metal frame with a polymer subframe also introduces the intriguing possibility of using some sort of recoil reducing sprung joint between the metal frame and the polymer subframe, but I can't really envision how it would be done, only that it might allow the recoil to lever the main part of the frame upward slightly to dissipate some of the forces and return it to on target while the trigger is resetting.
 
A truly revolutionary platform would be modular. A series of frames, barrels, cylinders that easily snap or screw in and out. Need the gun for pocket carry for your outfit that day? No problem, just snap in the 2" barrel and 5 shot cylinder. When you get home, snap in the 4" barrel and 8round cylinder for home defense. Want to save $ at the range? Snap on a .22 6" barrel and a .22 cylinder. You get the idea.

We could buy and sell used components to each other, not having to deal with FLL fees for most of the parts.

Otherwise, nothing going on right now is particularly interesting. With enough $ you can get a revolver configured any way you want for the particular application you have in mind. That gun may be completely worthless to someone else who does not have that application.

I understand people who want a light gun, but my carry style is indifferent to weight. So for me, the heavier the better. Also, 7 and 8 round cylinders are nice but not being a LEO, I really don't need the extra capacity so until the timing system proves itself, not interested.
 
What do you see? Do you even want to see it?
Click to expand...
I see the future of the revolver looking something like this...

SWm60-1.jpg


EMFhartfords-1.jpg


SBHBisleyWM-1.jpg


The revolver is perfect the way it is. Fads will come and go but we will always come back to what works and what is right. :)
 
I can't say I am a fan of plastic revolvers, I am not much of a fan of plastic autos and in a revolver I find it quite pointless. Frankly, I think weight reduction has gone beyond practical. To each his own though.

I do think there is a future in new revolvers though. For some reason, antis think that the revolver is less deadly than an auto and seems to be one of the types of weapons they don't include on their list of evil guns. I think for this reason the revolver will be a valuable weapon for the civilian.

I really wish that revolver makers just stick with what I feel is important, reliability, great triggers (sadly lacking in today's revo world), durability, accuracy and great build quality. What I fear we are going to get is the glock of the revolver world = relatively reliable, "combat" accurate, cheap parts and cheaply built sold not so cheap.
 
Fooling around with the tried and true designs of revolvers from S&W or Colt - and doing away with 6 shot cyclinders - and putty really lame internal frame locks on my revolvers - or making them out of anything except steel ... is like telling me:

a. flat chested women are more attractive ... (no they aren't...., I like
women with curves ...)

b. that I have to drink De-Caff .......( ptew, ptew ... )

c. that I can't drive a V-8 ....( let em pry my V-8 from my cold
dead hands )......

It should just not be allowed ......../ some things are just sacred and ought to be left alone ( and I don't care if I'm a dinosaur ...) !
 
Yeah, I'm a big fan of women who look like women, real coffee and pretty much any vehicle that isn't my 1979 Datsun 510 that I had in high school. I can't say I'm a big fan of plastic in guns though.
 
Allegedly, the most advanced machine processes in revolvers today is what STI is doing with their 1873 replica! Also pretty state of the art is Freedom Arm's whole product line, which are the most accurate wheelguns made period.

Advanced manufacturing doesn't necessarily mean a "Star Wars" looking product...
 
The future is here today with the S&W 327 TRR8. What a cool gun! And I'm not just saying that because I own one.

Others remind me on e regular basis. One of the experts at the range just points at it and nods is head. He's speechless.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top