colt python

[wbray1966]

hi everyone, i have a custom shop python 100% n.i.b. its a 6" (ultimate) bright stainless steel. this python also has a colt archive letter with it (so its the real deal).i have only seen one more like this one but was a 4" bright s.s. and it did not have the archive letter,it sold for $3,500.00.im going to try to put some pictures up.im new to this calguns so i will have to try to figure this out. i also was thinking of possibly trading for another pistol.

[wbray1966]

here's the pictures of the custom shop colt python (ultimate bright)stainless steel that i was talking about.i was told by a real well known gun dealer that this python had every option offered in it.

[IH8CALAWS]

That has to be the nicest python I've ever seen.

[wbray1966]

i took those pictures inside the house and at night.probably the best pictures would of been out side.beleive me the gun looks even better in person.

[jazman]

Nice looking Python. No offense, but an '82 sent back to Colt 20 odd years later to be refinished, tuned, and ported may turn off collectors; the ones I know like their collectibles to be stock. JMO, and good luck with the sale.

[wbray1966]

jazman,you may be right on some python collectors.but some collectors especially the serious ones there always looking for a different one that they dont have.it will be a long time before anybody see's one like this.i've seen other blued custom shop python's without a achive letter to prove that colt's custom shop did the work instead of a gunsmith down the road.i know that most collectors would buy this custom shop python with factory letter than one without a letter.

[jazman]

I agree a letter is good to have; anyone can get one like yours for $100, no big deal. The collectors I am familiar with on ColtForum and Gunbroker really like to have original box and the original stocks on guns, if you have those it will make it more valuable. Again, no offense, but anyone can buy a Python and send it to the Custom Shop for these mods for less than the money you are talking about, even spending the extra $100.00 the letter.

[hawk1]

For those that want to buy an archive letter you can do so here at Colt;

http://www.coltsmfg.com/cmci/historical.asp

If you call, they actually have two types one is just a serial number and date of manufacture. The other is more detailed. Both can be had by anyone that supplies a serial number. You don't necessarily have to own the firearm in question. It does not prove ownership of any kind.

[wbray1966]

Originally Posted by IH8CALAWS

That has to be the nicest python I've ever seen.

i want to tell you thanks for the great compliment you gave about my python.kenneth

[g17owner]

Yeah original box, literature, grips and any 'accessories' are what is really going to stand out to a collector. Without those it wont be as attractive to most collectors. With that said i seen that same model python in the same configuration on auction arms in january go for $2000. His had the box and original grips. You have a very nice 357. Probably one of the finest ever made.

[wbray1966]

well jazman, what i have found out is that dealers and collectors most of the time (not all the time) seem to want to find or say something negative about a firearm when you put a price on one.i've been a python collector for almost 10 years(just python's)and i have 17 pythons total there all N.I.B..one thing is for sure that this python or any python will always be going to improve in value every year that go's by.you know the old saying theres a woman out there for everyone,same go's for a firearm.

[battleship]

Would you agree that the standard of craftsmanship falls short on all pythons produced after the 1984 strike, when new people were brought in and most if not all the original colt craftsmen left for greener pastures.

Not knocking anyones python and not thread crapping because there is no set price on this python, but ive been told that the colt custom shop was more of a marketing scheme to get people to come back to buying colts and the pythons after the strike had ended, and that the quality was not as it was in the 60's 70's and early 80's.

Ive seen the blueing finish on late model pythons and it is not to the standard of models made in the 70's or 60's.

[wbray1966]

thanks g17owner, i really agree with you on what your saying.i do have the original oversize checkered grips which are new(they go with gun).also if i open the cylinder on a colt cutom tuned and all my factory tuned and pull hammer back theres a big difference.although pythons come from factory pretty smooth you can still tell the difference in a colt custom tune. you know some people think that the python elites were custom tuned or had other option in them,but thats not true.i talked to joe at the colts custom shop and he told me that theres no difference in a elite or standard python,just that it was ordered from colt custom shop and says elite on barrell.

[wbray1966]

ohhh,i also wanted to tell you that when i was talking to joe from the colt custom shop he had told me that he's been over the custom shop for 20 to 25 years.he also told me he had the very first python elite off of the assembly line.and i also just had to ask him if he wanted to sell it.of course his exact words were (no, i probably should hold on to it).i can just imagine what that gun is worth or going to be worth.he probably gets first choice of any gun being made

[Comstock Lode]

NIB w/papers. As they say, the thing is worth what someone will pay. Never been able to do the just look don't shoot thing, guess I missed out on all that annual appreciation darnit, but they usually start out NIB...

[Army]

Having the factory do any custom or repair work, rarely makes the value fall. Quite often, the value rises depending on the upgrades, or factory engraving.

[1911su16b870]

While I certainly love your Python, IMO the Colt blueing on Pythons is the best!

[savasyn]

Originally Posted by 1911su16b870

While I certainly love your Python, IMO the Colt blueing on Pythons is the best!

I 2nd that, I much prefer blued Pythons to SS ones. That said, yours is an outstanding example!

Why not keep it? The value will continue to rise, and perhaps more so each year if the stupid "safe handgun" list don't get overturned.

[wbray1966]

battleship,i do agree with you that there is a slight difference between the old python and newer python(not much).that also go's for the colt s.a.army.there is one thing that im pretty for sure on is that the python and single action army revolvers have proven that they are highly desireable and have always gone up in value.with that said, i have never seen any buyer of these guns not want to pay what the guns worth.

[wbray1966]

im, going to dig around for some more pythons(if i dont get bit).i will try to put more pitures on.

[wbray1966]

here's those other pictures of some pythons that i went digging for.i almost got bit by one).two are bright stainless and the other is blue.all of them are n.i.b.(matching numbered to gun original box).i hope you like them.i pretty much stopped collecting them because they have went up so high in price.i have 17 n.i.b. pythons in all.i might buy one if it was the right price.but they are real hardddddddddd to find new in box.

[wbray1966]

here are the other three pictures.i hope you like.would only let me put so many on one message

[Toolbox X]

When I see these absolutely stunning firearms that are arguably one of the to most magestic pistols ever to shoot, it always makes me want to cry to think that they spend their entire existence locked up in the dark, never once getting a chance to do what they were designed and so gracefully intended to do.

What a waste.

Can't you collects savings bonds, or stamps or something else that actually likes the dark, and let these snakes go free to people who will love them, shoot them and share them?

[CALI-gula]

Yikes! Sorry, as a high-end Colt and Colt Python collector (I have a few dozen more or less) I must say that the refinishing in Ultra-Bright (polishing it out) and the porting really hurt its value - whether done by Colt or not. Only those that left the factory as Ultra-Bright Stainless are very sought after, as those were few and far between.

The stainless and later models are not sought after as much as others have noted, and for the stainless to fetch attractive pricing, they must be as New-in-Box. Equally said by others, I have found those made from the mid-1980s on, tend to have clunky actions and fit is not as finely done in tolerance (where the work you had done probably corrected all of that). They tend to look more like assembly line revolvers rather than the hand-hones examples of earlier.


.

[CALI-gula]

Originally Posted by Toolbox X

When I see these absolutely stunning firearms that are arguably one of the to most magestic pistols ever to shoot, it always makes me want to cry to think that they spend their entire existence locked up in the dark, never once getting a chance to do what they were designed and so gracefully intended to do.

What a waste.

Can't you collects savings bonds, or stamps or something else that actually likes the dark, and let these snakes go free to people who will love them, shoot them and share them?

Not really a wasted venture. Look at it this way. For those in my collection that look just like that, of which are over a dozen or so, I have an equal number of those that I do shoot. It's balanced.

They are sitting as new, untouched, either for preservation of that which can never be obtained again, or sitting around new for the day to come when I'm old and gray, and wishing I had a brand new Colt Python (again) to shoot, after I've exhausted the life of those that I have used regularly. Hell, pulling them out now gets ooohs and awwws, fifty years from now they might just cause orgasms. They might even be considered museum pieces one day, like you might see with a late 1800's Colt Single Action Army at the Autry Museum of the West.

And yes, they might be sold off one day to people who will love them, shoot them, or given as gifts, heirlooms to kin that will love them, shoot them. It could be that when I am old and gray, people might just pay me dearly for that luxury.

(There are plenty of as New-In-Box Colt Single Action Army examples fetching tens-of-thousands from people who will love them, AND shoot them).

.

[Toolbox X]

Yeah, now that you've ruined the value of this pistola by making it look and function extremely awesome, GO SHOOT IT!!! Have some fun! I'll bet that thing at the range will bring a smile to your face like no pistol locked in a box, sitting in the dark ever will.

[battleship]

Friggin awsome set of snakes you have there, im in love.

[CALI-gula]

Originally Posted by Toolbox X

Yeah, now that you've ruined the value of this pistola by making it look and function extremely awesome, GO SHOOT IT!!! Have some fun! I'll bet that thing at the range will bring a smile to your face like no pistol locked in a box, sitting in the dark ever will.

Yep - I would as well. With this one.

It's two different aspects altogether. I can afford both cases. Just remember, in some cases, the pistol locked in a box, sitting in the dark is done so while its clone is at the range. I get smiles on both ends of the spectrum. And just because it's locked away doesn't mean it will never see the range - just not yet.

.

[Toolbox X]

Originally Posted by CALI-gula

Yep - I would as well. With this one.

It's two different aspects altogether. I can afford both cases. Just remember, in some cases, the pistol locked in a box, sitting in the dark is done so while its clone is at the range. I get smiles on both ends of the spectrum. And just because it's locked away doesn't mean it will never see the range - just not yet.

.

At least you've got a good balance there.

Personally, I take all the money I could spend on guns I wouldn't ever shoot, and spend it on more guns I will shoot.

I stopped collecting when I looked at the huge (expensive) collection of comic books and baseball cards I had, and realized they were just stupid boxes of paper wrapped in little plastic bags, and simply owning them did nothing for me. Now I desire nothing that will just sit in the dark. Life is too short to spend tons of money on things I will never use, where there are so many cool things out there that I don't yet have that I want to use, explore and adventure with.

But to each their own. Some people get their jollies from collecting. I understand. Whatever floats your boat.

[hawk1]

Originally Posted by wbray1966

...there is one thing that im pretty for sure on is that the python and single action army revolvers have proven that they are highly desireable and have always gone up in value.with that said, i have never seen any buyer of these guns not want to pay what the guns worth.

I have a "few" NIB Colts and I can tell you first hand, I never want to pay what the guns worth! That doesn't take away the value of them. As always, buy as low as you can, sell as high as you can...

[wbray1966]

toolbox x,i got to admit since i've owned all my pythons the one that i would like to shoot or wonder how it performs would be that custom shop python.i've had some collectors or gundealers tell me that you cant up grade by having every option in that gun,or it should out perform most pythons.i've alway's wondered????????????but i know myself,that i want do it.i will probably sell it one day and that will be up to the person who buy's it.when you have so many pythons your looking for something different and that one sure is different.

[wbray1966]

also ,i wanted to say that having colts custom shop do the custom options to any firearm should not hurt the gun.its no different than having colts custom shop factory engrave any colt pistol.everone that i have talked to has said as long as theres documentation that colts custom shop did the custom gunsmithing.i'd would rather see documention than just taking somebodys word.i just hope that my son will appriciate those pythons i have.hopefully he want shoot them but then again i will be dead anyway.

[wbray1966]

just think at one time you could walk in a gun store and pythons would be for sale just like in those pictures.aint that something.

[Toolbox X]

You have 17 of them, why not shoot one? It's not like it makes the gun worth that much less. Live a little.

[g17owner]

I have always wanted a 4' blued python. My second choice is the 6 inch version. I had to 'settle' for a 6inch 586 no-dash thats still a damn fine shooter. But one day i'll find my python. Great looking guns. You have a many treasures in your safe.

[Toolbox X]

My sights are set on a 6" Anaconda.

[battleship]

Please we have to see the entire collection of Pythons, those three are a tease.

[Thefeeder]

Originally Posted by Army

Having the factory do any custom or repair work, rarely makes the value fall. Quite often, the value rises depending on the upgrades, or factory engraving.

Yes....upgrades add value. But will never approach a factory issue ....For collectors its factory original or bust..If ordered with the upgrades from the factory....now you have something very unique, collectable and valuable

[MFortie]

I LOVE Pythons! I only have one (blue, 4") currently and want to add to my 'nest'. Of course I like to find deals when I buy...

What would be more valuable, a nice Python or a 70 Series, NMGC? (Not a safe queen though...)