That's one of the problems with the firearms industry in general. Firearms are very durable, and most people have them and never shoot them. So, for a long time, the marketing people have had to induce desire with ever increasingly strange things, with ever narrower appeal. That or realize that females make up half the adult population and start selling to them. I would be highly surprised if that monstrosity will be purchased by many females, while I know for a fact they are purchasing regular revolvers plenty.

Frankly I would appreciate it if S&W focused more on delivering quality out of the box without a dozen trips back to Massachusetts of classic designs for minimal cost than producing more monstrosities. I think they would make more money this way too.

For example, if they brought back a well made (as good as the P&Red era) Model 27 with 6" barrel for under $700,I would buy it. They've reintroduced a classics n-frame series with the model 22, 25, 27, and 29 over the last few years and they've sold well I think, despite their high price tags.