Hello all,
Prior to the Elite I owned a Python made in 1975 that I got
it used. It was a very accurate gun but after putting several
hundred .357's through it just didn't feel tight anymore. It also
developed a problem with the cylinder latch. When closing the
cylinder I had to retract the latch a little bit for the cylinder to
clear it.
After I sold that Python I really wanted to replace it. So I
bought the Elite. As I said before It was a beautiful looking
piece. When I saw it in the shop I just had to have it. When I
got it home I noticed that it just wasn't put together as well as
the older Pythons that I have handled. The trigger was not nearly
as smooth as my first Python. I measured the barrel cylinder gap
at .004 which is acceptable from what I've read on this board.
The timing was right on. Right out of the box it had about .001" of
cylinder wiggle from front to back. This amount of endshake is
probably not excessive but again older Pythons that I have
handled felt much tighter.
I have no complaints about the Elite's accuracy. It was more
accurate than I am. Don't get me wrong the new Elite is a very
nice revolver but in my opinion it just isn't as well made as the
original Python's from the 60's. I must admit that I was not happy
with myself for spending $1000 on this gun, hence the decision
to sell it. I didn't feel badly about spending $1000 on my HK P7M8
but that's a different thread.
Randy