Why are Revolvers Making a Big Come Back?

Revolvers are making a comeback. Let’s check it out.

 

The revolver, there’s just something about it. Taking it out to the range, especially if you’re just used to shooting semi-automatics. It slows things down a bit. Yeah, it has a lesser round capacity, but man, there is just something about this click or just working the action for double action.

They’re very simple. And that’s one of the reasons why they have had a huge resurgence in sales. In fact, in 2024, it was a 20% increase.

Now, semi-automatics eclipse revolvers in sales, but revolvers have actually taken up to 25% (1:54) of the market. There’s a lot of people that are getting into the gun world that are buying revolvers for self-defense, for hunting, or just plinking. And there’s so many different styles revolvers to choose from.

So we’re going to take a look at a number of reasons why revolvers are really making that strong comeback. And guys, if you don’t have a revolver, there’s just something about taking it out to the range that just broadens your world of firearms. We’re going to bring out a number of different revolver styles and types, calibers, but really what’s driving the market are the small revolvers.

These are very concealable. They’re easy. Typically they’re five shot, maybe six shot and 38 special, nine millimeter, 357 magnum. There’s a number of different calibers, but really this is what represents the market.

 

Taurus is at 42.5% of the revolver sales. Ruger comes in at number two at 23%, and then Smith & Wesson at 20%.

There were 410,000 revolvers sold in 2019. In 2023, 570,000. So it’s a pretty large increase.

In fact, one out of every four gun sales are revolvers. Semi-automatics still take up 75% of the market, but the revolvers are starting to inch in. And all the guns that we’re going to be showing are safety checked.

But one caveat is the Heritage single action 22 revolvers. These are budget priced, really between $100 and $150. And they come in a number of different styles and Taurus owns Heritage. So that’s also included in the numbers. But one of the other things about the Taurus is typically the price. The price is considerably less. These are made in Brazil, and so they’re just coming in at a better price.

 

Next is the Ruger. Ruger’s typically, especially some of their LCRs, which is a very popular polymer frame pistol. These are coming in very reasonably. And then the Smith & Wesson is more toward the higher end. Then we have Kimber, which is coming in at actually some innovation and really, really top-notch quality. And Kimber revolvers are some of the best out there. And of course, Colt has come back. And then you have like Charter Arms and some other brands.

In fact, Rock Island Armory has a line of revolvers. One of those common is your double single action. And that means that when you pull the trigger, the hammer comes in the rear position and it fires.

And then if you want to shoot it, pulling the hammer back, you’re able to do that as well. And so a lot of people, when they want to get a little better accuracy, they pull that hammer back. The fact is, is in a self-defense situation, it’s best just to pull the trigger.

Now these do not require safety because the double action trigger pull is heavy. That is really your safety. Also just open it up, load your five rounds, close it, and then you can fire.

And that’s one of the reasons why that these are so popular, especially with new shooters. When you get into your semi-automatics, you have magazines, you have a slide. A lot of times you have a safety, sometimes not, which can deter people as well.

So this is a very simple system and it’s not ammo finicky. One of the things about a semi-automatic is they can be finicky with certain type ammos. They just function better.

With a revolver, it’s going to be more forgiving. Also, this is .357 and .38. We can shoot both rounds. So you can start out with your .38 specials, which have less recoil, but then if you want more power, you can go to the .357 Magnum.

And so a lot of people like to have that option to be able to shoot both rounds. With the Centennial, it is .38 special, but you can get a model that does .357 Magnum. Now this is a enclosed hammer design.

So the hammer’s inside, you’re only going to be able to get double action. And so this way you just pull the trigger and it’s very simple. The one thing that’s really appealing is that it’s snag free.

You don’t have the hammer hanging out. It’s just really slim and trim. You can slip this in your pocket and it’s really easy to draw.

And that’s one of the big pluses for this design. And it’s become, again, very popular. But then we have the Ruger LCR.

Now they make a aluminum frame and a steel frame, but this has become very popular because the polymer frame underneath makes this a very light option. And so we can load it up and enter your rounds and you’re ready to fire. And again, this is lighter actually than the Model 642, which is an aluminum frame.

This just gets it a very light option. And they do make hammerless or shrouded versions. But here we have the Glock 43X. And once you drop your magazine, you’ve got to rack the slide. You’ve got to enter the magazine and then you fire. There’s no safety here. It’s in the trigger, but a lot of the semi-automatics have that trigger. If the ammunition is marginal, you can have malfunctions. And so that causes some issues. And so a lot of people look at a gun like this and they’re a little bit overwhelmed.

 

One of the things about the revolver is, again, it’s just super simple. Now the first handgun I ever purchased was a Rossi Model 88. All stainless steel. It’s a steel frame. It has the hammer and it is double single action. This was really what I got started on. And I shot a lot of rounds through it. And this was chosen because it was so simple.

And one of the downsides is that we only have five shots. And to reload this, and we’re going to look at different loading possibilities, it’s just slower to load than your semi-automatic. Where you have a magazine, you can put it in very quickly.

But the semi-automatic, again, takes a little more training. It takes a little more time at the range. With a revolver, you just pull the trigger and it fires.

And typically, it’s very reliable. But one of the problems is the sight system, typically on these smaller revolvers, is it has a little notch and then it has your blade. And it’s very marginal in sight pictures.

But now with the semi-automatics, typically, they have more raised sights. And so you’re able to get a better sight picture. And of course, night sights and things like that.

Whereas with a revolver, it just is what it is. You have a trough here and then the front sight. So it just makes this a little bit different, but you can still use this very effectively for self-defense.

Also, the revolver requires little maintenance. You can open it up. You can clean your ejector rod.

You can clean the cylinders and brush those out. And then the barrel and then just keep this area clean. And that’s pretty much it.

 

You don’t have to do a lot of disassembly. In fact, it’s really better not to. Take off the cover plate.

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Now, one of the things about a revolver is they’re a little more difficult to produce. And so it takes a little more hand fitting. And so the prices typically can be a little more than some of your semi-automatics.

But again, Taurus has come in and made a very reasonable option. Now, they do make an executive line that’s more expensive and a little more finely tuned, a little better trigger and a little better finish. But overall, if you’re looking for an inexpensive revolver, Taurus makes a great option.

But the fact is, is revolvers are limited. And with this little J-frame Smith & Wesson, it has five rounds. With the Glock Model 43X, you have 10 rounds.

But you can also get the Shield Arms magazines that hold 15 rounds. And while it is a little smaller, it’s a little thicker. And so there’s definitely some give and take, but that’s with everything.

Now, typically resale value is higher on your revolvers, especially a Smith & Wesson, Colt, Ruger. This is a Model 36. I mean, these have been around for a long time.

And 38 special five shot J-frame. And very similar to the 642. But it does have the hammer.

Here we have the bodyguard, which has a hammer that’s covered, but it’s still exposed to where you can pull the hammer back if you want to. And this has been a very popular option for a number of years. And it keeps that shroud to make this more snag-free.

But these bring a lot higher premiums over time than your semi-automatics or most of your semi-automatics. Unless you get into the 1911s or some of the other type firearms that are very desirable, revolvers really retain their resale value on the used market. One big appeal we’re finding is we’re getting police trade-ins.

A lot of police agencies are finally selling some revolvers and a lot of them are coming from overseas. And so revolvers are coming in at a very reasonable price. There’s a number of companies out there that offer these surplus revolvers at a fraction of the price that it would cost to purchase this brand new.

And mainly that’s because they’re coming in in bulk. Once these dry up, the prices will go up to match those revolvers that are of high value. And this Smith & Wesson Model 64 is a 38 special.

It shoots 38 special plus P. This is the stainless steel version of the Model 10. And the Model 10 has been the best selling revolver ever made. So it’s got that heavy barrel.

It’s a heavy gun. Makes it great for a bedside firearm. But there are .357 Magnums that are this same size.

And a lot of times with those police trade-ins, you can get it in .357. And again, we have ammo versatility. With the .357 Magnum, with that higher power, gives you a lot of self-defense capability. Then we can go with the 38 special, which has less recoil.

It’s easier to shoot. Now you can do a 38 special plus P, which gives you that self-defense a little better. And yet it’s not quite as much recoil as your .357 Magnum.

And then with .44 Magnum, you can also go with .44 special. Very similar to the 38 special, just less recoil. So it gives you a lot of different options and really two calibers for each revolver.

Now women typically gravitate toward your 38 special J-frame or small revolver. And one of the reasons is because it’s very simple. Again, same reasons why the new gun owners are buying these.

One of the problems though is your trigger pull. So with this Model 36, you’re pulling the trigger and it’s heavy. It’s a lot different when you shoot it compared to a semi-automatic firearm.

And so a lot of times, ladies will buy a revolver and they’ll try it and it’s a heavier trigger pull. And sometimes they have a difficulty actually pulling that trigger back. And so if you’re buying this for your significant other or she’s at the gun shop, make sure that you test out that trigger pull that she can pull it.

But I’ve had numerous friends whose wives or girlfriends have wanted a small 38 special and then they’ve taken it back because it’s more difficult to shoot in just double action. Then we have a .22 Magnum. And this is a very light shooting handgun, very low recoil.

It’s .22 Magnum, so it’s a little better than your .22 long rifle, even though this does come in .22 long rifle. And so some have chosen this because it is featherweight and it holds seven rounds and yet the recoil is almost nil. But again, you’ve got to be able to pull that hammer back.

And one of the problems, especially with these with a shrouded hammer, is that it can be difficult to pull that hammer back. Now revolvers have limited round capacity and you’re loading them one by one into the cylinder when you need to reload, which takes time. Now they have speed loaders which make it really easy, so you can just drop it in, you can turn it, and then drop them down.

And so that makes it a lot faster than just loading it by hand. But you do need to get practice with it, especially at the range, changing those reloads out. But they also make speed strips and these are Bianchi speed strips.

And here we have .357 Magnum and this is a six round strip, but we have five rounds. But we can still drop it in, just bring it up. And again, a little bit of practice goes a long way.

And then you’re loading. And so I really like the speed strips. You don’t have to fiddle around with the knob, but this makes it a lot faster than just loading it by hand.

It’s still not as fast as loading a magazine in a semi-automatic, but this definitely gives you some better options. Then we have moon clips and this is probably one of the fastest. This is a nine millimeter LCR by Ruger.

And we can pop it open and we just drop the whole thing in and close it. That is super fast. Typically though, these are not rimmed calibers, so it takes that moon clip to be able to hold the rounds in.

But this is a very fast option and you do have it for nine millimeter. And then we have the model 610 by Smith & Wesson, which shoots 10 millimeter. You can also put 40 caliber in here as well.

And so you just drop in your moon clips and you’re able to just get it in and go. And it makes it really fast. With 40 caliber, you have a lot less recoil.

And so it gives you another option, just like 38 and 357 Magnum. Then we have your more medium frame revolvers like this Smith & Wesson 686. It’s in 357 Magnum and it has a four inch barrel.

You can get it in a number of barrel lengths, but this makes a great bedside gun, just a standard self-defense handgun. It’s weighty, but that actually helps with recoil. And so this is just a larger, very simple option.

Then we have the Kimber K6S and this is their target model. It’s a thinner handgun. It’s a little bit smaller and I love this gun.

It is so well made and it just gives you another option, more of a premium option. And then Henry came out with their revolvers and this is more of your traditional looking revolver. And with that being said, a lot of the companies, including Smith & Wesson, have reintroduced models that they had discontinued in the past.

It gets more toward that vintage look. But with the Henry, I mean, this gets back to very traditional looking handgun. And then we have a complete opposite with the Rhino.

And this is the Chiappa Rhino. The barrel’s actually at the bottom down here. So the recoil is totally different and it’s just a totally different action.

One thing I love about it is the trigger as well. So when I pull the hammer back, it falls down. And so I’ve got it almost like it’s a double action pistol and then I can fire it double action.

But this is a very unique option and really just something that’s taking revolvers to another level. That’s when it comes to revolvers. The big thing is simplicity.

It’s just pull the trigger. Now this is a double single action. This is probably one of the most popular as far as action types.

But this is a four inch barrel. Honestly, the small .38 Specials, Plus P, even .357 little pocket pistols are probably the most popular. But for home defense, this makes a great option.

But the big deal is the simplicity and the versatility. Here we have a .357 Magnum, but we’re going to first shoot .38 Specials, which is a lesser recoiling round. And you can carry that in a .357 revolver.

Now that was double action. If I want to shoot single action just by bringing the hammer back, that allows that to be a little slower, a little more accurate. But in a self-defense situation, you’re going to shoot it double action only.

But the one thing about a revolver, you don’t have to worry about a slide. You don’t have to worry about safeties. You just pick it up, pull the trigger, and it fires.

Now you have less round capacity. We have six rounds here. There are some that have up to eight round capacity, especially when it gets into some of the larger revolvers.

But for a very small revolver, it’s really great to have in your pocket. It’s safe to carry. And again, it’s just going to be reliable.

You don’t have to worry about extra magazines, racking the slide, taking the safety off. And for people that have little experience with firearms, a revolver makes a great choice. But with the versatility, we’re going to shoot .357 Magnum, and that gives you a lot more power.

So you’ve got the .38s, which are actually just basic rounds. And then you can go to that Magnum load. And of course, there’s a lot more that’s much more powerful than this.

It’s almost like having two different calibers in one firearm. So it gives you just a lot of choices. It’s again, very versatile.

So while the revolver has been around for a long time and has served especially police units, even in the military, the semi-automatics have eclipsed it, but we’re seeing a big resurgence. And there’s a lot of good reasons why. Let me get into a very popular option for revolver, and that’s just your single action.

And this is very similar to your old cowboy guns. And a lot of people really like these. Now, this is in .22 long rifle.

It does have a .22 Magnum cylinder, so I can switch those out. It gives me two calibers for one. This is the Ruger Wrangler, and you pull the hammer back with each shot, and then you pull the trigger.

You can’t actuate the hammer with it down. And so this is the traditional style and still a very popular option for taking out and plinking. Now, this came out of the single six, which Ruger has made for a long time, one of their first hand guns.

And I have a couple of those. They’re very fun to shoot, and they have a little heft to them. And then with that .22, it’s almost zero recoil.

But one thing that’s really driven the market is the  Heritage Arms .22s. And these little single action revolvers, again, this is owned by Taurus, and it’s a very popular option, mainly because of the price. It’s very inexpensive, and there’s a bazillion different models like we talked about. And they come in different barrel lengths.

Of course, you can get it with the .22 long rifle or with the .22 Magnum cylinder, and they call that the convertibles. So it makes it really versatile, easy, and very inexpensive. Or you can go with some of the bigger brothers.

And here we have the Ruger Super Blackhawk. It’s in .44 Magnum. It comes in some different barrel lengths.

And then again, there’s a ton of different calibers that Ruger offers for their single action revolvers. They are known to be some of the strongest actions out on the market. But then we have some of the tailor-made, and this is the Smoke Wagon.

It’s in .45 Colt, and it’s really very traditional to your old west. And especially with cowboy action shooting, a lot of people gravitate toward these Italian revolvers. And then we have, of course, this Classic, which these have been around for a long time as well.

This also makes a great hunting option in .44 Magnum, and you can get it again in .357 or a number of different calibers. I also have a .45 Colt in this, which gets it back to that traditional caliber, just like the Taylor. And when TARS released the Judge, this was something that a lot of people just gravitated toward.

It shoots your .410 shotgun shell, but it’ll also shoot .45 Colt. And so this gives you some different options. I think the .410 is really what drove this for the sales.

But this is just a big revolver, five shot. And man, these are fun to shoot as far as for self-defense. This would make a great option for a home defense gun, but it’s not something you’re going to conceal carry, even though they make smaller versions of this.

And then we have the Smith & Wesson Governor, which also takes that .410. It’s a six shot over five shot. And so you can switch this out to .410, .45 Colt, and this will also shoot .45 ACP. And so we could get some moon clips, put these in, and it’ll make it really fast.

And so there’s a couple of options over with the Smith & Wesson than the Judge, but the Judge is less expensive. There’s something about the Governor. Then we have the North American Arms Revolver, and this is in .22 Magnum.

You can get it in .22 Long Rifle as well. You can even get it in .22 Short. These have been around for a long time, stainless steel.

It’s a very small little handgun. This is the Pug, and it even has night sights. And this is what I call my get off me gun.

Up close and personal, really, I use this for a backup. And then we have the standard manufacturing Thunderstruck. Now this is in .22 Magnum as well, but every time you pull the trigger, it fires two rounds.

And so that gives you a lot of capability, and the recoil is very mild. And you also have 10 rounds. So this is actually, even though it looks like it’s more gimmicky, this could be a decent self-defense option, especially for those who are recoil sensitive.

It’s just that it shoots two rounds at a time, so it makes it very effective. And these are also appealing for states that have a lot of restrictions, especially with semi-automatics. And if you’re down to 10 rounds on a semi-automatic, the revolver has much more appeal, plus revolvers are less restricted.

So a lot of people are gravitating in those kind of states for revolvers. And then we have the big bore options. (23:00) Now the Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum, and a lot of single actions have been known to be very strong.

But also we have the Taurus, and this is just a .44 Magnum, but they do make the Raging Bull Series, which gives you a lot of power, different calibers. And then the Ruger Alaskan. Now this comes in .454 Casull, it comes in .460 Ruger.

You can also get the .500 Smith & Wesson, which is right now the most powerful caliber. And they’re Wildcat calibers, but these are very strong action. And with the .454 Casull, I mean, it is putting out some massive power.

And one of the things about the big bore is you’re going to have a lot of recoil. And so that’s one of the things that you’ve got to be able to handle. But these are very effective.

The .454 Casull is great for bear country or for predators, and it gives you a lot of power. But even .44 Magnum is an excellent round for a lot of things and for hunting. But they can also be ported, which tames the recoil, but you’re still getting a lot of great ballistics with the firearm.

It keeps it, the muzzle from flipping up. And really this has just been a great little option as well. In .44 Magnum, this is a fairly soft gun to shoot because of the ports.

And you can get some of these others ported as well. So the revolver is still a great option for self-defense, for concealed carry, or for hunting or personal defense. I mean, it can go in a lot of directions.

It’s simple, easy to use, easy to maintain. And it’s, again, one of the biggest appeals for a revolver. And there are video games like Red Dead Redemption and even some of the Black Ops that do have revolvers.

And so that is also appeal for the upcoming generation. And then we just have new additions and technologies moving forward. A lot of times we’re working with titanium or with aluminum and a lot of advances.

Optics ready, again, very different designs and with unusual calibers. So revolvers are continuing to expand well beyond just your traditional Model 64 from Smith & Wesson that’s been around for a long time.

 

Well, guys, again, the revolver, I mean, it’s making a huge comeback and a lot of reasons why, but the simplicity is one of the things that I really love about a revolver and the safety and the reliability.

It’s not complicated. It’s easy to shoot and still, while semi-automatics are typically my preferred choice for carry, there’s definitely a place for a revolver for my concealed carry and your self-defense. But guys, if you don’t have a revolver, I highly recommend getting a hold of one, at least taking it out to the range and testing it out.

There’s just something about this design that just makes this a pleasure to take out and shoot.

 

Be strong, be of good courage. God bless America. Long live the Republic.

 

-Don