Originally Posted by SeamasterSig

S&W must be selling plenty of new revolvers or they wouldn't keep making them. I agree with RdrBill above that new, younger and presumably less experienced buyers typically go to their local gunshops to look for a new gun – a gun that they can hold in their hand and visually inspect with a warranty. If you don't really know what you are doing and what to look for, buying a used gun online as-is can be very daunting. And there is also the fact that buying something brand new has its own appeal. If the new guns were made like the old guns, the market for older guns would be far smaller. Was there an active market in the 1980s for revolvers manufactured 20-30 years earlier?

However, even some experienced buyers are purchasing the newer models and many profess not to care about the internal lock. In particular the model 69 has a cult following on this forum. More MIM parts, automation, CNC machining and cheaper-looking finishes may produce functionally reliable guns at a lower cost – and there's nothing wrong with that – but personally I think the older guns have far greater aesthetic appeal and with few exceptions the same functionality (normal wear and tear notwithstanding), which in my opinion outweighs any perceived "imperfections" resulting from forged parts and hands-on craftsmanship.

In most cases, you can see that an older gun received greater personal attention from a gunsmith who took pride in his work. Some people may discount this as mere sentimental value, but I have never been filled with joy holding a new S&W revolver in my hand. No new gun I have ever examined at a local gunshop has given me the sense of pride and satisfaction that, for example, my 66-2 has every time I pick it up. Maybe it's a generational thing. If you grew up in a time when most products were manufactured by skilled craftsmen, you came to expect a certain level of quality even if you took it for granted. People nowadays in their 20s and even 30s don't value that sort of quality because it has generally been a matter of exception for their entire lives.