It's more like 100% marketing. When they first came out in 44 mag, they were marketed as a way to have a lighter, more compact revolver for outdoor activities. Think 44 magnum Kit Gun. I remember an early add that showed a fly fisherman with a chest holster. I don't think they were ever in that much demand at the start. They were aimed at the guy that lives in the suburbs and dreams of going salmon fishing in Alaska. When the marketing department realized that it was gun people, not outdoor people who were buying them, they started branching out into other configurations. As a gun guy, I love them. As an outdoorsman, it's not the first gun I think of when I go in the woods.