Colt .357 Magnum King Cobra

It'll be interesting to see how it fares and what its actual
selling prices will be.

Wonder if the frame/cylinder will match up to the Ruger/Smith
L-frame size and allow use of already plentiful speed loaders for
those models.

With Ruger 3- inchers, especially the Wiley Clapps, and Smiths
3-incher 686s, one can't help but wonder if Colt, despite its
name heritage, isn't decades late and and not just another
also-ran against the biggies like Ruger and Smith.
 
Today’s Smith and Ruger revolvers leave a big gap in the DA revolver market.

Modern Smiths are basically Smiths in name only compared to the classics. Rugers are still just Rugers.

A quality Colt can be a game changer. Maybe a fine new revolver can be had once again.
 
No new Colt DA along the lines of what's coming out will be any kind of game changer.
These are adequate revolvers, but "fine" does not apply.

Largely MIM, no hand fitting, completely outsourced for parts & only assembled by Colt.
Denis
 
DPris said:
No new Colt DA along the lines of what's coming out will be any kind of game changer.
These are adequate revolvers, but "fine" does not apply.

Largely MIM, no hand fitting, completely outsourced for parts & only assembled by Colt.
Denis
Click to expand...



Compared to S&W and Ruger, you’re not proving a thing.

Compared to Today’s S&W and Ruger, it doesn’t take much to make the best <$900 revolver on the market.
 
I was saying two years before Colt brought out the new Cobra that any new Colt DA revolver would be built to compete with Smith & Ruger, on their level.
That meant no more hand-fitted & highly polished DAs, and it meant cheaper production methods just like Smith & Ruger.

Colt has actually taken that even further with complete parts outsourcing & no hand fitting at all.

Absolutely NO game changer in quality, and certainly not the finest or best revolver in its class.

It is very important to understand that these new revolvers are not meant to compete or compare with older classic Colts.
New ballgame, but a game "changer" only for Colt, not for either the industry or the market.

Buy one or a dozen, I don't care.
Let's just keep the hype realistic.
Denis
 
UncleEd said:
It'll be interesting to see how it fares and what its actual
selling prices will be.

Wonder if the frame/cylinder will match up to the Ruger/Smith
L-frame size and allow use of already plentiful speed loaders for
those models.

With Ruger 3- inchers, especially the Wiley Clapps, and Smiths
3-incher 686s, one can't help but wonder if Colt, despite its
name heritage, isn't decades late and and not just another
also-ran against the biggies like Ruger and Smith.
Click to expand...

It’s a small frame revolver. I’m guessing there are a number of speedloaders out there that will work, however I’d guess that L-frame sized speedloaders would not. It appears to be the same size frame as the Cobra currently on the market

FWIW most people that own the new cobra tend to give favorable reviews and it’s at least on par with if not slightly better than comparable S&W and Ruger’s. The MSRP for the King Cobra is $899 and the street price will probably be pretty close to that for the first number of months while buyers grab up the early production guns. I’d bet after a year or so the price will drop at least $100.
 
Reddog81,

My fault for jumping to the conclusion that "King" Cobra meant
a return to at least the frame size of the 1980s/90s King Cobra.
Seeing the fixed sights made me think of the Ruger Wiley Clapp.
 
I had assumed/hoped it was a larger frame when I first saw the pictures also. A 3” .357 Magnum would be a nice gun, but for me it’s a little too much gun for carrying and kind of small for a gun you’d want to shoot a bunch.
 
Colts

Don't care what anyone else says...

I have extensive, ACTUAL EXPERIENCE with Colts...

My current King Cobra is wonderful and one of my favorites (along with Gold Cups in both .45 and 10mm)...

Have no need for a 3" .357 with fixed sights but if they come out with a 6" King Cobra I'm buying one!

Don't know what all the complaining is on the new Cobra. No experience yet with this new model but all of those I have handled had very good fit and finish and great triggers.

Again, I have no need for another gun of this type but if/when they come out with a "new model" Diamondback, I'll be buying one of them also...

Tim
 
No new Colt DA along the lines of what's coming out will be any kind of game changer. These are adequate revolvers, but "fine" does not apply.
Click to expand...
Agree...looks to me to be Colt, trading on its name, and what about a decent set of sights on it? You better pray that they're regulated properly or, short of trip back to the factory, it's damned near impossible to get the POI where you want it.

Rod
 
I was never interested enough to seriously look at the new Cobra since it was in .38 spl with a two inch barrel. I am interested in the King Cobra since it is a medium weight .357 magnum with a three inch barrel. For some reason, I have a thing for three inch barreled revolvers --- I currently have five.
 
DPris, The new Cobra and "King Cobra" don't look like guns actually manufactured by Colt to me. Perhaps just the frames, or? Are they actually manufactured by Colt, or are they manufactured by another company, say like the 1903 semi-autos?

I realize that it doesn't really matter to Colt fans who makes them. I'm just curious. I've only owned three Colt DA revolvers, but these new revolvers just don't look like something Colt would actually manufacture. Put their name on yes, like the Chinese knives, but actually manufacture, I don't know......
 
The 1903/8 is manufactured by a totally separate company that LICENSES the Colt name for it, no part of those guns come from Colt.
No parts or service available from Colt.

The Cobra & King are entirely outsourced for ALL parts, but ASSEMBLED in-house by and at Colt.
Colt does service those.
Denis
 
A grand plus(Gunbroker. MSRP is $899 on Colt's site.) is a great deal of money for a .357 revolver. Most of the price is for the name. Colt, like many manufacturers, has been marketing based on the name for eons.
 
reddog81 said:
I had assumed/hoped it was a larger frame when I first saw the pictures also. A 3” .357 Magnum would be a nice gun, but for me it’s a little too much gun for carrying and kind of small for a gun you’d want to shoot a bunch.
Click to expand...

Kimber beat Colt to the market with their new DA/SA K6s. The perfect size for a .357 carry gun and a butter smooth action to boot.
 
I saw one under the glass counter today. Was marked $999. The store was a little higher on everything, but probably only by two or three percent. It was also a big sporting-good type store that doesn't negotiate. I wasn't shopping for a King Cobra at any price, but at that price, it's hard to see the value.
 
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