Darn you Colt!

S

sigcurious

New member
I was afforded the opportunity to shoot a python today. Now I'm "mad" at Colt for not making them anymore. :D

I've been putting off purchasing a revolver for awhile now(first an AR took my gun fund, now a carry gun has put a new dent in my gun fund). I had intended to get a s&w something or other, but after shooting the python, back to saving mode I must go, because I don't think something else will do now.

That being said, are there other revolvers that have a similar buttery smooth DA and a single action so nice that it's like cheating?
 
Colt Pythons were mighty fine revolvers. The only con was a lot of heavy usage might throw it out of time. Might be something to check for when buying a used one with a lot of wear. The only other thing I can think of is that a good Python is going to set your gun money hole even deeper in the hole.
 
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Try a Dan Wesson. Granted the DA stacks up faster than a smith or others it is very smooth and the SA is glass.

It has been awhile since I have shot a Colt, they are nice though.
 
This has been discussed ad nauseum. Colt stopped making the python because it became prohibitively expensive to manufacture. Be thankful there are still a lot of them out there. Find yours and it will serve you for decades. Don't believe the HYPE about them being fragile and going out of time easily. BUT you SHOULD believe there aren't many gunsmiths qualified to do repairs nowadays. Just as there are few Deusenberg mechanics. Fortunately there are still some good ones out there and they show NO sign of going away.
 
The Colt action was pretty refined. They had pretty high standards at Colt when making the Pythons. The Pythons I shot back in the 70s were truly a marvel of gun making. Pythons when locked had no perceptible rotation of the cylinder plus the back and forth movement of the cylinder was very small less than a few thousands of an inch at most. In a revolver the thing that wears is the hand. Heavy usage with the emphasis on heavy will cause the hand to wear. If I were to buy a used Python with a lot of wear cylinder lockup is the first thing I would check if possible. The Colt was designed to lock up tightly. If a guy had a Python made a couple of decades and has put thousands of rounds through it there may be some wear which is natural. This probably happens rarely and is an exception rather the rule with normal usage.

If I had a little jiggle in S&W and other revolvers no problem. The little jiggle in the Colt Python would be a problem.

Anytime I buy a used revolver cylinder lockup is tested.
 
If you want a revolver that is overpriced, but looks pretty (notwithstanding the hideous vented rib, of course), get a Python. If you want a revolver that is reliable, rugged and reasonably priced, get a Smith & Wesson or a Ruger.
 
In 1977 I 'herd', mmoowww, all the same opionions. I bought a Royal blue 6 inch anyway...and I made a mistake. I should have bought the nickel one too!
 
Something you should know about Pythons is that they may need gunsmithing work on a periodic basis if they are shot with high powered rounds.

That's the internet rumor but there it is.

Also,some Smith revolvers actions can be customized into close to the same smoothness as the Pythons.

But thirty years ago,I held one and operated the action in a stunningly beautiful almost brand new Python and I know exactly what you are talking about.

It's all bs until you experience it.

So easy.so light it's scary great.
 
I often wonder if I got counterfeit Pythons, as both of mine refuse to go out of time or otherwise fail, after decades of full house 125 grainers the would have -ahem- been unhealty for "other makes".
 
I paid $500.00 for a Colt Lawman which is smooth as silk,which got me to buy a Colt Officers Model Match for $750.00 which has a awesomley smooth action!
Now I'm looking for a Python also.
Colt does have the smoothest actions I have ever used. (Just my opinion)
 
The Python is as smooth as silk when you crank back the hammer It's a beautiful gun. You may prefer the S&W if you shoot double action, the Python stacks toward the end of the pull, feels strange to me. I like both of them, I also have an old Trooper .38 Special, it's also smooth but not as smooth as a Python. S&W has a faster lock time and wont ever feel as smooth as the Python when you cock the hammer. The parts in the S&W aren't fitted tight like a Python. I like both. Get both and enjoy them.
 
SIGCURIOUS:

I wish that you could shoot my modle 625 Smith & Wesson. After an action and a trigger job, it puts a Phyton to shame. You could purchase a Smith & Wesson modle 686 for half the price of a Python. After you pay for the action work you will still have money left over based on the going price of Phytons.

Semper Fi.


Gunnery Sergeant
Clifford L. Hughes
USMC Retired
 
The workmanship on all those old Colts was top notch, and the Python was the best it could be, but the DA lockwork design wasn't "refined" at all. It barely changed from 1900 or so up until they stopped making them. No effort was made to redesign the actions for easier production or to require less hand fitting. And even at the beginning, it was a mishmash of features from British and European locks that dated back to the 1860s. The best that can be said is that it was better than the Colt double action systems that preceded it.

Colt could have done better and in the last years did a redesign and made revolvers with a decent system. Unfortunately, corporate mismanagement (and what amounted to theft of company resources) left the company in no position to retool and take advantage of the new designs. (Plus, the ignorant among us hated the new designs because they weren't "the old Colts" and refused to buy them.)

So, enjoy your Python, or Official Police, or Officers Model Match, or Police Positive, or Cobra. To paraphrase slightly, "look for them only in books, for it is an era gone with the wind."

Jim
 
I always liked Pythons, problem is I just couldn't shoot them like I could the N Frame Smiths.

I had two, cussed myself fore getting rid of them, but when I shot them, they just couldn't compete with my Model 28 Smith.

Some people can shoot them, I'm just not one of them.
 
i have the python, trooper mkIII, the S&W 586 and 686 plus the M28 all with 6'' bbl's. there is a real difference between the colt's and the s&w's in the smoothness of the actions, (both can be made better with a little work) but they all shoot great and i wouldn't get rid of any of them:)
 
The 6 inch blued ones are best, get one of those.

Python.jpg


By the way, there are only two kinds of people. People who own Pythons, and people who wish they owned Pythons. Now go set your DVR to record a show called "Starsky and Hutch"

And don't forget the short lived BOA. It's just a Trooper MKV but it's got that royal blue.

DSC00376.jpg
 
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I too, fought the urge to by a Python for years. Finally in a moment of weakness I succumbed to the lure of a 6" Royal Blue Python at a gun store. All I can say is that I wish I would have bought one sooner when they were less money.

I believe that most of those who badmouth them have probably never owned or even shot one.
 
No question, Pythons are very nice. A Python was the very first center fire revolver that I purchased years ago. I had one (actually my last one) and bought a 98% Trooper Mark III that really is smooth and shoots great. I sold the Python to re-invest that money into other Colts that I want more.

Want one? Save Save Save....
 
Colts are very good guns, and I have a few, but... go to the range and shoot a S&W, Colt, Ruger, and Dan Wesson, all about the same size and weight and you will see while the Colt MAY shoot a bit better, it may not to.

Colts cost so much now cause Colt just walked off the market and let S&W, Glock, Ruger, etc... just dominate the market.

No Colt DS, no Colt Cobra, the only 1911s are, well, dated and even they have not been downsized to 9mm (the new Colt Pony/Government .380 SHOULD HAVE BEEN 9MM!!)

Colt is so busy making M4s they just don't care.

Deaf
 
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