Are wheelguns making a come back?

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kalibear45

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Or have they always been as prominent as the semi-autos?

I'm seeing a lot of great new products from the top revolver makers and have been seeing a lot more wheelguns on sale at local dealers. I think with the introduction of the S&W 500 along with the new cartridge, the "fad" for revolvers has sure gained a bit these days. Besides, this section is hopping! :D
 
They never left.
The people who buy autos exclusively are really missing out.
I have plenty of both, but I have been shooting autos more lately.
I reload, and the summer is a great time to shoot shell-shuckers.
Wintertime is when I shoot wheelguns waaay more than autos, no picking brass up out of the snow.
My revolvers still outumber my autos, so I'm not concerned...
 
Sign me up too for ''never left'' .... i think it is a matter of apparent relative popularities ....... much of that influenced my choice of carry piece but .. having said that we do here have many revo carriers also.

Perhaps - on balnce - semi's just win the day for CCW .... but go to a range and observe and I'll bet there are plenty of revo's to be seen. Guess my collection is approx 50/50 but grew up a revo man first.
 
There are far more of us here who pick revos over an auto when utmost reliability is an issue. Tap, rack, bang vs pull the trigger again. You pick.

It's the rags who always say it was dead. It's the match course designers who turn stages into hosefests who propagate the same.

For Joe Average like myself, there is little out there that cannot be taken on with a good 4 to 6 in K/L 357 revolver. (Here it comes) Besides, hi cap autos are for people who plan on missing alot.
 
Besides, hi cap autos are for people who plan on missing alot.
Click to expand...
Bwhahaha ... bet that hits a few nerves .... wait for the fallout!!
lol.gif
 
I was an auto-maniac. I always laughed at the revolver crowd as being trapped in time. Then I got a Redhawk for the mountains. Then I learned how to shoot the wheel gun. I have to admit that I feel more confident with the revolver. It never fails, fails to feed, and you can always tell when a round is chambered! Not only that, but it is more "pointable" naturally and the sights just fall onto the target. I also get better grouping, even with the .44 mag.

Now I CCW a .357 Tracker. I feel much more condifent not just because it is super reliable, but it is not an anemic auto.
 
Have shot both in seven decades.
Often carried an autoloader for work.
Always carried a revolver.

Autoloaders for offence, wheels for defence.

Sam
 
I prefer semi-auto's for carry, for a number of reasons (ammo capacity, ease of reloading, compactness for concealability, etc.). However, to my astonishment, I've always ended up owning more revolvers than pistols! :D

I've most recently become greatly attached to the utility of the .45 ACP round in revolvers (specifically the S&W 625). I now have three of these beasts, and hugely enjoy them. I'm having one re-chambered to .460 Rowland, and I strongly suspect this might give my .44 Magnums a run for their money.

Long live the cylinder! :D
 
Or have they always been as prominent as the semi-autos?
Click to expand...
Their niche has shifted. The full-size "service revolver" is pretty much a thing of the past, IMO; you seldom see them in police holsters any more, and the major makers are paring their selections. However, on the ends of the spectrum (smallest and largest), revolvers are proliferating. On the small end, the snubby revolvers (mostly in .38 S&W Special and .357 Magnum) are very popular for citizen concealed carry (either as primary or backup weapons) and as police backup weapons. Take a look at, for example, Smith & Wesson's lineup of snubbies. You can get them with steel frames, aluminum frames (with steel or titanium cylinders) or aluminum/scandium frames with titanium cylinders. And all of these are available with exposed, shrouded or concealed hammers. On the large end (primarily used for handgun hunting), revolvers rule. To my knowledge, only one autoloader is commonly available in large caliber powerful cartridges such as the .41 and .44 Magnums: the Desert Eagle. It is considerably bulkier and more expensive than, for example, a Smith & Wesson N-frame, and is only designed to function with full-power jacketed bullets, whereas you can load a revolver to any power level or any type of bullet (within reason) you want. You will not find

any autos in .454 Casull, .480 Ruger or .475 Linebaugh, to say nothing of the .500 S&W.
 
No, they never left, but they certainly did take a beating, especially "service-size" revolvers, in the early 1980s to the mid-1990s through the Wonder9 craze.

It was hard for companies to give away their K-frame and larger sized guns at the height of the craze.

The line that never really faltered were the small-frame guns, the J-frame sizes.

I did an article on the rebirth of the small revolver for American Rifleman in 1994, and much to my surprise found out that it wasn't really that much of a rebirth -- it was just that the makers had finally gotten off their collective keisters and started catering to that side of the market again.

I saw sales figures for a number of the companies that showed that through the worst of the Wonder9 phase the market for the small revolver wasn't hit all that bad.
 
Ditto to what many have posted. I too use to be mostly a semi-auto shooter. Then I saw the error of my ways. Revolvers to me feel better in the hand, point better, have a less offensive recoil given a similar load to a semi-auto (probably due to the rubber grips and rounded ergonomics), are more reliable when limp wristed or using crappy ammo, a little more accurate at long distances, and finally are more aestetically pleasing, IMO. I'm at the point now where I would be perfectly happy if I were to trade off all but one semi-auto and go almost exclusively with revolvers.
 
Agree, wheelies never left, never will...shooters leave/go astray or rediscover.
Mike interesting sales tidbit, had wondered about that.
I think we need another "craze"...get people to leave the oldies alone or clear out some sock drawers...them old timey blue ones show fingerprints you know ;)
 
I'll tell you a little story. When I went for my CCW class, I took a Ruger SP101 over my autos. I took what I'd likely end up carrying and what I knew would be 100% absolutely reliable. I was the only person in a class of about 15 people that had a wheel gun, much less a 5 shot wheel gun. The instructor good naturedly gave me a little grief and said "that gentleman with the 5 shot snubby either knows what he's doing or we'll end up waiting on him to shoot through the strings". We had several strings of a certain number of rounds that had to be shot with a certain degree of accuracy within a certain amount of time. We went into the indoor range in groups of six. When my time came, I point shot as instructed, versus target style aiming and was the first one to finish my strings. How? Three of the five auto shooters in my group jammed up in their first mag and all five were not too familiar with their pistols and had to fumble around with their controls which cost them time. Granted, one of the auto shooters that didn't jam up had a really, really good group, but I watched him and he was shooting target style and not point shooting like you would in a self defense situation. Anyway, when I finished shooting my strings I leaned back out of my lane with a big smile on face and said, "the slow revolver shooter down here is done when you want to come check my target out". It was great fun. I enjoy revolvers and autos but what's most important is that no matter what you like, you should know your tool. :D
 
I shot autos for years, I can't remember why. I gradually sold 'em of or traded 'em for revolvers. Perhaps youth favors high capacity while experience and maturity favor reliability and accuracy along with grace and style. Dennis
 
Come back??? From where?? 90% of my pistolas are wheel guns.. I love them as many others here do.. Don't get me wrong I'll take a good semiauto anytime but, I am primarily a revolver guy!!! My 442 and I go everywhere...
 
I will buy an auto when I find one that:

*Is as reliable as my wheel guns,

*Has a DA/SA trigger pull as nice;

*Is as accurate;

*Fits my hand as well; (with aftermarket grips)

*Doesn't cost an arm and a leg in comparison;

*Doesn't force me to stoop down to pick up brass (okay so maybe that's asking too much:D);

*Inspires as much confidence as my revolvers;

*Has a manual of arms that is as user friendly;

*Is as flat out good looking as my early 60's vintage S&W Model 15-2.

So far I haven't found it yet and am happy with my wheelguns.
 
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