Why Kill off the Snake Series?

Netto, this is Python Haters Central. I ignore them all the way to the bank every time my snakes keep increasing in value. The market has spoken loud and clear.
 
Netto, this is Python Haters Central. I ignore them all the way to the bank every time my snakes keep increasing in value. The market has spoken loud and clear.

No one said intelligent people drive the market. My main point is that the Python is a nice revolver, but nice and best are two different things. I don't think they suck, but then again, do they live up to their rep?

I don't hate Pythons and I actually collect Colts. My opinion is simply to give credit where credit is due.
 
Winchester73,

And your opinion, does it add something?

Cunningham and Ayoob have years of work recognized by several police officers around the world, and you?

Please tell me your qualification because I'm curious.

By the way, I'm a Police Officer and a Happy User of Colt Pythons.

Netto
 
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Cunningham and Ayoob have years of work recognized by several police officers around the world

Even when police officers still had revolvers, they mostly had S&Ws. I'm sure even you know that. Why pay more for less?

Please tell me your qualification because I'm curious.

By the way, I'm a Police Officer and a Happy User of Colt Pythons.

Well I guess I have no qualifications, because after all, its the internet, and how could you trust that I probably own more revolvers than you have guns, I read a lot, I own many books on revolvers and my opinion(s) came from experience, not my Uncle Billy who loves Colt and let me shoot his Python once. But then again, I could be a 13 year old with a vivid imagination... cause its the internet, and you just never know.

Most police officers know almost nothing about guns. Just like many dealers don't know a lot of things. Just because you carry an H&K, Sig or Glock, and you have to qualify once per year, does not mean you know anything about this subject. I suppose you enounter a lot of naive people who assume you know revolvers because you carry a polymer auto; well I'm not most people.

If they were as good as you say, why would Colt cease production? Its like a mystery, until you think about it...
 
I despise that article by Cunningham. He pretty much states, "Pythons aren't high maintenance, they just require more care, the occasional tune-up by a gunsmith and a little babying."
 
I despise that article by Cunningham. He pretty much states, "Pythons aren't high maintenance, they just require more care, the occasional tune-up by a gunsmith and a little babying."

How dare you criticize any drawback regarding Pythons! That is pure blasphemy. Pythons are like Ferraris, you know cause Ferrari is over rated, not made anymore, and lost out to Masserati, right? In addition, everyone stopped buying Ferraris because they were the fastest highest quality car on the market! It only makes sense.
 
I read the Cunningham article and while there is a difference, it's still a pretty fine line between "requires regular maintenance because the parts wear out" and "delicate".
 
Add me to the Pythons are overrated crowd. I've owned several and they were beautiful guns, but the lockwork takes a backseat to S&W in my opionion. S&W lockwork just holds up better. I've seen far more timing issues with older Colts than S&W's of the same vintage.
 
I am impressed with somethings that I just read here.

Winchester73, if I take your opinion seriously, I could also say that pistols like HK P7 M8/M13 or Walthers P88 also are not good because they are no longer manufactured, right?:D

In a globalized economy, there is something called manufacturing cost, which became unprofitable firearms manufactured by forging and machining, such as Python.

In addition, the North American shooter, unlike the European, not acquires firearms based only in quality, but primarily based on cost benefit.

All I can say is the during heyday of "Bullseye" matches in UIT -now called International Sporting Shooting Federation - ISSF, the Colt revolvers ruled. They simply shot better than the Smiths.

The blind as those who will not see.

Netto
 
I own Colt and S&W revolvers. I love the Colts, nothing like them but the S&W guns shoot better for me. I shoot the model 19 better than the Python and I do better with a 586 than a Trooper. The Colts are classier but they won't run with the S&W on the range.
 
I could also say that pistols like HK P7 M8/M13 or Walthers P88 also are not good because they are no longer manufactured, right?

Not what I said. Please read for comprehension. I was stating that anything that is the "Rolls Royce" of revolvers would not have voluntarily been removed from a companies production line. Those guns you mention were never hyped up half as much as a Python, although of course, they're nice guns, AFAIK. You can come up with any excuse you want for Pythons, but the "Rolls Royce" credit trumps any cost or manufacturing issue that you can come up with. In other words, if the "Rolls Royce" rep was true, then there would be a dedicated group of buyers, and many others saving their pennies and dimes to have something that is the "best". The only thing left to explain what happened to the Python is that the claim "Rolls Royce" is false, and a stretch, to say the least. When you look at it that way, you can understand why they didn't sell as well later, and why Colt stopped making them. Also, in a lesser respect, why they were more money to build. Partly it was due to hand fitting, and partly due to the antiquated design. If they would have modernized it some, perhaps they could have overcame that issue. Since they didn't even explore that option, one must wonder why Colt would make this blatantly "wrong" choice to discontinue the best DA revolver ever made.

Think about other things which are to some the best in their field: Mercedes, Rolex, high end shotguns such as Perazzi, Randall knives, and the list goes on. What do all of these things have in common? High end, expensive, and STILL IN PRODUCTION. These companies and products lived up to their hype / rep, and so their companies still can profit from manufacturing the said item. I don't mind if you like your Python, but I take exception to false claims based on inexperience or misunderstandings. Afterall, the myth became strong partly due to people repeating claims such as yours, which have very little evidence to back them up.

In a globalized economy, there is something called manufacturing cost, which became unprofitable firearms manufactured by forging and machining, such as Python.

In addition, the North American shooter, unlike the European, not acquires firearms based only in quality, but primarily based on cost benefit.

Thats just a wives tale, an internet based excuse, and a farce to say the least. If the gun was the best available, the customers at the time would have agreed with you. You are basically saying that while the Python was in production, no one knew how great it was, and then, like finding a fossil in the earth, we "discovered" after the extinction, that they were the greatest. A lot of logical holes there, wouldn't you say?

All I can say is the during heyday of "Bullseye" matches in UIT -now called International Sporting Shooting Federation - ISSF, the Colt revolvers ruled. They simply shot better than the Smiths.

I think you are forgetting about all of the people who disliked the colt stacking trigger, which goes back to the secrets behind the Python myth. With the amount of different S&W models, the model 17, 14 and 27 and even the 52 were well represented. Some people shot Pythons better, and some shot Smiths better.

The blind as those who will not see.

If I'm blind to this issue, then you sure have a lot more explaining to do, to say the least. Repeating Uncle Billy, or something someone posted on a forum about a Python their cousin had doesn't add anything to the thread.

Did you ever notice it sure seems like many people who criticize the Colt Python are people who own many revolvers, and who are usually well experienced with revolvers. In contrast, many people who say the Python is the top own a glock and remington 870, and have no experience with S&W, Dan Wesson, etc. Is that a coincidence?

Here is a thread on the Colt forum about the Python. Many Colt fans seem to agree it doesn't live up to its hype. So think about it, even Colt collectors see a disconnect between a Python and its rep. Even on the colt forum, the Python was criticized. Does that register to anyone?

http://www.coltforum.com/forums/colt-revolvers/50677-there-any-other-gun-close-being-good-python.html
 
Winchester73, I have some thoughts about what you wrote:

"Think about other things which are to some the best in their field: Mercedes, Rolex, high end shotguns such as Perazzi, Randall knives, and the list goes on. What do all of these things have in common? High end, expensive, and STILL IN PRODUCTION. These companies and products lived up to their hype / rep, and so their companies still can profit from manufacturing the said item. I don't mind if you like your Python, but I take exception to false claims based on inexperience or misunderstandings. Afterall, the myth became strong partly due to people repeating claims such as yours, which have very little evidence to back them up."

Except for Perazzi, all brands mentioned by you were forced by the market to outsource part of their production components, to remain competitive in the market. An example of this is the Randall, which is made by a team of craftsmen, and not by Bo Randall. These knives are not considered authentic Randall knives for collectors.

"Thats just a wives tale, an internet based excuse, and a farce to say the least. If the gun was the best available, the customers at the time would have agreed with you. You are basically saying that while the Python was in production, no one knew how great it was, and then, like finding a fossil in the earth, we "discovered" after the extinction, that they were the greatest. A lot of logical holes there, wouldn't you say?"

Colts Pythons have always had a higher cost than its direct competitors. And as the average American citizen is based on cost benefit, the products of competition were more attractive.

"I think you are forgetting about all of the people who disliked the colt stacking trigger, which goes back to the secrets behind the Python myth. With the amount of different S&W models, the model 17, 14 and 27 and even the 52 were well represented. Some people shot Pythons better, and some shot Smiths better".


This is not a personal opinion, that is a fact, which is supported by the results of the Olympics from the beginning of the century. In the overwhelming majority of competitions governed by former UIT, the Colt revolvers were winners.

"If I'm blind to this issue, then you sure have a lot more explaining to do, to say the least. Repeating Uncle Billy, or something someone posted on a forum about a Python their cousin had doesn't add anything to the thread."
"Did you ever notice it sure seems like many people who criticize the Colt Python are people who own many revolvers, and who are usually well experienced with revolvers. In contrast, many people who say the Python is the top own a glock and remington 870, and have no experience with S&W, Dan Wesson, etc. Is that a coincidence?"

You adopt the same strategy of cultural Marxism: looking disqualify the person instead of presenting counterarguments. Do not worry, I've left the childhood a long time. Besides Police, I'm a collector of firearms in Brazil, taking my collection more than 150 firearms, including more than 40 revolvers. I am also a hunter, going once year hunting in Africa.

"Here is a thread on the Colt forum about the Python. Many Colt fans seem to agree it doesn't live up to its hype. So think about it, even Colt collectors see a disconnect between a Python and its rep. Even on the colt forum, the Python was criticized. Does that register to anyone?"

There are two errors presented in this discussion: first, to compare products from different epochs - before and after World War II - where the concepts of consumption followed a different light; The second, most collectors in this discussion is certainly composed of middle-aged people, so it is natural to consider their products as superior.

Netto
 
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I don't know if you are correct or not about the Olympics and Colt revolvers used. But it is not worth "discussing". I personally prefer Colts over Smiths but Colt did not fill every void. S&W made excellent revolvers and continues to manufacture excellent revolvers.

Except for Perazzi, all brands mentioned by you were forced by the market to outsource part of their production components, to remain competitive in the market. An example of this is the Randall, which is made by a team of craftsmen, and not by Bo Randall. These knives are not considered authentic Randall knives for collectors.

Bo Randall died. Randall knives are still collected. He has had a team of knife makers working for the company for years. Bo Randall when he was alive did not make every knife. A fair comparison are knives made by Bob Dozier. He does not make every knife and probably only makes a small portion of today's production personally. But they are still "Doziers" and have a very good reputation.
 
I love my S&W M57s. Kcub, you still looking for that 44 mag? I consider my 8 3/8" M57 the finest revolver I own and I have owned many and continue to own quite a few. And yes, I like it better than the couple Pythons I have owned. Frankly, my Trooper Mark III is my favorite 357.

Colt Snakes? Got more than a couple. Great guns, but Smiths are pretty good too especially the M17, M18, M19, M27, M29, and M57's.

I sold off a 5.5" Ruger Redhawk in 41 mag recently and I keep thinking... maybe I should have kept it. I seldom have any remorse when I sell a gun, but this one was hard to find in the first place.
 
Seems to me that back in the 80's, when I first started pricing guns, Pythons sold for considerably more than M27, M28, and M586 Smiths; Pythons definitely had a following prior to the end of production.

Pythons also showed up regularly in movies and on TV. The first one I remember noticing was Robert Stack's, on Strike Force.
 
I enjoy reading the posts on the Python. there is allot of history and good information. I learned quite a bit. I have a half a dozen Colts and like them very much. Their demise was cost, $ plain and simple.


The number of people who keep dragging S&W into the Colt conversation doesn't pertain to the question. Ok indirectly, but I sense a "chip" on their shoulders. Those conversations distracts from the theme of this post and I think they are out of place.

I do own more S&W and prefer them but if I want to talk about it, I will start my own thread, which is what others should do, stop mixing apples and oranges. :-)
 
I'd love to have an 8 3/8" 57 and I love the .41.

I was just looking at the 5 screw 44 because it was local and I've never held one. And there is no such animal as a 5 screw (or Colt) .41 magnum.
 
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