Acquired Colt Python. Questions on piece.

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kruuth

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Hi everyone. I don't normally post this type of thing, but I was recently offered a colt python by a neighbor who's retiring to a country that doesn't allow gun ownership. He knews that I was an enthusiast and offered me his revolver for a song(half of what I could find anywhere).

It looks like everything is in order, it indexes correctly, and there's a small scratch near the cylinder release. The grips have some wear and I would like to replace them or repair them but I have no idea if these are original or not. I checked the serial stamping and this particular item was made in 1961. Is it worth trying to track down any sort of original parts like grips, box, manuals, etc?
 
depends on what you plan to do with the gun. Grips in good to excellent condition will sett you back $300 +. As far as the box goes you would need the box with the info sticker or printed info to match the gun. Snowballs chance in hell finding that. Manual can be found online. Personally grips are all I would possibly consider. The rest is gone and will not add value to the gun NOT BEING ORIGINAL TO THE GUN
 
I am not a collector, so take my opinion with a grain of corrosive primer fouling.

Agree with Don, a generic box will not add much to resale value.
(Is this to be a shooter or Ballistic Bric-a-Brac?)

A good set of 1961 style grips will be very expensive and will not enhance the value as much as they cost. There is a guy on the S&W board who does grip restoration, I guess he would work on Colt parts. Thing is, his grips can look better than new, which might look odd on a gun with some use.
 
Ok that makes sense. It's a used python. There's some wear. From the look of things, he shot it, but it's nowhere near shot out(can you even do that?) I just couldn't pass it up for the price. I'm not a revolver person really. What about those quick loader things? Should I get one of those?
 
If you're talking about speedloaders, those are only useful for either carry or competition.
If you plan to do neither, there's no point in acquiring them.
Denis
 
I had a Colt Detective Special for more than ten years. I bought two speedloaders for it as soon as I bought the gun Never used them ... not even once.
 
If all you're going to do is plink at the range occasionally, reloading speed has no relevance, and why "reload" twice?
You'd be slowly loading the loader, then quickly inserting the rounds into the gun to load it.

Why bother?
Just load the gun directly & eliminate the time spent loading the loader.
Denis
 
I understand. That makes sense.

What about the grips? I noticed that the grips for these are all over the place price wise. Are there recommendations where to buy them?
 
I have no recommendations.
You can find good reproductions easier & cheaper, I think, than a good set of period-correct wood.

Ebay comes to mind, Google, etc.
Possibly somebody here would have a source for one or the other.
Might consider grip restoration on what you have.
Denis
 
If what you have is original wood, I'd suggest your best bet would be restoration.
You keep original, you get "new" looking.
And it SHOULD be much cheaper.

Good luck.
Denis
 
Congratulations, the Colt Python is a Swiss Watch of precision art of pistols.

You could do both, get a set of repo grips and see about getting the originals restored.
 
Seems to me you have 2 reasonable options.
If you plan to sell it for its higher fair market value as a "shooter", then you should do so without investing more money. Think of it as putting new tires on a car which you are about to sell. Remember if you sell it, you cannot find another one for the same price.

If you plan to keep it and enjoy shooting it, then it is worth spending a little money if it makes shooting more pleasurable. I put a Hogue Monogrip on mine because they fit my hand well and feel good shooting it.

I'm sure there are other options, but I suspect you had your mind made up by the time you handed the money to your friend.

Good luck with any choice you make.
 
Test it with the original grips before putting replacements on them. I prefer the factory grips over Pachmayrs or Hogues - but that's just me.
 
Quick question here, there's a small amount of pitting on the frame bear the back at the top of the grips. Any recommendations on how to fix this?
 
For pitting the least damage way is with a pencil eraser. People have used 00000 steel wool and oil BUT steel wool on a finish gets me nervous. :confused::confused:
 
If you want to address pitting, it generally involves a refinish of the entire gun FOR BEST RESULTS.
That's relatively expensive, and if you do it you find somebody with a very good track record.
Denis
 
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