Colt Python? Color me unimpressed

[JTROKS]

I just want one to add to my collection of revos and I don’t have much revos like most 6 gun aficionados. When I was still too young to own firearms I’ve seen gun rags in barber shops or sometimes my uncle would leave them at our place. S&W 686, 586, 66; Ruger GP100, Sec 6, Speed 6; Colt Python, King Cobra; Dan Wesson were the revolvers I’ve dreamed of having one day.

[AFTII]

I learned to shoot on 60s vintage Python and Trooper. One drill my uncle taught me was how to stage through every cylinder without dropping the hammer on any of them. It's pretty easy to do with those old Colts. While I don't own one, I have done it in a gun store with a new Colt Cobra. I can do it on my S&W TRR8 as well, but generally drop the hammer at least once per full rotation with my non-PC Smiths because the trigger pull is not consistent for all cylinders.

That was the charm of the old Colts. It's not that the trigger pulls were lighter. In fact, the DA pull on my uncle's Python is heavier than my 80's vintage Model 29, however, the trigger pull weights are more consistent from cylinder to cylinder. (Edit: The consistency was lost in some of the "newer" Pythons.)

I never really understood the purpose of my uncle's drill while I was learning it (he was a LEO). I just figured it was to learn trigger control or to be able to just show off by cycling through the cylinders REALLY fast without dropping the hammer. It wasn't until I started shooting competitively that I saw the value. Being able to stage the shot allows you to time the trigger's break while moving from target to target - something you really never have to think about with a semi-auto.

[AFTII]

Prices skyrocketed soon after Rick Grimes of The Walking Dead

Early Python prices skyrocketed before the Walking Dead. The early guns were always coveted. As time goes on, the newer, crappier guns, get pulled into the "collectable" category.

[langss]

I have two. An older model 6" Nickle Plated and a 90's 6" Stainless. The older one is a much nicer gun all around, although it had been used,(dropped) it has a much nicer trigger. The newer one was purchased when Colt was having its problems. The first year I owned it, it spent more time in Hartford than I did at P&W school. I kind of understand the mystique behind the demand....back when Dirty Harry came out..... Model 29's were like hens teeth and places like Turners were asking unbelievable prices when they had (1) come in. Would I buy a Python today.....NO.

[Gryff]

Comparing a stock pistol to your "smithed up" SW? Not exactly a fair comparison is it?

+1

The point of the Python was that it didn't need a visit to a gunsmith to be exceptional. It is acknowledged that S&Ws can end up with a better trigger after gunsmith work, but a Python almost always smokes a Smith out of the box from the factory.

[FalconLair]

i've seen your Dan Wesson - sooo jealous

[Franklincollector]

Blasphemy

[enegue]

I have a ‘70s Python. It’s easy for me to see what the hype is all about...the build quality, balance, finish, and action are fantastic. Not everyone is going to appreciate it, but most people do. Enough people to make it a collectible.

[The Gleam]

Well, I got to fire my buddy's 4 inch Python this week. He bought it new in the 90's, and it's still like new.

Well there's you're trouble right there. Maybe stainless on top of it?

I have had a full range of Pythons from all years made, still do, and the pre-1984 guns are an entirely different creature from the guns made in the 1990s. Still nice, but there is definitely a better quality, build, action, tighter fit and better trigger on the earlier guns. A Performance Center Smith will absolutely be better than these guns, and I've got those for comparison too. I've seen 90's Pythons with uneven cranes, gaps and uneven edges on the side plates, hammers that are off center, triggers that are good, but not much better than the feel of a standard trigger on a good Ruger, and more.

Not until the Colt Custom Shop/Elite Pythons did they see that kind of quality they had in 1960's and 1970s.

[stormvet]

I’ve always felt that the Colt revolvers were overrated performance wise. In the early 90’s within a year of each other I bought a Smith 686-4 and a Colt King Cobra, they were both about the same price right around $450 out the door. The Colt was a looker bright stainless those Colt lines. But as far as shooting the Smith was the much better gun, I still own the Smith the Colt is long gone.

[elSquid]

[faterikcartman]

[wpage]

Classic, industrial art...

Samual Colts finest.

[690 Enduro R]

[drdanno84]

My Pet Snakes

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These are great looking guns, the finish and double actions are superb!