Python Vs. King Cobra

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gtomax

New member
What are the various differences between the Colt King Cobra and the Colt Python? It looks like the King Cobra is a beefier frame and barrel and looks more akin to the .44 mag Anaconda.

Confused! I'm trying to decide on which Colt I'd want. For S&W I'm a big fan of the 686 and an even bigger fan of the 696 but the .44 special round is a bit impractical since I do not handload. I've got big hands so the L-frame sized smiths fit me pretty well. Would the KC be better for me than the Python then?

Looking for a 3" barrel ideally (looks the best i think although a bit less effective for long ranges as the 4") but i'm ok with a 4" as well. The gun wouldn't be used for hunting, just target shooting and 100% reliable home defense. I already have a sig p226 in .40 and a mossberg 590 vang comp so this would be a third viable HD option ;)
 
The Python will have a slicker action. It doesn't have as meaty of a frame. It would be more carry friendly although the hammer spur can sure hook on clothes and wear holes in jackets. For the use you describe, it would be my choice of the two.

I'm a dyed-in-the-wool S&W toter myself.
 
As I understand it, a few Pythons were made with three-inch barrels, but they are almost certainly extremely pricey, and it has been a long time since they were newly made that way. The Python's action design is older and probably more fragile (although all mechanical items can break, of course, at any time), for what that is worth.

If I understand what you are seeking correctly, I think the King Cobra will fit the bill nicely, for less money. Either one would be a good choice, however.

Good luck, and good shooting! :)
 
The Python is more a custom made Italian sports car, and the King Cobra is a good Hummer.

The Python is basically a factory produced semi-custom handgun, and is the finest quality double action revolver ever built.

The Python is, and MUST be, almost entirely hand assembled, finished, fitted, and tuned.
Colt spares no expense in the external polishing and bluing.

It uses the same action that was originally introduced in 1908 in the Colt Army Special, and the action has changed so little over the years, a new 2004 Python's parts will still mostly interchange with a 1908 gun.

The Python is intended to be the most accurate revolver possible, and is the finest example of the gun makers art.
The old style Colt action probably isn't as tough as newer designs, but most Python timing problems are the result of abuse, unwitting or not.

The Python frame and cylinder are extremely strong, but the action will NOT withstand abuse like shooting double action as hard and fast as the trigger can be jerked, or cocking the hammer single action by yanking it back forcefully.

The King Cobra uses an entirely different action, having NOTHING in common with the Python and the older Colt revolvers.

The King Cobra was the last in a series of revolvers started in 1969 with the Colt Trooper Mark III.
By 1969, Colt couldn't continue to compete with revolvers that had to be entirely hand fitted, so they introduced an entirely new series of mid-frame revolver to replace everything except the super-premium Python.

The first in the series were the Mark III guns, like the Trooper Mark III.
These were followed by the Trooper Mark V, and finally, the King Cobra.

These new guns introduced the modern transfer bar action, and the use of powdered-metal injection molded parts.

The King Cobra was later used as the basic design for the larger Anaconda.

The King Cobra requires little hand fitting, and was specifically designed for modern manufacturing and assembly methods.

The King Cobra IS an absolute TANK of a revolver.
Master gunsmith Jerry Kuhnhausen believed the King Cobra was probably the strongest mid-frame revolver ever built, due to Colt's superior forged and heat treated frames and cylinders.

From "the get-go" the King Cobra was designed for unlimited use of Magnum ammunition.
Unlike the Python, there is little chance of timing problems in normal use.

If the King Cobra has ANY weakness, it's in a possible problem of broken firing pins from dry firing.
A too-hard firing pin "might" break if dry fired, and the replacement REQUIRES a trip back to Colt for replacement.
This is due to the need for a special press and support jigs to prevent damaging the frame while the firing pin assembly is pressed out, and a new assembly is installed.

The "fix" for this, is to simply use snap caps.

To sum up, the Python is a precision instrument, that doesn't take to abusive treatment.

The King Cobra is not as consistently accurate as the Python, (no other gun is), but is a higher grade gun than most of the competition.

Quality and accuracy-wise, I rate the brands as follows:

The Python in a class all it's own. it was intended to be the finest double action revolver of all time, and it is.

I put the King Cobra "about" 1/2 step above the S&W 686, a full step above the Ruger, and head and shoulders above the Taurus and the Dan Wesson.

So, the Python is the hyper-expensive, hand made Ferrari you don't take off-roading.

The King Cobra is a tough Hummer that will take the heavy use, but isn't in the same quality or accuracy class as the Python
 
I thought the Trooper Mk III was the same action as the Python and the Official Police and the Army Special. Is that not true? A friend of mine just bought a Trooper Mk III with a, well, Pythonized action as I put it. Trigger was as light as a feather.
 
Nope, the Trooper Mark III, Mark V, and King Cobra are all the same basic design, introduced in 1969 to replace all the older Colt E & I framed guns, except the Python.

This new design was to eliminate the expensive hand fitting and assembly work needed on even the "budget" Official Police.

The guns is this new series were:
Trooper Mark III.
Lawman Mark III.
Metropolitan Mark III.
Official Police Mark III.
A "very few" Officer's Model Match Mark III's.

Next series was the Trooper Mark V and Lawman Mark V.

Colt changed the barrel of the Mark V and made it in stainless steel as the King Cobra.

The older Colt E & I actioned guns like the Official Police and the Python all have the old Colt action dating back to the 1908 Army Special.

The new Mark III, V, and King Cobra have absolutely nothing in common with the older guns except the Colt name and sharing the same grip screw.

The new type Colt guns have actions that were greatly simplified and designed for mass-production.
The Dan Wesson, Ruger, and Taurus companies copied heavily from the Trooper Mark III series.

The Colt design for the transfer-bar ignition system was so good, every double action, and most single action revolvers designed since use a virtual copy of Colt's design.

Again, the later post-1968 Mark III, V, and King Cobra are TOTALLY different guns than the Python, Official Police, and all the older Colt guns.

Here's Gun Parts Corporation's schematics of the Python and the Trooper Mark III.

This will illustrate just how different the two designs are.
The Python's old style action used leaf springs and small, intricate parts.
The Trooper Mark III uses all coil springs, and large, simple parts:
http://www.e-gunparts.com/productschem.asp?chrMasterModel=0660zPYTHON

http://www.e-gunparts.com/productschem.asp?chrMasterModel=0660zTROOPER MKIII

Clicking on the schematics will enlarge them.
 
My best shooting buddy bought a King Cobra and I bought an L frame.
The King Cobra was much nice finished and fitted. Its rugged as all get out too.
Later, I bought a Python. Its much better balanced than the L frame and a little better balanced than the King Cobra.

I really wish I had bought a King Cobra way back when, as they were probably the best police duty style .357s ever made.
The King Cobra is designed with modern lockwork to be assembled. The Python pretty much has to be hand fitted. The fitting is nice, but not necissary, unless you are really, really into guns.
My friends ask me if it was worth the extra cost , compared to a Ruger GP 100 or a Smith, and I think it was.
 
WOW, they are different.

Let me ask this then. If the Troopers and King Cobra were so much simpler and cheaper to make in mass production...why aren't they still around like S&W and Ruger revolvers? How come they are gone, and the expensive python is still here?

Also, was the Trooper MK III sent off the line with a feather light action? or would that be the result of an action job?
 
The Trooper Mark III-King Cobra series didn't leave the factory with an ultra-light action, unless it was done at the Colt Custom Shop.

In 1999-2000 Colt went through the "Great Discontinuance".

In deep financial trouble, Colt decided to discontinue MOST of their pistols so they could regroup and sell only the most popular models.

Dumped were the DS-II and Magnum Carry, the King Cobra, and several of the 1911's, like the Officer's ACP.

The Python stayed, because as THE super-premium double action revolver, it's a money maker for Colt.

Late last year, Colt suspended regular production of the Python and Anaconda so they could clear the factory floor and install new CNC production machinery.

Supposedly, the Python and Anaconda will be back in production next year, and there are rumors flying about what ELSE Colt might be able to make on the new machines.

If Colt thinks there is a big enough market, and they can handle the financial end of it, we just might see a King Cobra or a small frame snubby revolver.
 
Think there is a possiblity they might bring back some of their other old classics like the Second Generation Detective Special (without the shroud) or the Colt Official Police or the Trooper MK III or old New Service .45 revolver? As well as some new ones.
(get some illegal aliens to make them for cheap labor :D )
 
There were statements made a few years ago that the General who heads up Colt had been heard to say he'd like to make a New Service.
Nothing more was ever said or came of it.

I rather doubt you'll ever see a new "D" frame Detective Special, especially the older "skinny" barrel version, due to the high price.

People will spend the money on a work of art like the Python, but won't pay that kind of money for a "snubby" defense revolver.

The price of all that hand assembly and fitting labor has just priced the old style revolvers out of the market.

That's a shame, because what I REALLY wanted was a "D" frame shrouded Detective Special in stainless steel.

The "SF" framed stainless SF-VI, DS-II, and Magnum Carry just wasn't "it".

I'd guess that if we see ANY new revolvers it'll be either a King Cobra or Magnum Carry.
 
Thanks for the great info...

Did all King Cobras have the MIM trigger with what looks like a vertical rib? It seems to be a different finish from the rest of the SS gun - then again I have never seen a king cobra in person.
 
The original Trooper Mark II series guns had hammers and triggers made with an earlier version of the current MIM (Metal Injection Moulding).

This was called "sintered steel".
The process involved injecting powdered steel into a mould, heating it until the metal melted, then removing an almost finished part from the mould.

When Colt did a slight redesign of the Mark III, and introduced the Mark V, they went to a cast steel hammer and trigger.

Cast steel was also used on the later King Cobra.
 
no real useable info here. Just wanted to say that I have a King Cobra and beefy, it is! This is the only .357 I have kept and that I will keep. Colt did a great job with this gun and it is a real pleasure to shoot.
 
no real useable info here. Just wanted to say that I have a King Cobra and beefy, it is! This is the only .357 I have kept and that I will keep. Colt did a great job with this gun and it is a real pleasure to shoot.
 
Colt Python

Could not even think of adding anything to what's been said already. I bought my Python in 1982 and still have today. Out of all the revolvers I have owned the Python with the 6" barrel is the best handeling gun I own. Just glad I never sold or traded it off.
 
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