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S&W Revolvers: 1980 to the Present All NON-PINNED Barrels, the L-Frames, and the New Era Revolvers


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Old 01-11-2021, 03:23 PM
Grimjaws Grimjaws is online now
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Default Dumb question time - modern revolver prices

So I was doing my normal maintenance, checking my revolvers and wiping them down. I have a beautiful 4” 19-5 that the previous owner did gold lettering on. It has a deep luster blue and near perfect stocks. I think it is the nicest and cleanest revolver in my meager collection.

Nowadays with many revolvers being put together using MIM parts - what makes some revolvers so much more expensive versus others?

I know some use exotic metals like titanium but why the high cost for things like the 2020 Python or Korth over similarly high quality Smith & Wesson revolvers? Are these handle assembled like in the olds days. Do they use a more expensive type of metal? Are they limited runs so not really mass produced?

I’m curious to what the forum thinks.
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Old 01-11-2021, 03:25 PM
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Charge what folks are "willing" to pay.

Remember buy the gun not the myth!!!!!


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Old 01-11-2021, 03:30 PM
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Quote:
but why the high cost for things like the 2020 Python or Korth
Well, with regard to Python I think the name says it all with regard to what the 'asking' prices are - and I have seen some of the same Pythons in LGSs and gun shows (repeatedly) with the same 'asking price' - and they are getting dusty.....

No experience with Korth as I have only read about them and held one - and couldn't see anything more 'high quality' about it over the several pre lock and the WW2 era 'Victory' S & Ws I own, or have owned.

The following is a good review on the Korth with the part about the 'value' of it pretty subjective and not really based on anything specific such as historical significance or rarity.

I think the author referring to it as a 'handmade German luxury revolver' about sums it up.

Review: Korth Combat 357 revolver - Worth it? - YouTube

Last edited by Mistered; 01-11-2021 at 04:10 PM.
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Old 01-11-2021, 04:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Grimjaws View Post
...[snip]...
Nowadays with many revolvers being put together using MIM parts - what makes some revolvers so much more expensive versus others?
...[snip]...
The short answer is "POPULARITY". I bought my first 686nd back in August 1986, just prior to my NPS-LEO Academy in Santa Rosa, CA. At the time I didn't know much about what to get. My NPS Supervisor strongly was suggesting a 2-1/2in .357 (don't remember exact model). I fell in love with the 686 4in as soon as I saw it.

There was no way that I would later learn that the 686 would end up as one of the favorite S&W revolvers decades later. Guess I got really lucky.
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Old 01-11-2021, 04:50 PM
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The S&Ws can have the best DA of any of the revolvers ever made. This includes Korth, Janz, Manhurin, etc. The Smiths don't come that way, but they have the most potential for improvement.
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Old 01-28-2021, 08:34 PM
Terry Two Shanks Terry Two Shanks is offline
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Quote:
Nowadays with many revolvers being put together using MIM parts - what makes some revolvers so much more expensive versus others?
As far as Korth or Janz it is the quality. A lot of it is the hand fitting of very precise parts by top gunsmiths using the best steel. These are not mass produced guns.
I own both and if you ever see someone talking bad about them it will be by someone who probably has never even seen one except on the net much less owned one and shot it.
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Old 01-28-2021, 09:07 PM
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I have my model 10 I went through the Academy with and carried on the job, wouldn’t give up or trade the 4” square or it’s sister the 2” round butt for anything 30+ years of lead down range and the action and triggers are as smooth as glass. I’ve seen K frames going as high as 800 and 900 used in the Northeast no guns to be had at most shops.
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Old 01-29-2021, 08:25 AM
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Although many small parts can be made via MIM, the frame, yoke, and barrel still must be milled and machined from a block of forged metal. That is an expensive process. I think there is still a degree of hand fitting when it comes to revolvers, even with MIM parts.
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Old 01-29-2021, 09:26 AM
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Prices are relevant to material costs, (union)wages, machinery costs (lot of CNC) being utilized. Advertising and popularity of models. Dollar value, inflation and R&R also come into play. The guns we cherish were made in simpler times by craftsmen who were paid piece work and proud of their finished product. Now, not so much...
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Old 01-29-2021, 09:32 AM
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Oh, and don't forget health care and liability insurance. Insurance costs can really drive up a company's overhead expenses.
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Old 01-29-2021, 09:38 AM
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New guns are priced based on the cost to manufacture + a premium determined by market demand. Used revolvers are based purely on market demand.

No manufacturer is going to sell below cost. Well, not for long at any rate.

Just like cars. High demand for scarce new models causes them to sell at sticker. If you don't want it the next guy on the waiting list will take it.

Low demand for last year's unpopular model causes them to be sold for a song.

The used car market goes purely on demand. The two different sets of buyers (new vs. used, guns or cars) have different motivations.

Econ 101.
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Old 01-29-2021, 09:40 AM
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Another way to understand the high cost of premium guns is to check out the similar rise in prices of cheap junk guns.... Inflation over the years has raised the price of labor and materials (even poor labor and junky materials). Then, there is the cost that the executives incur that has to be covered by the price they charge: private jets, yachts, country club, housing and food..etc.
Then, for the REALLY EXPENSIVE guns, there is also the old Greek philosophers' counsel: "It's all about who's the biggest gorilla in the jungle".

IMHO as always,
J.

Last edited by Johnnu2; 01-29-2021 at 09:42 AM.
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Old 01-29-2021, 11:03 AM
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With the new guns costing as much as the old ones, it makes the old ones seem like a good deal. For $1500 I’d much rather have a nice, 3.5” vintage 27 than a new Python. I don’t even look at the new Smith revolvers, especially those with the two-piece barrels.
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Old 01-30-2021, 10:13 AM
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Revolver prices have been steadily creeping up over the last ten years. What's particularly bizarre to me is how expensive Ruger revolvers have gotten. It used to be the case that your Redhawk/ Super Redhawk models were cheaper alternatives to S&W 629s. Now those Ruger models cost more. Go figure.
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Old 01-30-2021, 10:43 AM
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Contrary to what some 'gun people' like to say, revolvers are not 'simpler' or 'more reliable' or 'have less moving parts' than an autopistol.

They are, compared to even a 1911, quite complex mechanisms, more akin to a time piece inside. This makes them more expensive to 'fit' together, even with MIM stuff. Also: they are mostly steel, compared to the injection molded polymer that make up most autopistol frames.

I have complained elsewhere on these board about the high prices of new revolvers, many of which need to go back to the factory for serious mechanical flaws.
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