Seven Revolvers Line45 Says Are Smarter Buys Used Than New

Line45 compares new and used prices for seven popular revolvers and argues that, for each one, the used market has settled far enough below new pricing that buyers should let someone else absorb the first round of depreciation.

Snapshot

Line45 compares average new and used prices for revolvers from Charter Arms, Smith & Wesson, Kimber, Colt, Ruger and Taurus, finding gaps as wide as about 39 percent on the Charter Arms Undercover. The channel stresses these are not bad guns, arguing that a revolver's value rests on its mechanical condition rather than its ownership history, so a buyer able to inspect it can skip the cost of buying new.

Key points

• Steepest drops: The Charter Arms Undercover averages about $342 new against roughly $209 used, a drop of about 39 percent. The Smith & Wesson 442 averages about $548 new and $356 used, roughly 35 percent less.
• Kimber K6S: The channel calls it a revolver worth real money, a six-shot stainless gun in a frame close to five-shot snub size, yet it averages about $1,054 new and $735 used, around a 30 percent gap.
• Colt Cobra and Ruger SP101: The Cobra runs $889 to $917 new versus about $604 to $708 used. The SP101 averages about $721 new and $505 used.
• Smith & Wesson 642 and Taurus 605: The 642 averages around $495 new and $360 used. The Taurus 605 sits near $365 new and $280 used, with recent used sales as low as $199.99.

Quick take

Line45 stresses that none of these are bad guns. The channel's argument is that a revolver's worth rests on its mechanical condition, including timing, lockup, the ejector rod and the forcing cone, not on who owned it first, so a buyer who can inspect those points has little reason to pay the new-in-box premium.

Watch the full video: Line45