Colt Python Bubble....

S

Skans

New member
I think we are seeing a Colt Python Bubble. I've scanned through about 5 pages of Colt Pythons on Gunbroker, and most of the bids are in the $1,000 range. The rest of them just sit there like Wallflowers at a high school dance, with a couple of exceptions.

When the Baby Boomers start selling off their collections, my prediction is that the Pythons will drop significantly in value. Is it time to start collecting First Gen Glocks and original CZ 75's and 75B's?
 
I sold mine for $450 ....ONE MONTH .... before they discontinued them.

No loss as I never cared for the action compared to a Smith, but sure wish I'd waited to soak up more loot.

They are PURTY! That's about it.

I owned 3 thinking that I could FORCE myself to really like it.

nope.

oh well. :o
 
I sold mine for $450 ....ONE MONTH .... before they discontinued them.

No loss as I never cared for the action compared to a Smith, but sure wish I'd waited to soak up more loot.

They are PURTY! That's about it.

I owned 3 thinking that I could FORCE myself to really like it.

nope.

oh well.
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Sacrilege!!! Nevertheless, likely the truth of the matter...the same with some women, as long as they are pretty, we tend to see attributes in them that they do not have or deserve.
 
OVER the course of a year, I probably ran 300 rounds each through a 4" and a 6" Python owned by a friend. Slow-fire single action, I shot better with them than any other handgun, with perhaps 2 exceptions. I tried cylinder dumps (shoot 6 rounds into one target divide total points by seconds required x inches of diameter of circle encompassing all 6 rounds), and El Presidentes with them and 3 other revolvers, and the Pythons always came in dead last. And I WAS competing against others at the time, so the performance incentive was DEFINITELY present.

I just could not shoot them as well as the other 3 revolvers (A 5" S&W Model 27, a 4" S&W Model 19 and a Ruger Police Service Six), when shooting against the clock. They were beautiful, but I could not make them go fast.
 
OVER the course of a year, I probably ran 300 rounds each through a 4" and a 6" Python owned by a friend. Slow-fire single action, I shot better with them than any other handgun, with perhaps 2 exceptions. I tried cylinder dumps (shoot 6 rounds into one target divide total points by seconds required x inches of diameter of circle encompassing all 6 rounds), and El Presidentes with them and 3 other revolvers, and the Pythons always came in dead last. And I WAS competing against others at the time, so the performance incentive was DEFINITELY present.

I just could not shoot them as well as the other 3 revolvers (A 5" S&W Model 27, a 4" S&W Model 19 and a Ruger Police Service Six), when shooting against the clock. They were beautiful, but I could not make them go fast.
 
I see much the same thing.
The Colt action runs the hammer and rebound lever off the same V spring. If you lighten the spring as part of a trigger job, you slow the trigger return, which wasn't very snappy to start with.

When I got my first one in the 1970s, there wasn't much to beat a tuned Python. When I got my second one in the noughts, it was a sentimental choice.
 
The Walking Dead show with the main character Rick sporting a Python might keep them collectible for a little while longer.

I owned one and an Andaconda, never loved them, sold them for a decent profit.

I don't see people ever collecting Gen 1 Glocks.

This generation.... MY generation of shooters (Im 28) generally wants the latest and greatest. I'v been lucky, I grew up with firearms, and work in the industry, so I can appreciate the oldies. Got a few Pre-Garcia Sako's ect. However I like my AR's and 1911's with all the flashy bells and whistles and latest gadgets as well.:rolleyes:

I can't tell you how many guys I saw trading in perfectly fine, and IMHO better, Gen 3 Glocks for the new flashy Gen 4's when they came out.
 
I have never been fond of the old Colt action, but no one ever said that those guns, including Pythons, won't shoot very well.

Jim
 
I sold mine for $450 ....ONE MONTH .... before they discontinued them.
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Don't feel bad. I traded mine for a Beretta 92. At the time, I came out ahead on the deal.

Are Colts in a bubble? I don't think so. The problem is, they don't make them anymore, and they can't make them anymore. The supply pool is fixed.

Add to that the fact that parts are getting scarcer every year, and values will hold steady at the very least.
 
Like James K. I agree that the Python is an excellent shooter but I could never warm up to its action and much less to the grips.

To replicate an earlier Python nowadays will probably cause the price to be above $2,000, this will limit interest and low numbers cause production cost to rise.
 
Yep,,,gotta agree that the supply is limited and they're only going to go up. For all that, they were pretty with that ventilated rib thing, but I never found them more accurate than a Smith, even with that fine finish work....kinda thought of them as the blinged-up Kimbers of today's 1911 offerings...pretty but no real added value in function; tho Colt's customer service was worlds beyond the stone-walling that Kimber passes off. JMHO, Rod (that oughta get a rise from the fan boys!)
 
I used to have a Python that I got at a good price a few years ago. It was a "shooter", but didn't look bad. Good shooting gun, but I didn't think it was any better or worse than any other gun I ever owned. I'll probably never own another one, but that's because they are so expensive these days.

I've found that the old Colt Troopers, and Official Police revolvers with the same action are nice guns at nowhere near the price.



But, they just ain't Python's. ;)
 
Nothing lasts forever and like anything else, prices are going to fluctuate with the economy and what expendable money folks have to purchase with.

I picked up a nice 4" blued for $800 a few years back. I think I've shot it twice. At the range the first time I was shooting it, I had a guy make me an offer on it that was way more than I paid for it. I mainly purchased it as an investment but am now considering selling it at some point. I hate owning guns and not using them.

As far as the Python goes . . . if you set it down on a table next to my vintage Smith 5" M & P 38 spl . . . I'd pick up my old Smith any day of the week - for me, it just feels and shoots better. Some may disagree with me but to me, the Python isn't much different than a boat anchor . . I hate all that iron hanging out front. But, that's just me.

While some may pay big prices for a Python . . just remember . . any item, whether it be a handgun or a power saw is only worth what a willing buyer is willing to pay for it at that moment. Tomorrow, the value may be a whole different story.

Now I have to run before the "Colt folks" find their rope and start looking for a tree with a nice high branch . . . :D:eek:
 
Don't get me wrong, I like Colt Pythons - have two myself. But, I just don't see values climbing much more than where they are now, and I think prices will actually drop. There are simply TONS of really nice condition Pythons out there. Perhaps they aren't making them anymore, but Colt sure cranked a lot of them out for 50 years! That's a heck of a run time for one gun.
 
I sold mine for $450 ....ONE MONTH .... before they discontinued them.

No loss as I never cared for the action compared to a Smith, but sure wish I'd waited to soak up more loot.

They are PURTY! That's about it.

I owned 3 thinking that I could FORCE myself to really like it.

nope.

oh well.
Click to expand...

I could have written that exact same post.
 
I have a Python.

You can say that... Or you can't.

People say oooooo when the see one.

I'm keeping mine, so there, one less Python on the market.

$1,000 bids? Those are the people who just want to stand close and bask in the glory. Just so they can say they bid on one!
 
I like to say that gun and guitars appreciate at 3% compounded anually over 10 years, 50 years, or 100 years. Same as Gold since it deregulated and stabilized. It is background inflation.

But Colt revolvers do better, ~ 5%.
And Mossberg bolt action 16 gauge shotguns do worse, ~1%.

That is because Colts are great and they are not making them anymore. I am fine with that.

But his week I found out that that SLR-95 I ordered through shotgun news in 1996 for $260 is worth over $1000. That is just some thumbhole AK that is making 8%.

That should not be.
 
Python

I wanted one for ever, or at least since 1959 or so. I bought one at my police academy as a duty weapon in 1967. $124.00. Things changed from then till now and I finally gave it to my son for Christmas this year. He got the holster I carried it in too.
 
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