New Colt Cobra....I'm laughing

U

UncleEd

New member
Checked one out, actually two over a two month period.

Rough edges, cheap looking finish, gritty release of the
cylinder with a rough cylinder release knob.

And by rough edges, a Ruger looks like a sweet and well
polished handgun. The Colt Cobra's cylinder flutes are
sharp, as suggested above by my comment on "rough edges."

At a suggested MSRP of $699, which is about what they actually
sell for retail, take a look at any Smith & Wesson, even the new
ones with the often cursed internal lock or a Ruger GP 101.

Reminded me of the Commando which exhibited about as crude
a finish.

Hey, it did have the little pony on the left side.

Yes, the action was smooth but long and stagy to my way of thinking.
 
I just bought a blue, excellent condition, Colt Detective Special, 3ed Gen, for $400.

So why in the heck would I want this 'Cobra' for that price?

Deaf
 
I find your comments on the new Cobra quite interesting. This gun was one of the sensations out of this year's SHOT Show. I've only read the breathless reviews of those covering the show and I thought it was a great idea Colt intended to come out with one in .357.

I would probably never buy one anyway, my sweet and well polished GP100 looks great on my side.

Thanks for the scoop.
 
I wonder what it would cost to manufacture a new Colt revolver with the same fit and finish of days gone by? My guess is $700 would not get it done. Building a lesser version of a classic seems like a bad idea.
 
As I have stated in other threads on the subject, after inspecting one I came away with thoughts similar to yours. Too bad......big disappointment as a revolver guy. Not long before looking at the Cobra, I scored a pinned/recessed 4" model 29 for the same price as the new Cobra. Something is wrong there!
 
The new Cobra is largely MIM & is entirely outsourced in all parts.
It's assembled by Colt from outside vendors' parts.

At SHOT in Feb, I was told by one of the design engineers that there was exactly one part that needed to be hand fit- the hand.
And they planned to eliminate the hand fitting on that part once production got well under way.

The gun is a testament to the ability of the MIM industry to produce such tight & repeatable tolerances that no fitting is needed.

Just assemble & run with it.
Denis
 
Of course I've seen many a complaint about MIM in guns .But then I came across a comment that FORD trucks had a very significant , highly stressed MIM part in those trucks .
Obviously some industries use junk MIM parts and some industries use excellent MIM parts !! Or maybe some have bean counters doing their engineering ! :rolleyes:
 
I have not as yet shot the new Colt although I did inspect one and wondered about the wisdom of a .357 that small and light. The one I inspected had the dull finish but beyond that displayed excellent fitting and no tool marks whatsoever. Expensive for a carry gun? Not if you are proficient and comfortable with it, what is your butt worth anyway?
I carried a Smith 36 and later 60 pistol as a plain clothes gun or on a ankle when in uniform as a back up and was quite comfortable with the five shot revolver, today my Sig P 238 carries six rounds and I suffer no anxiety attacks.
 
"I wonder what it would cost to manufacture a new Colt revolver with the same fit and finish of days gone by? My guess is $700 would not get it done. Building a lesser version of a classic seems like a bad idea."


You'd likely be looking at $2000, if not more.

No one, and I mean no one, could put a polish and blue job on a revolver like Colt.

But to get that finish required highly skilled and experienced people running those polishers.
 
But to get that finish required highly skilled and experienced people running those polishers.
Click to expand...
People who simply aren't around to run those machines anymore. It takes years to develop someone with the aptitude.

Always hiccups with a new production line. I'll be reserving judgement for a year or two.
 
So many complaining about the finish on the new Cobras.

It is a matte tactical finish to reduce glare so you aren't identified by tangos.

The shiny royal blue and nickel finish of Colts from days gone by has killed plenty of operators. It increases visual signatures so tangos can zero in on your position and engage you.

;)
 
"People who simply aren't around to run those machines anymore."

Yep. Someone years ago claimed that it took upwards 10 years for someone to truly master that task, and many who tried simply didn't have the ability.
 
I don't know what Colt's marketing dept had in mind when they put that new model in production....maybe they got exactly what they expected...at the price point they wanted....???

I'm not a big Colt fan anyway...I think the older S&W Model 27's ( Nickel or Blued ) were better finished and better guns than the old Colts anyway - especially in terms of the S&W double action triggers over the Colt ( but I know this could spark a debate ...)...

but my point is, maybe Colt is doing exactly what they wanted to do. I don't know for sure, but I don't think they had any intention of making the same revolver they used to make again.

( I have shot the new Colt...guy at my local range bought one .. and to me its just another average production gun ...).
 
Model12Win,

Although I mentioned the finish in. my OP, note I also detailed the sharp
edges, worst than I've found on Ruger revolvers. As the whole, the
Colt Cobra was a disappointment.

As for your comment about not wanting to be identified by "tangos,"
what are those, dancers? :D
 
BigJimP you may be right that Colt had no intention of competing with the older versions. The question then is why market them under the same name?
 
"The question then is why market them under the same name?"

Probably the same reason that S&W started slapping "Military and Police" on just about everything they sold...

"NEW! Military and Police Power Bars!"

OK, not that bad, but good grief...

Anyway, the reason they're doing in, in my opinion? Still a lot of people who remember when Colt and Cobra were hallmarks for quality.

Capitalize on goodwill generated in the past.
 
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