For those age 60 or under (Gen X or later generations…)

[mrcvs]

Do you have ANY interest in Smith & Wesson revolvers pre WWII (1941 or earlier)? Bonus points if pre-1899.

Let’s see where our hobby is headed. Please answer the attached poll.

Edit: Cannot see creating a poll here as an option, so please answer as one regularly does.

 

[Topduarte]

I am. 56 here. Been collecting 1st gen Colt SAA's for awhile now diving into Smith and Wesson old revolvers.

 

[Tijeras_Slim]

I’m 65, but all the Smiths I collected were when I was in my 40’s and 50’s.

 

[drumminor2nd]

Under 40 -- I would be interested if I could find any at not-obscene prices. My local shops were picked clean of the good items decades ago and I'm pretty much waiting for people to die and have the sense to sell to a gun shop and not give them to a gun buyback.

 

[38 Specialist]

Im in my mid 50. My passion is post WWII revolvers, written the technology peaked. Not into guns made earlier than that.

 

[Rakkasan13F]

I'm 54. Most of my 68 S&W revolvers are from the 50's through 90's. I do have several older than that, though, to include a Victory Model, a couple .38 M&P 1905 4th Changes from the early 20's, and a .32 HE 1903 5th Change from the late teens/early 20's, and a .32-20 HE 1905 4th Change from the 20's. I'm currently eyeing a .38 DA Second Model from the 1880's that the local sheriff's department is auctioning off next month.

I also just got a C&R FFL for the sole purpose of making it easier to pick up older S&W revolvers.

 

[Retired W4]

I'm not qualified to participate. Too old. Oh well.

 

[H Richard]

The dying out of good Gun Shows where collectors and beginning collectors could sell all ranges of older S&W's, has put too great of prices on the few now left in existence. Unless the "older" collector's decide to dispose of their collection (at reasonable prices), the younger people have problems getting into game.

I'm way too old to vote in this, but I did put all of my "older" collection back out in circulation a few years ago. I'm hopeful some fledgling collectors have them now.

Who wouldn't want to have some of these cuties.

 

[JH1951]

If our hobby is in a death spiral, why are prices still skyrocketing?
Is it old geezers like me trying to spend down savings before we drop dead or are some new people getting in to the game?

 

[Erich]

Going to be 59 in a couple weeks. Zero interest in S&W prewar revolvers - and I'm a serious "gun guy" (licensed to carry since the mid-Eighties, managed a gun store between college and law school, have taught gun law classes, etc.). But I'm not a "collector" sort, in any event - I'm a user of tools.

 

[The Gila Bender]

I'm 65 (Model of 1960). 36% of my S&W accumulation is pre-1950, which includes the 1946-1949 transitional period. All but two are N frames. I have five (5) pre-WW1 examples, two of those are from 1881 (NM3 .44 Russian) and 1900 (.38 Safety Hammerless 4th Model).

 

[desi2358]

At 67 my interests in gun collecting have changed several times over the years. As far as S&W products go I collected mainly antiques for a while (both tip ups and top breaks) but recently sold most of them off. Currently most of my S&W collection is hand ejectors from the early 1900's through WWII. The post WWII ones I have were bought mainly as shooters not collectibles. Demand seems to be keeping prices up on most older S&W revolvers (other than the small caliber top breaks) so I would say there is a fair number of collectors with money to spend still looking to expand their collection.

 

[dwh]

I’m 56 and I have 15 S&W’s that are pre ww2, 9 of those are 32-20 target models. Six more that are pre model number revolvers. At this point over 2/3’s of my guns are pre 1955. I’m not much of a plastic gun guy. I have and carry them, but they are like the tires on my truck. Nothing to get excited about.

 

[mrcvs]

Demand seems to be keeping prices up on most older S&W revolvers (other than the small caliber top breaks) so I would say there is a fair number of collectors with money to spend still looking to expand their collection.

This thread was created in response to several of us noting that there has been a noticeable softening in the sales process achieved in the pre WWII segment of the market.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

Under 40 -- I would be interested if I could find any at not-obscene prices. My local shops were picked clean of the good items decades ago and I'm pretty much waiting for people to die and have the sense to sell to a gun shop and not give them to a gun buyback.

I think this is the best answer.

The only time you see a 100 year old revolver pop up at the Gun Shop is when somebody passes away or someone wants to take a Senior Cruise to Alaska instead of letting children and grandchildren get the inheritance.

My LGS got four vintage Colt DA revolvers for sale and I think it was obvious they came from the same family.

 

[Redhawk Hunter]

58 years old, I have several rifles from the late 1800 and a S&W 32-20 hand ejector from the early 1900's.

 

[drumminor2nd]

The only time you see a 100 year old revolver pop up at the Gun Shop is when somebody passes away or someone wants to take a Senior Cruise to Alaska instead of letting children and grandchildren get the inheritance.

My LGS got four vintage Colt DA revolvers for sale and I think it was obvious they came from the same family.

Yeah, I've owned three of one older guy's collection (my in-box K-22 Masterpiece, a 66 and something else I can't remember at the moment). He now owns a 27 I owned.

I really don't like buying older guns online -- feel like I'll just get screwed unless I can handle it first. So it's the slim pickin's at local gun shops and visits to gun shows (with all the people pricing to show and not sell, the name makes more sense now) for this slightly disheartened collector...

 

[Rodan]

This thread was created in response to several of us noting that there has been a noticeable softening in the sales process achieved in the pre WWII segment of the market.

I don't think this is specific to pre-War S&Ws. The gun market has cooled somewhat, especially as reflected by the auction sites like GB.

To answer the question, I'm 58 and while I have several pre-War Smiths, they are not my main interest. I am primarily a shooter, not a collector though. I'm not interested in owning a gun I couldn't shoot because of its collector value. I prefer the post war 'short action' Smiths when it comes to shooting, so that is my primary interest.

In much of the US, finding nice S&W revolvers at a local gun shop has become a thing of the past. It still happens, but it's far more rare. When you think about it, even a 1980s gun is over 40 years old at this point, and the popular market has been completely taken over by plastic guns. Auction sites are where the market has gone, and the nature of those sites has driven prices up to the point where many 'collectible' guns are very expensive for the average shooter. People of my age group are likely the last that had personal experience with revolvers when they were still prime-time, and without that personal connection it's unusual to become an enthusiast.

IMHO, the collector revolver market is looking at a significant cooling in the near future, just as the muscle car/ hot rod market went nuts in the early 2000s, and has since fallen off.

 

[Rakkasan13F]

I think this is the best answer.

The only time you see a 100 year old revolver pop up at the Gun Shop is when somebody passes away or someone wants to take a Senior Cruise to Alaska instead of letting children and grandchildren get the inheritance.

My LGS got four vintage Colt DA revolvers for sale and I think it was obvious they came from the same family.

There is a somewhat local auction house which has firearms auctions every 3-4 months at a nearby shop. We're talking 200+ guns per auction and they're usually one or two guys' collections. Luckily for me, there's almost always a dozen or so S&W revolvers in each auction, so there's usually a number of things I want. Unfortunately, what I can take home with me is never everything I might want. LOL That pesky budget just has to get in the way.

 

[Rakkasan13F]

I don't think this is specific to pre-War S&Ws. The gun market has cooled somewhat, especially as reflected by the auction sites like GB.

To answer the question, I'm 58 and while I have several pre-War Smiths, they are not my main interest. I am primarily a shooter, not a collector though. I'm not interested in owning a gun I couldn't shoot because of its collector value. I prefer the post war 'short action' Smiths when it comes to shooting, so that is my primary interest.

In much of the US, finding nice S&W revolvers at a local gun shop has become a thing of the past. It still happens, but it's far more rare. When you think about it, even a 1980s gun is over 40 years old at this point, and the popular market has been completely taken over by plastic guns. Auction sites are where the market has gone, and the nature of those sites has driven prices up to the point where many 'collectible' guns are very expensive for the average shooter. People of my age group are likely the last that had personal experience with revolvers when they were still prime-time, and without that personal connection it's unusual to become an enthusiast.

IMHO, the collector revolver market is looking at a significant cooling in the near future, just as the muscle car/ hot rod market went nuts in the early 2000s, and has since fallen off.

I live on the TN side of the TN/AL state line, a little closer to Jack Daniel's then Huntsville. There's a pretty good size gun shop in Huntsville, which also has a store just west of HSV, in Madison. The son of the late owner has a store here in TN.

I almost NEVER find any S&W revolvers in the shop here in town. I've found quite a few at the one in HSV, but the pickings can be slim for pre-war S&Ws, especially in decent condition.

The store in Madison, though, never has any pre-war S&W's for sale in the shop. Instead, they put them on GB and won't pull them from the site to sell in store. If I buy something in the Madison store, they only charge $10 to have it run across the state line-a service they provide one day a week. If I have to buy it through GB, I have to pay for it through GB and pay the same shipping cost as if I lived 1,000 miles away. On top of that, they won't transfer to a C&R FFL, so even if I found something in store, I still have to have it sent up at a $10 cost (and then also pay the $10 TN background check fee).

On the subject of a C&R FFL, it seems most commercial FFLs won't transfer to Type 03's. I know that part of the reason is there is no way to easily verify a C&R FFL's status like there is with a commercial FFL using the FFL EZCheck system. It also probably doesn't help that it's technically against the rules for a commercial FFL to use USPS to send a handgun to a C&R.

Then, there's the issue that, as a C&R, I have to get the name and address of anyone from whom I buy a qualifying firearm through a private sale and many gun people aren't too keen on giving that info to someone they don't know-especially if it's going into an A&D book. So, that means C&Rs can lose out on acquiring some guns from private sellers.