I guess I'll park the Python and Diamondback

After I used the Python as a pattern for the grips I made for mmray13, I was handling and cleaning it before putting it back in the safe, and I took out the Diamondback and gave it a light cleaning. No way will I sell those pistols. I don't care what the price goes to, up or down.

But I still might buy another revolver. It'll be a 38/357 for sure. Probably a Ruger or a well used Smith.

As for the Rugers, what's the diff between the SP and the GP models?
 
As for the Rugers, what's the diff between the SP and the GP models?
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The GP100 is bigger and heavier. It's a six-shooter in .357 magnum but holds seven in .327 or ten in .22 LR. The trigger is generally a little nicer and I hear that they are easier to modify. (I've never had work done on one.)

The SP101 is more compact. It's a five-shooter in .357 magnum but holds six in .327 or eight in .22 LR.

Both are very sturdy and I think both are very pretty when shined up. You can easily personalize the stock grips with an incredible variety of panel inserts, from traditional to... well, here is the current SP101 selection on eBay. I do prefer to swap them out for fuller solid grips like the Hogues when the barrel is longer.
 
I shoot my Python all the time. I figure if anyone wants to buy mine,and if they really want it, they'll pay the going rate. Until I get tired of it or I need money, she goes to the range with me.
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I concur, the look on folks faces when they see me shooting the Python is absolutely priceless as well as the comments as to me being crazy and a fool to shoot such a valuable gun in today's market. No kids to leave it to so I'll shoot the piss out of it and enjoy every round that goes down range
 
I've got a six inch blue 1969 Python. I already had a lot of S&W's but I kept hearing about these guns... so I bought one like 10-15 years ago. When it was about a thousand dollars for a nice one.

I brought it home, cleaned it, shot a few cylinders through it. Nice... but could tell quickly that it would never be a gun I put in a holster and carried around the property. So I show it to gun friends that come over, I shoot maybe six rounds a year through it when the urge strikes... other than that it stays there in the safe. I doubt I would be shooting it even if it was worth zero... but since it is worth so much... might as well keep it nearly perfect.

Gregg
 
I guess collector guns, and safe queens are fine if that is what you want. Like fine art you must be concerned with the condition and value.
The pictures on my wal are fake, and the guns in my safe are real, and useable.
Any gun that can't be shot for fear of depreciation in value is worthless to me.:D
Having a couple guns that I wouldn't shoot is a good reason to make an exception to rule #1, and buy something more fun.
 
^I truly used to think that way as well, but I evolved. I am not making any statement about your thinking or anyone who agrees with it, but I have found for myself that things simply change.

And while I may regret even tossing this out there :D:p, what would you really do if you came across a dead-mint, unfired, mint box, hang-tag, papers, the whole 9 yards royal blue 1962 Python and it was tagged $1,000...?

Would you... buy it, shoot it, own it, love it?
Would you... not buy it, because meh, not your taste in a shooter?
Would you... buy it, know what it would sell for, and not shoot it, preserving that value for upcoming sale?
Would you... buy it, shoot 500rds through it and still make a grand when you sell it?

I find the answer in me quite easy and admittedly -- this is because I don't care for the Colt Python. But well away from brands, models and styles... if a screaming good deal on a crazy-valuable gun presents itself, I see an end-game that gets me in a better position to purchase something I truly want, and to take a mint Python and throw a couple hundred rounds through it simply because "my safe won't have any queens" is taking my functional brain out of the equation and letting some nutty little axiom take full control of the situation and frankly... well, that isn't me.
 
Buy it, flip it, get something I would enjoy with the profit.:D
WOW, that was Eeeee Zzzzz.
How about inherit one that is a family heirloom. Now we have an exception to if it ain't shootable, I don't want it. Probably buy another safe so it could have a shelf of it's own.:D
 
what would you really do if....
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If it is a gun I always wanted to shoot. Yep, I'd buy it and shoot it. Guns are meant to be shot. But in this case, I would pass on it, as it isn't something I'd want in my gun cabinet. Not partial to S&W style revolvers or Colt's DAs...
 
The only thing I would agree on that "guns are meant to be ____" is SOLD.

Plenty of guns, some even desirable, that have value far apart and beyond from shooting. We're seemingly attaching an emotion to the gun and letting the emotion drive.
 
So you ARE saying you agree...
You would buy it and specifically NOT shoot it. Hmmm.
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Only because at that price I could quickly flip it for a good profis, and then use that profit for something I would keep, and shoot.
 
There are only two classes of guns, unfired and fired. Once a gun has been fired, the value is what it is. Additional shooting, that does not damage the pistol, does not affect the value.

The Python (and other Colts) good and bad qualities have created legends, and legends get...embellished.

Snake owners are in the same boat as Luger owners now. Sort of. Except there never were $30 Pythons.

Shooting a Python that has already been shot doesn't harm the value. Dragging it through the gravel, scratching up the finish, will. Shooting it to the point of wearing it out or breaking something, will.

Yes, gunsmiths who can do "colt quality" work are about non-existent. From what I hear, Colt can't do "colt quality" work these days.

Guns used in popular movies and TV shows become icons. Icons become religious artifacts, and as everyone knows, religious artifacts are "priceless".

Look at the S&W M29 for one classic example. Before the movie, the big Smith was a slow seller. After Dirty Harry, S&W couldn't make them fast enough. By the mid 70s, with an MSRP of $283.50, there was a two YEAR wait. People were paying $450 to get one NOW.

I watched the price on the Auto Mag creep from $395 up to $995 over about a decade. After Sudden Impact, the price jumped to $1500 within a few months.

The Python (and to a lesser extent) all the colt revolvers are icons, classics, and OUT OF PRODUCTION. Combine this with current high demand because of its use in a popular entertainment show, and prices go crazy, because people with fat wallets WANT them, NOW.

Where were all those people paying thousands to get a Python when Colt dropped production because they weren't making sufficient profit on them???

(a lot of them probably hadn't even been born then...:D)

Bottom line, unless it is NIB unfired, if you don't damage it, shooting it doesn't harm the value.
 
What to with snakes

I believe that every guy owned should be shot if you never consider selling them.
But , with the snake craze going on now, you want to sell these one day...then i would never shoot it and think about it like owning a Lon term stock.dont Ruiz it by being a day trader . Some folks like warren buffet buy companies ( in my case snake guns ) to never sell or shoot knowing that it most likely appreciate in value.
So after all this ..shoot a snake if creating value is not of interest. If you want to create value , put the snake away and baby it
 
I have a "6 Colt Diamondback .22 with the Box. The last time I was at a big gun show I saw exactly one Diamondback .22 for sale, it was a 4" and the seller wanted $2,100 for it. No box, and mine is in better shape. What's the going price these days?
 
Shoot them and enjoy them OR sell them now. The only thing inflating value is perceived collectability and that value will be hurt if Colt ever re-releases them.
 
Remember the "Dirty Harry" movie that started the craze for S&W 29's?

Remember the "Saving Private Ryan" movie that helped create the demand for M-1's?

You get the idea. FWIW, due IMHO entirely do to the Walking Dead series, the snake gun craze is on, and the premium prices you see now reflect that. But it won't last forever. Go ahead and shoot them. Me?.... I'd sell the Pony's, pocket the cash and not look back.
 
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My fear really centers on what to do if I damage the Python. From what I read, there really aren't many gunsmiths qualified to do Colt-quality work on Pythons. So, if I'm going to put a lot of ammo downrange, I'm thinking along the lines of something new, or newer, with a 6 inch barrel (less muzzle blast...that Python has a mean muzzle blast). Part of the reason for wanting another shooter is that the wife wants to take a CC course, but she hates all semi pistols (don't even ask) and she can't shoot her snub nose 38 worth a darn. So I need something that I she can shoot, that can take some abuse, and can eventually ride in the car with her and not need too much care.
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That was from the OP who hasn't been here since April 26th. So this is a bit of a zombie thread raised by a new guy. I would guess the OP has found his gun and made a decision on the Colts.

If it were me I would sell the colts. I would look for a 4" S&W model 15 for the wife. Most women will not be shooting full bore 357 loads anyway. The model 15 is lighter in weight and has all the power for SD most people will ever need. The one I own rode on a cops belt for many years and has been my HD gun for way over 20 years. I have never felt the need for anything more.
 
I buy weekly shooters, not safe flamingos. I just don't understand how people can spend some sick money on a "collectible" and just finger pet it once a month and just keep in buried in a safe. I will never understand the alleged allure of a "Python". To each his own, I respect those that want to collect. My most "collectible" gun ? My CMP Garand.... never getting sold in my lifetime, if my kids sell it after i'm 6 feet under it will have had 10,000 rounds down the pipe by me prior to handing down... :D
 
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