RARE Colt Python .41 Magnum

Come to think of it are my guns are 'one of a kind'... Not one has the same serial # :rolleyes: . Now, I am a shooter (every gun I own gets shot), so a gun commanding over $1000 is ridiculous in my mind.... and then keeping a gun buried unfired in a safe is even more mind boggling.... but then I don't have the mind of a 'collector' either :p . Hope the buyer enjoys his +$5000 piece of common blued steel :) .
 
Hey, you all have to admit though .... it probably is a 'rare' Python ... He probably is buying a 'one of a kind'
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Actually, it is not one of a kind, there were several gunsmiths back in the 70s and 80s rechambering Pythons.

I am not really sure why people get all excited thinking they had found a "one of a kind" Python chambered for 41 Magnum. Colt, unlike Ruger, was not in the habit of doing one-offs or short runs of anything. If it were a Colt factory revolver, there would be lots of them around. And considering the lineage of the Python, I seriously doubt that Colt would have done it anyway.
 
IIRC there was a prototype Colt 41 Python. Mas Ayoob got to hold it and examine it back in the day.

In fact, I think there is a picture of him doing just that in his 6th edition Combat Handgunnery.

That said, the Python in question ain't it. Regards 18DAI.
 
The Blue Book says "prototypes exist" for those calibers, including .41 Magnum. I have no idea of his source or his accuracy, but I would think it quite possible, as at one time the .41 Magnum was the "gun of the month" for every gunzine and hack writer in the gun/sporting field. If Colt did not at least try it, they should have.

FWIW, I have no idea of the provenance of that particular gun, but I would know it if I were buying.

Jim
 
Colt says they never made one.

Who ya gonna believe?

Particularly when the box says it's an 8" Python in .38 Special that's been crossed out.
 
That one that just sold was NOT a factory made gun.
Prototypes Pythons exist in a few calibers other than 38 spcl. & 357 mag.
One's I've seen that I know exist are...

.22 Hornet with an 8 inch barrel

.40 caliber with a 6 inch barrel

.22 long rifle

.22 Magnum

Jeff (GUNKWAZY)
 
Hi, Savit260,

It doesn't really matter to me, since I am not going to buy the gun anyway, but I have known Colt to claim they didn't make something when they clearly did. I have a 9mm Combat Commander with a barrel marked ".30 Luger." It is a safe assumption that they had an overrun of .30 Luger barrels and simply redrilled and re-rifled them to 9mm.

I thought an actual .30 Luger Commander would be neat, and called Colt about getting a barrel. They claimed they not only didn't have barrels, but never marked any barrel that way, and never made any gun in .30 Luger. The gentleman questioned my sanity and my eyesight, and said the marking must have been put on by someone as a joke.

I found later that they made a fairly large number (2000 comes to mind) of .30 Luger Combat Commanders for sale in Italy, where ownership of military caliber guns is banned. I still have not been able to find a .30 Luger barrel for my Commander, though.

Jim
 
I'm sure a factory letter would confirm one way or another if your specific gun left the factory that way. If it doesn't letter, then it would or could have been converted after it left Ct. A very real possibility.

The simple fact that the seller , when asked, wouldn't offer a refund if the gun doesn't letter is fishy, as is the scratched out lable on the box, as well as a number of other things.

If these were actually made by the factory, a "lettered" one would have turned up by now.

Considering that some guys who are big Colt Python Collectors (some who post here ) don't know of the existance of any, should also be a good indicator that this gun has been misrepresented.

I feel bad for the buyer who's going to find out his $5k Python is nothing more than a converted 8" .38 Special.
 
I may have a small collection, but I'd bet it all that that gun would NOT letter as a factory made 41 magnum if someone wants to match it.

Jeff (GUNKWAZY)
 
I can think of alot better things to spend 5 grand on, Hell if your gonna pay that much might as well get a class 3 and get a MAC or something.
 
I may have a small collection...
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BwaHaHA!

I was willing to make a trip for the GunKwazy museum before Colt's sold the family jewels and you snagged the choice portions thereof.

Still, on a tangential note, I have wanted one of those .41 conversions for a time but not if I had to pay a price more appropriate to a factory issued version.

Since the thing has no collector value it'd be strictly as a .41 "shooter" but the more I read the more I question if extensively shooting the conversion is a good idea. Too bad - I rather like .41s - I've more 57s than anything else.

I believe it was Allen Greenspan that noted the definition of "bubble" was "knowingly overpaying for something on the belief that the next sucker would overpay even more". Now, when I think of "bubble", I'll see that .41 Python.
 
I also like the idea of some kind of .41 caliber in the Colt 41 frame, (41 special would be cool) but Collector market pricing for a conversion gun is way too rich for this guys skinny wallet.

Does anyone have any input to what they think the market price should be on a well done .41 mag conversion Python? One that is accuratly described as a conversion, not one being passed of as a factory gun.
 
At a recent Houston gun show, there was a gentleman who had a 4" nickle Python that was a 41 mag. He was showing the gun as a couriousisty piece, not trying to sell it. The cylinder walls were thin. The barrel markings appeared to be nicely done, but it looked like a 8" barrel had been cut down. There was just something about the barrel profile that didn't look correct. The owner understood that someone either in Ft. Worth or in New Braunsfel had converted the gun but had no definite information on the gun. In no way did the owner feel the gun was built by Colt. He also felt that the gun would be unsafe to use.
 
I think that someone that is selling a revolver turned into a RARE Python hand grenade needs some looking into.

What's going to happen if some hapless handloader tries his favorite 41 mag hot load in this 38 special revolver?

And if it is a dangerous handgun from the start being mismarked for caliber like it is,should it even be sold on the market marked like this?

Being that this gun looks so stock and yet is a dangerous fake,should Colt simply step in and demand that the gun be destroyed?

What happens when the gun blows up and Colt gets the bad press for some gunsmiths ill guided modification of this classic revolver?
 
Hi, Savit260,

It doesn't really matter to me, since I am not going to buy the gun anyway, but I have known Colt to claim they didn't make something when they clearly did. I have a 9mm Combat Commander with a barrel marked ".30 Luger." It is a safe assumption that they had an overrun of .30 Luger barrels and simply redrilled and re-rifled them to 9mm.

I thought an actual .30 Luger Commander would be neat, and called Colt about getting a barrel. They claimed they not only didn't have barrels, but never marked any barrel that way, and never made any gun in .30 Luger. The gentleman questioned my sanity and my eyesight, and said the marking must have been put on by someone as a joke.

I found later that they made a fairly large number (2000 comes to mind) of .30 Luger Combat Commanders for sale in Italy, where ownership of military caliber guns is banned. I still have not been able to find a .30 Luger barrel for my Commander, though.
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Jim, I'd be willing to bet that a barrel maker could do you up just right. I'd give a call to Douglas Barrels, for example, and see if they could make a 1911 barrel chambered to your specs. I would then load up a few dummy .30 Luger cases and send it to them, with your specs on twist ratio, etc. They might be able to pleasantly surprise you.

Now, a 1911 chambered in 7.62x25 Tokarev....sweet!!!
 
As mentioned before, a nice .41 Special Python would be a handy shooter. I would think Hamilton Bowen could accomplish this feat as I think he was the one who created a five shot .44 Special Ruger Speed Six years ago. With the cost of a good used Python platform and the work required for the conversion, I would think the project would run between 2-3K and appropriately named "Baby" as most of my custom conversions/projects averaged about 9 months in the shop. Anyhow, I have this old parkerized Python shooter that now wears Pachmayr-Colt grips I would not mind turning over to a reputable 'smith for a .41 special conversion. Where do we start???????????

Wait a minute, is this "one of a kind"?????????? :D
976664122-1.jpg
 
What a shame, such a neatly done fake.

As to the .41 Special, a few 200 gr .357s @ 900 fps pretty well cures the yen for a wildcat.
 
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