How do you account for the resurgence in popularity of revolvers and lever action rifles?

If there's an increase in interest for lever guns & revolvers, I wound agree with nostalgia being part of it, but more the concern that the left wing antigun nuts may win their battle against all evil black, undetectable plastic, full semi automatic rifles & handguns.

Nostalgia, maybe. They just work for me.
Del J/Bigfoot Jim

Lever guns and revolvers take me back to better days and gives me a connection to my ancestors.
As boomers die off, will the value of these firearms drop?

I like revolvers: I like to hold, clean and occasionally shoot them. But I don't carry them. I own a couple of them - a Ruger SP101 and a S&W Model 38 - that I rely upon for indoor back-up self-defense.

I have several 1911-style pistols: I like to hold, clean and occasionally shoot them. But I rarely carry them.

I have several S&W M&P pistols: I shoot them very frequently, enjoy cleaning them, and generally prefer them as self-defense carry weapons.

The revolvers and 1911s attract all of the attention at the range. The plastic pistols evoke yawns, or nothing at all.

I had a 30-30 lever rifle (gifted by my dad). Shot it once. Never had another occasion to fire it (since it's an outdoor range only gun). So I gave it to my son. I've had 5 AR-style rifles. Gave one to my son and sold the others. I didn't enjoy shooting them at indoor ranges and didn't have a nearby outdoor range.

I've owned one shotgun. A breech-load .22/.410 over/under that was the very first gun I ever shot and was gifted to me by my grandfather. Still have it but won't shoot it. It was made in the 1940s, and I prefer to let it remain in shootable-but-clean condition. It, too, will be gifted to my son.

I don't like to eat wild game, so hunting is NOT a justification for me to own a firearm.

I like to stomp around in the woods/fields - sometimes to read the headstones in 100-year-old graveyards, and other times just for the peace and tranquility such visits grant. That's about the only time I'll carry a revolver. In the woods, anything larger than a chigger is a potential threat that a revolver or 1911 can neutralize (although a shotgun is best for Mr. No-Shoulders). Unfortunately, I don't live near any woods (except in town where firing a gun is REALLY frowned upon).

Different weapons scratch different itches.

I got stated with a lever action .22 and a Dan Wesson .357 and both of my boys started with them. I've introduced them to a lot of people. I own semi automatic's and they have purpose but the hands on loading and removing brass from a revolver is just more satisfying. I can inspect each empty case for pressure from a newly developed load etc. Semi's just sling brass on the ground, just not the same. Many more levers and revolvers than auto loaders today!

Aside from the obvious current political agenda demonizing anything semi automatic…

I believe there is a visceral connection between a revolver/lever gun and the user. The wood, the steel, the lines, the mechanical workings speak to you. Loading each bullet individually makes every shot personal. You have a limited number of shots, they pack a wallop, and you're going to have to possess the skill to make each shot count. Any dime store gang banger can slap a magazine and "spray and pray".

Sort of like the difference between Ansel Adams using large format film and setting up the perfect shot, compared to today's photographers using digital and shooting hundreds of images hoping one will turn out good.

Don't know about the "soul of light weight composites, as I grow a bit older I have come to appreciate them

I no longer own a single semi rifle. All longarms are lever, bolt action, or pump. I can't remember a misfire from any of them- all about reliability. If a revolver is made correctly ( I have seen some with misaligned cylinder/barrel from the factory) there simply not much that can go wrong. very reliable. Yes, a DO have semi pistols as well, and especially love my LPC, but I would take a little NAA .22 revolver over any of my derringers for reliability.

Maybe the wheel gun is utterly reliable. I have a 3" DA 38 revolver that fires everything from shot to +P. Put that in a thumb break leather holster and it's basically a multitool that goes bang. I choose the revolver for personal preference and intended use. A semi- can act up when I least want it.

"How do you account for the resurgence in popularity of revolvers and lever action rifles?"

1. Some people find them fun to shoot.
2. Joe Biden's BATFE is outlawing every semi-automatic firearm.

The lever rifles and revolvers will stay legal the longest. The SA revolvers will stay legal longer than DA revolvers.
Note the firearms manufacturers that are making lever action rifles again (S&W, PSA's manufacturer of Marlin). Others are making tacti-cool versions of lever action rifles. Others are bringing out revolvers and tacti-cool revolvers (Rhino is one example).
Manufacturers see a different wall than consumers do and they understand the writing.

rugerguy said:

mainly we are tired of all the "plastics" and variations of 'plastic', thats out there....

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I think one thing that I have been pondering is the question of who "WE" are as the shooting populace these days, in 2024 America? And I say that, because I realize that when I joined Ruger Forum, it was TWO THOUSAND AND FREAKING TWO!, and I was a different guy, from a different generation and was the majority of the "youngish shooting crowd". That said, I think HERE, I am probably still in the majority, but there is another generation of "gun-heads" coming up, and they came up in different times as far as out look on firearms goes. Some are "us", longing for stuff we've always had a soft spot for, maybe figuring if not now, when? I've past having an S&W "stable"[, even if it was a small one, and Rugers were often ones and twos for me (10/22s, Mini-14s and Blackhawks excepted) Some are new retro gun guys, and what the heck, if that works, that works!

Revolvers are a simple mechanical operation, no safeties, magazines, Point and shoot, the 6 rounds in the revolver will get me to the big boys in the closet

I am 50. My first rifle was a Winchester 94 in 30-30. I wanted that because that's what I saw on westerns."lever action". My first handgun was a Bearcat at 18yo. I have gone in and out of different gun phases over the years. I am convinced that the upsurge is due to the fact that I want to buy them. That is a common thing for me. I want something, everyone else decides it's cool and wants it, prices go through the roof, I still want but can't afford as many.

well said 'OMC' and I agree and the "we" is those of us that still like, prefer, the basic, old stuff, still do and always will,,,, yes been there ,done that started with Colts, then on to S&Ws , hell I even help Rich and Jim write their "Standard Catalog of S&W" apprenticed for a cople of older gunsmiths years ago, early 70s and wish I had a PENNY for every gun I took apart, polished out , prepped and helped redo/restore,,,,,our first shop we refinished guns for the local PD mainly revolvers ,S&W....and as I said never got into any of the "Plastic" stuff, and they ALL took over for the local PDS and their duty revolvers too, you name it Beretta, Sigs, Glocks and all of the clones of today, copies of even those early guns.....oh well life goes on, and yes, I kept ONE Colt,1962 National Match 45 thin slide, sold off all the S&Ws kept a Dan Wesson 6in heavy vent that outshoots ANY of those older revolvers I ever had, both S&W and the Colts, and my one competition High StandardSupermatic Trophy, with two barrels ,shoots ONE hole groups,,,,,,,,,,hhmm cannot beat that, but no more for me........ MY first duty ,carry gun ( 1969) was a S&W Mod 19 4 in 357 , and yes I shot it out back then, had it rebuilt by S&W ( and yes it was "free") and Ron Mahovsky 'metalifed' for me in his SS finish and sold it to my partner at our first gun shop in Cleveland, and for personal defense, EDC, I carried 6 different Beretta 21A in .22LR all I ever needed for over 25 years, and they all could put all 7 shots in the size of a playing card at 50 feet......hhhmm hard to beat that too.....BUT having so much 9mm ammo left over , tried my hat for EDC with a Taurus G2( it was $199), then the newer one, and now still got my Ruger LC9 pro, only because these last three guns were "free", gifts from folks who I helped out over the years, and the LC9 works good is light, small enough to carry on any given day,but nowdays a Rosie O'Donnell to rack the slide with two bad shoulders and a pinched nerve in my left arm, so am sitting on another 'freebie" small framed 357 mag Taurus revolver sits around the house , here and there, sometime opposite of the 20 ga pump Ithaca from 1937??? or some such early run, yes another 'gift' but I made her take $100 for the kids back in 1985.............only reason I keep the "plastic" 9mm is that its a RUGER, but that being said, I tried the LCP when they first came out, but my wifes old Keltec 380 shot better that ANY of the first 5 Rugers we tried in 380, hard time hitting a coffee can at 21 feet "consistantly"....there you have MY side of the "we"...........and NO never got into the world of ARs, owned two in my whole life one Colt SP1 of the original ones and one of the Ruger "Improved" piston SR-556 and had them for less than a week each, nope not for me, was at Camp Perry back in the mid 1970s and I"ll stick by my M-1 carbine and my "$105 " DCM M-1 Garand if I ever need to shoot a LONG way.
Thats it in a nutshell, brought back a few memories, thank you......

Leverguns and revolver have always been in normal use with me. Semi-auto guns just make more dust...and cost more to feed.

Chief 101 said:

Leverguns and revolver have always been in normal use with me. Semi-auto guns just make more dust...and cost more to feed.

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And I hate chasing after the brass in the weeds

The Preacher said:

They're cool. They're simple. And they're very effective in the trained hand. And yes, they do have some advantages over a semi.

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That...and they always work.

41Dude said:

And I hate chasing after the brass in the weeds

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And I hate chasing brass even with no weeds

any ruger said:

Don't have to pick up my cases.

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Exactly, I don't have to mow the grass down short to shoot. I don't have to search for empty cases and then get out the metal detector to find the last 5 or 6.

When I'm done shooting, they are ALL in my pocket, I pick up my gun and walk to the house.

Chuck Connors and Steve McQueen, if you are old enough to remember.