Colt python ID

A

arlover1

Inactive
Hi all, inherited this colt python. serial is t16 so thinking its 82 or 83. i have no idea what the finish is (stainless, nickel,?) barrel measures 5 inches exterior, does this make it a 5 inch or do you count the threads and it would be 6"? for the life of me i dont understand the numbers people ask for these guns but im happy to have it. any idea of value? no box or papers.

much appreciated
 

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Very nice of the Dearly Departed to of left you with a nice handgun. I always count barrel length from the cylinder forward.

You may want to look at recent auction sales on GunBroker or other similar places a current value estimate.
 
You should keep it

It looks like a 6" stainless steel Python to me. I am not a hard-core follower like many on TFL, but I believe Colt only made blue, nickel and stainless steel Pythons. I only own one, but recently learned of the huge increase in the value of Pythons. I presume it is because they have much more complicated and refined internal pieces and because Colt stopped production, more due to the latter. Think of it like that '68 Camaro, Mustang which cost less than $2,000 new and now sell for something in the high five-figure range or six-figure range, even though they are not nearly as sophisticated or fast as the modern Camaros or Mustangs. I will paraphrase what I have read in many many posts here . . . if you sell it - you will regret it.
 
The pictures are very small, so it's hard to be definitive, but I'm pretty sure that's a brushed stainless finish in a 6" barrel. Going rate is $1800 and up last I checked.

The python has been popularized by the TV show "The Walking Dead" which is carried by the main character Rick Grimes. Due to the popularity of the show and subsequently the firearm the prices have been driven through the roof because Colt no longer makes and reportedly will never make any DA/SA revolvers again. Combine that with the Python being the pinnacle of DA/SA revolver refinement and you've got a firearm that will likely continue to be excessively valuable to collectors and others for years to come.

If you have an appreciation for revolvers or firearms in general, or even if you don't, KEEP the Python! Don't sell it, odds are if you do you'll regret it in the not so distant future.

DMY, you beat me while I was typing! :D
 
the action is as smooth as butter i got to give it that much. you guys think it will continue to go up in price???? I was considering selling this and few others i dont use to get a wilson supergrade. would that be a bad move??
 
That is a six inch Python. In a revolver, you measure the barrel all the way to the cylinder gap. I can't help you with the serial number.
 
Foresight should be 20/20

ARlover1:
Keeping, using or selling firearms are certainly matters of personal choice. I do not profess to tell you what is best for you.
So far, you have not heard anyone say that Pythons are poor guns. While I am only a new member to TFL and am not a member of any other forums, you might want to check another forum which starts with a "C" which has a specific category for Pythons. Again, you will be hard-pressed to find criticism, other than the fact that the internal mechanism is much more complicated than other firearms, making them harder to tune. That, coupled with the facts that Colt no longer makes them and no one has made a knock-off (like the dozens of companies which manufacture 1911s), suggests to me that the price will continue to increase.
There is certainly nothing wrong with a Wilson Supergrade. I have always wanted a Wilson since they called them "Pinguns". Perhaps you should keep the Python, at least for a little while, sell off your other guns which might still be in production and save up for the Wilson. Once you sell the Python, you will not be able to readily and inexpensively acquire another one.
 
DMY that's the most logical reason for not selling the Python. I know I was thinking of it that way, but for whatever reason I've never explained it that way. I guess I needed to take a mental breath. :)
 
It's a 6" Stainless Steel. A beauty. Do you have the original wood grips for it?

I don't know if Stainless had a different serial number system. But I have a 6" Blue I bought in '83, and its serial number is K7****.

Back in '83, the Stainless ones were going for about $550 (at least, in California). It's worth about four times that now.

Not just a run-of-the-mill gun. You have a classic.
 
no but was thinking about buying a set of wood grips.

yes K series just a little earlier that the T from what ive read:

1981 K16266
1982 K75748
1983 K99999. T01001 to ????
1984 T27541
1985 T34453
 
If it's stainless steel there will be an "S" stamped sideways inside the barrel shroud where the ejector rod seats, on the center-rear of the cylinder under the ejector, and on the lower left side of the grip frame under the grips.

The first stainless steel Pythons began shipping in late 1982.

Colt made the Python in:
Royal Blue.
Bright Nickel.
Satin electroless Nickel known as "Royal Coltguard". Standard Colt pistols had a less shiny electroless nickel called "Coltguard".
Satin stainless steel.
Bright polish stainless steel.
 
arlover1 said:
I was considering selling this and few others i dont use to get a wilson supergrade. would that be a bad move??
Click to expand...
That would not be a bad move, it would be a VERY bad move.

As the saying goes, "They don't make 'em like that any more." In fact, as you know, they don't make 'em at all any more. They are know to be continually increasing in value, whereas a Wilson Supergrade will likely never be worth more than what you pay for it. And they are still making those, so you can buy one when you're ready.
 
DMY said:
That, coupled with the facts that Colt no longer makes them and no one has made a knock-off (like the dozens of companies which manufacture 1911s), suggests to me that the price will continue to increase.
Click to expand...
Pietta, the Italian clone maker, was reported to be coming out with a Python copy this year.

https://translate.google.com/transl...python-replika-t33724.html&edit-text=&act=url

http://m.armietiro.it/la-replica-fap-pietta-del-python-a-iwa-2015-armi-6367

I can't find any current news on it, but I hope it happens.
 
I wish them luck, but the 1911 and SAA are pretty simple guns to make and fit compared to the Python. I suspect that any company planning a clone of the Python, with the same lockwork, will have second and maybe third thoughts and forget it.

Jim
 
The forums are littered with "former" Python owners. To a man they regret their status. Myself included. Today, I wouldn't let go of one if I could avoid it. Of course I'd also shoot the crap out of it.

They will never be produced again. The institutional culture that fostered the human skills required to manufacture a revolver to that level is dead, gone, and won't return without decades of effort. That is just not possible in today's world of automation. The cost would be so high they'd be more than the current prices for the originals. Which makes the originals a bargain.
 
Yeah, there are lots of former Python owners here. I'm one of them. I sold my last just as prices were bouncing up and bought two Colt DA revolvers (an old Trooper 4" 22 and 6" Diamondback in 38spl (NIB)). I am content with my decisions. Pythons never did it for me. But Diamondbacks "did".

Nice stainless Python by the way.
 
Other than a frame fitted firing pin, I don't see where the Python is any harder to make than an Official Police, Police Positive or any other of the older traditional Colt DA/SA revolvers. The time and labor consuming features of the Python are the close fitting and internal polishing. There's more handwork involved, but the machining is no problem. Colt copies have been made in other countries, most notably the FAMAE Colt Police Positive copies made in Chile, older Armscor revolvers, and one or two other places that I can't remember right now.
 
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