The King Cobra was the last in a series of guns Colt made to replace all the older gun like the Official Police and original Trooper.
In 1969 Colt could no longer afford to build the older guns due to the extensive hand fitting and labor needed to build them, so that year Colt introduced a new action and frame series to replace all the older mid-frame guns.
These new guns used an entirely new design, introducing the first modern transfer-bar action. These guns are nothing like the older Colt revolvers, and no parts interchange.
The new series was the Colt"J" frame.
Guns in this series were:
Trooper Mark III.
Lawman.
Metropolitan Police.
Official Police Mark III.
Officer's Model Match Mark III.
The only old style Colt mid-frame still made is the Python.
These new Colt's were the world's first "machine fit" revolvers, in which much less hand work and fitting was required to build them.
In the old Colt's like the Python, all parts are made over-sized, and a Master fitter stoned each part to a perfect fit.
In these guns, the cylinder locked up tightly with Colt's famous "bank vault" lockup, in perfect alignment with the barrel.
In the new Colt "J" frame guns, the parts were made to the exact size, and a gun was assembled by selecting parts until one fitted properly.
In these guns, the lockup worked like all other revolvers: The cylinder was allowed to be loose during firing so the cylinder could align itself with the bore.
This speeded up manufacture, but the new guns were not quite as accurate as the older models.
In older Colt's, a worn gun could be repaired by re-fitting the parts to tighten the action back up.
In the new "J" frame guns, the parts have a very thin case hardened coating, and no re-fitting is possible.
Since the case hardened coating is so thin, the parts CANNOT be polished or cut without breaking through the coating and ruining the part.
In the new "J" frame guns, repairs are done by simply installing new parts.
These new Colt's were quite popular, and less expensive.
In the mid-1970's Colt did a slight up-grade to the "J" frame and renamed it the Trooper Mark V.
This upgraded gun had Colt's first "short action" and a longer mainspring to improve the trigger, the "sintered steel" hammer and trigger were changed to cast steel.
Also, the frame's butt was changed to a shorter, rounded butt design, and a vented rib barrel was used.
The guns in the new "V" series were:
Trooper Mark V
Lawman Mark V
The Peacekeeper. (Simply the Trooper Mark V with an unpolished black finish made during the big Colt strike).
All the other "J" frame guns were discontinued due to lack of sales to police departments who were beginning to buy autos.
In the early 1980's, Colt again upgraded the "J and V" series guns, this time by simply changing to a new lugged and ribbed barrel similar to the Python.
This new "AA" frame gun was first produced in stainless steel, later in blue, and was named the King Cobra.
The King Cobra is simply the Trooper Mark V with a new barrel.
Later, Colt introduced the massive Anaconda revolver, and this is really an up-sized King Cobra.
The King Cobra was discontinued in the late 1990's along with many other Colt models.
The King Cobra had been produced for almost 15 years.
The King Cobra is an absolute tank of a revolver.
Master gunsmith Jerry Kuhnhausen believed these new revolvers were the strongest mid-frame revolvers ever made, due to Colt's superior forged and heat treated frames and cylinders.
These revolvers have only one possible "weakness", and that's the fact that a broken firing pin requires a trip back to the factory for replacement.
To change out a broken pin requires special support jigs and presses to prevent damaging the frame.
To prevent this, it's a good idea to use snap caps if you intend to do much dry firing.
There are only a few makers of replacement grips for the King Cobra, most people preferring Hogue's Mono-grip for it's size and feel.
The King Cobra is a totally different gun than the Python.
The KC does not have the Python's tapered bore, nor it's cylinder locking system.
However, the KC is almost always very accurate, usually out shooting other brands. This is due to Colt's high grade barrels.
The King Cobra does NOT have the timing issues of the Python, since the action is nothing like the Python's old style Colt action.
Quality-wise, (fit, finish, accuracy) the King Cobra is a definite step up from the Ruger, and usually slightly better than the S&W 686.
Strength-wise the KC leads both the Ruger and 686, again due to the very high-grade forged and heat treated frame and cylinder, and the off-set cylinder locking notches.
Most owners of King Cobras are quite satisfied, and I didn't see too many needing repairs for anything other than abuse.
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