Petrol & Powder
Well-Known Member
From a sales viewpoint the S&W Night Guard series failed. There are NO mysteries concerning its commercial failure. High price, relatively large size, low capacity, ....did I mention the price? It was a product geared towards a very small market segment.
After the alloy framed S&W model 12 was discontinued in the mid 1980's, S&W no longer had a lightweight K-frame. Sure, you could get all sorts of lightweight J-frames and they thrived. But people were practically giving away medium framed DA revolvers by the late 1980's.
Around 2008(?) S&W revived the concept of the lightweight K-frame with the Nightguard series. There were also several lightweight L frame & N-frame models in the line up.
OK, it wasn't one of their great marketing successes but hey; it was sort of interesting.
The concept wasn't horrible. A lightweight scandium/aluminum K-frame (or L or N-frame) sized DA revolver with: excellent night sights, a stainless barrel in an alloy shroud, a high tech PVD dark finish, compact grips and a proven action. In reality, S&W grossly overestimated the demand for a DA revolver with those features at such a high price point.
You could get a Glock G19 for less than half of what a S&W 315 NG listed for and the Glock was roughly the same size, held more than twice as many rounds and weighed only slightly more when empty. So sales of the Night Guard series were never great. It wasn't the first time a mistake was made in a corporate boardroom. Ford really thought the Edsel would be a great car !
Personally I think if S&W had stayed with the 38 Special and 357 Mag K-frame models only and offered a DAO model in those calibers, they would have faired a bit better. The price was still a huge factor but I think they spread themselves a bit thin with the L and N-frame models. Yes, there was a market for these high-tech, lightweight DA revolvers but it wasn't a huge market.
One interesting aspect of the old Night Guard series is that used models almost never appear on the market. Did people buy those things and just squirrel them away? Or did S&W actually fill the market niche?
After the alloy framed S&W model 12 was discontinued in the mid 1980's, S&W no longer had a lightweight K-frame. Sure, you could get all sorts of lightweight J-frames and they thrived. But people were practically giving away medium framed DA revolvers by the late 1980's.
Around 2008(?) S&W revived the concept of the lightweight K-frame with the Nightguard series. There were also several lightweight L frame & N-frame models in the line up.
OK, it wasn't one of their great marketing successes but hey; it was sort of interesting.
The concept wasn't horrible. A lightweight scandium/aluminum K-frame (or L or N-frame) sized DA revolver with: excellent night sights, a stainless barrel in an alloy shroud, a high tech PVD dark finish, compact grips and a proven action. In reality, S&W grossly overestimated the demand for a DA revolver with those features at such a high price point.
You could get a Glock G19 for less than half of what a S&W 315 NG listed for and the Glock was roughly the same size, held more than twice as many rounds and weighed only slightly more when empty. So sales of the Night Guard series were never great. It wasn't the first time a mistake was made in a corporate boardroom. Ford really thought the Edsel would be a great car !
Personally I think if S&W had stayed with the 38 Special and 357 Mag K-frame models only and offered a DAO model in those calibers, they would have faired a bit better. The price was still a huge factor but I think they spread themselves a bit thin with the L and N-frame models. Yes, there was a market for these high-tech, lightweight DA revolvers but it wasn't a huge market.
One interesting aspect of the old Night Guard series is that used models almost never appear on the market. Did people buy those things and just squirrel them away? Or did S&W actually fill the market niche?
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