First revolver Bought! Colt Bill Davis 357 ??

Since it's a .38 Special it was probably built up off of an older Colt Officer's Match frame. The work was probably done by Bill Davis and it's probably a very nice shooter with a nice trigger. The price wasn't too bad considering how the gun should perform, but heavily modified guns like these tend to not be worth much on the used market.

If the dealer mismarked the gun there is a chance that they might refund it for you, but my guess is that's a small chance. Most dealers could care less about you once you buy a used gun from them.
 
And being in New Jersey I just burned one of my pistol purchasers permits that took me 6 months to get . . .


I am very disappointed that they didn't even take the time to see what kind of weapon they are selling, wrong model and wrong chamber . . . really screwed me
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Well, on one hand, I can understand your position on the labeling issue. But as several of us have already pointed out, at the end of the day, even if the base gun started out as a Python .357, it's really neither once it was modified to a PPC gun.

The other issue is that it sounds like a bit of an impulse buy, which is surprising, given how difficult your purchase permits are to get. As such, you played a role in your own screwing by buying a gun before taking the time to do your own homework.
 
So true ... I am ultimately responsible for my actions, reactions and inactions. It seems like a bummer, but you do have a very nice range gun to practice with, and .38 Spl can be had cheaper than .357 magnum.

You said, 'One of your permits'. In which case you can still buy a Python if you are hot for a Python. Good luck and sweet shooting.
 
you do have a very nice range gun to practice with, and .38 Spl can be had cheaper than .357 magnum.
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+1. And I personally think .38spl is a better choice for HD than .357mag. Those wadcutter target loads can make pretty effective HD rounds, too.

I'd go easy asking for a further discount. At $600, it's a fair price for a nice gun, no matter how it was marked.

OTOH, if you can make a case that you only bought the gun because it was marked as a .357mag, you could try politely asking for a refund (money and permit) or store credit. They may not give it to you, but, as pointed out, you'd still have a nice gun with which to work on your revolver skills.
 
I wanted to buy a 357 revolver for a few months that was going to be my next buy, so this was not an impuse buy . . . there was nothing I could do to better buy this guy it had a tage on it and paper work that both said colt 357 Python.
Now there is not much else I could have done to make sure its a 357 short of buying 357 snap caps and put them in every gun I touch to make sure they dealer isn't a idiot and miss label the gun as a 357 when its really a 38 . . .
 
JW's right, the topstrap is definitely not a Python.

The gun is more of a curiosity, frankly, nowdays.
It's a high quality dedicated competition target revolver.

While your gunshop apparently mislead you, you really share the blame, you had no idea what you were getting & didn't do any research on it before buying.
That gun COULD do HD duty, obviously, but it's a specialty piece built for other purposes.

You say in one post you had it loaded with .357s & in another that .357s wouldn't fit.
Which is it?
Denis
 
The shop probably labeled the gun based on what they were told by whoever they got the gun from, without any paperwork that would be all they'd have to go on. I don't mean to offend, but you really need to be a better informed buyer so that you know what you're buying before laying down your money. To look at that gun it is obvious that although it could have started life as a Colt Python or whatever other model, it is now something else entirely. If you understand that then you can see were it's value is - as a fully customized piece built for a particular type of competition. Rather than being angry and feeling as though you've been duped you might consider embracing what you have, which looks to be a very nice revolver. If you don't want to do that then see about returning it or sell it yourself.

BTW, chances are that even if it had been a .357mag to start with the .357 cylinder would have been replaced with one chambered for .38spl. Any competition gunsmith would try to squeeze every bit of accuracy out of any gun he built.
 
You'll love your Bill Davis. Your gun is worth a lot more in custom work. Google Bill Davis, and I think you might have a different view.
This race gun is too much to carry very far, but is probably unsurpassed as a home defense revolver for someone who trains with it. Shots are tight and quick. I get in hack at the range for shooting it too fast. These were awarded as prizes at the 4 Queens Casino competitions. Most were made from S&W model 10's. A Colt! Wow!
 
I would expect the shop would take it back. They made the mistake of labeling it a .357, pretty much false advertising. That's like going in to buy a .44magnum and coming out with a .44 special.
 
The shop treated me well, they offered a full refund or money back and 100$ off next purchase so rather then wasting the permit I got 150$ off the original price and 100$ off a New chrome (hard to find) Taurus 608 357 so I am very happy :D
so the colt for 450 and 500 for the 608 :)
Thank you everyone
Jay

as for the gun loaded, I thought they fit but I was mistaken, everything was fine till I tried to close the cylinder

sorry for being a novice and a pita
 
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So you decided to keep it, that's good. You'll have to let us know how it shoots for you.

I'm glad you're happy and that the shop worked to make sure you were.
Don't worry about being a novice or a pita, we all start somewhere.

Don't know about the Taurus though....:rolleyes:
 
Have you done your research on flash-retardant powders in .357 Mag factory loads?
If you're planning to use the Taurus for HD, those ports can be a big liability indoors in more ways than one.

And, it shouldn't be chrome, most likely stainless.
Denis
 
You'll be glad you kept your Colt... I can't promise that for the taurus...

Lol your the first person in history to get a nice custom Colt revolver and be sad but, then be more excited for your factory Taurus! :eek::eek: WHATS THIS WORLD COMING TO!? Trust me when I say compared to what you bought on accident... a Taurus 608 isn't hard to find.

I bet after the colt you'll have a hard time loving the DA on that taurus...
 
Nah I was just really really excited to have a colt Python 357 PPC and then get really disappointed when I tried to load it with 357 haha

I'm not really sure what I'm gonna do with either gun, I have a few now just these are my first revolvers

anyway, thanks everyone I'm very happy with the amount of help I got soo fast on this forum. a good start ;)
 
Bill Davis was a Sacramento gunsmith who had an outlet also in El Cerrito. His shop specialized in action work and rebarreling guns. The barrel you have is one of those heavy target barrel that is popular with the PPC matches. Another conversion offered by Davis was adapting the Python barrel onto the S&W or Ruger frame, respectively called the Smolt and Couger.

BTW, they stole the Elliason target sights from my brother's Python.

It does appear to be the Python frame, but .38 Special Pythons are a rare breed. If it is only .38, then it is likely an old Colt Trooper.
 
Both guns Davis did for me were with slab sided Apex barrels. He let me choose the twist rate and put sights on the gun to my specs. He did incredible work.
 
Agree. Top strap is wrong. I was once thinking of putting a Python barrel on my Trooper. My Trooper has the older Python type lockwork. The forgery could not be pulled off because of the top strap. The lines wouldn't flow and that was a giveaway.
 
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