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The Python is back

6K views 58 replies 10 participants last post by  purebred 
#1 ·
Colt has started shipping new Python's into distribution already.
 
#2 ·
Ya,aaaaay! And the 4.25" barreled version only costs $1500.00.
I'll take 2!
Sheesh! How many will bite at that price?
 
#5 ·
I paid $400.00 for my first new python in 77. In 78 I bought another one for a little over $500.00.
By 79 I had come to the conclusion that a K frame Smith had a better action.

My first duty weapon was a Diamondback 4".

Their wantin $1400.00 for that gun, and twice that for the old Pythons.
I know where three Pythons, and two Diamondbacks are that have been sitting under glass for over 2 years.
They are over priced, and so are the new ones.
IN MY OPINION.
 
#7 ·
I paid $400.00 for my first new python in 77. In 78 I bought another one for a little over $500.00.
By 79 I had come to the conclusion that a K frame Smith had a better action.

My first duty weapon was a Diamondback 4".

Their wantin $1400.00 for that gun, and twice that for the old Pythons.
I know where three Pythons, and two Diamondbacks are that have been sitting under glass for over 2 years.
They are over priced, and so are the new ones.
IN MY OPINION.
AND your opinion is MY opinion too!!!

I've had 4 or 5 pythons over the years, I've found them to be way over rated!

DM
 
#6 ·
Well let's hope the new ones are better, like they say they are. If so, I'll likely get one and not let it go like I did the last two.

Thanks, Dinny
 
#8 ·
The trigger pull is long, and stacks a little. I tore both down and improved them some, but the Smith action cleans up much better.
I don't believe a human can hold it steady enough to prove their more accurate than a smoothed up L frame. A Ramsom rest might, but I wouldn't bet against the Smith either way.
 
#10 ·
It's nice to see an American firearms company come out with a 'new' revolver. It doesn't happen often and I applaud their endeavors in fielding one when black plastic and cerrakote aluminum are the in thing.

That said it's prolly not like the old ones inside, a lot of hand fitting went into those and no machine is going to be invested in and built for an unknown market. It's stainless which has its merits but there was nothing like the royal blue on a python years back. Saved Colt time and $$ doing what they did. It could be a new King Cobra with Python externals, time will tell.

If you like Colts and a Python was on the bucket list this could be the time for it.
 
#11 ·
Id take a k or l frame over a python if both cost the same! Sure wouldn't pay 50 percent more for an inferior gun just because it has pretty bluing. Only owned one python and thought it was the most overpriced handgun I ever owned.
 
#14 ·
Lloyd I'd take the K or L over a python also, include N's with that statement.

I bought an 8" nickle python when they came out. Shot it a little, liked the balance of a 6.5" M27 better. What sent it down the road was the nickle started to peel where the barrel shank protrudes in the frame window.

The 2nd one was used, 6", but I didn't fire it much because I had a few Smiths. Never cared fro the factory grip but had an old Hogue hard brown plastic 1 piece grip on it. That was better by far. The 6" was sold about 3 years ago.

The only Colt left is an official police 4", I'll prolly hang onto that one. Takes the python grips and speedloaders also.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Back in the day, I was into long range pistol shooting.....as I was hunting with my handguns all the time. I looked at competition with my hunting revolvers, as the best pistol practice I could get.

SO, I went through revolvers looking for the BEST accuracy I could get, and that's the biggest reason those pythons got sent down the road! My opinion then, as it is today, if you want the most consistently accurate revolver with the finest build and smoothest action, then you wanted the original S&W 357 magnum, later to become the M-27.



The accuracy and workmanship is TOP notch!



They could be bought for the price of a python or in most cases, for less than a python and they are a much superior gun. Nothing Ruger or Colt ever built or builds compares!



Mine "now" shoot much better than I can, but back in the day they were my long range match winning guns !, those along with a couple M-29's I also shot competitively…

Now I'll brag a little, I won 13 long range pistol matches in a row with my M-29, 6-1/2 and 8-3/8.


DM
 
#13 ·
if you want the most consistently accurate revolver with the finest build and smoothest action, then you wanted the original S&W 357 magnum, later to become the M-27.
I never really thought that much of the Python, or colt revolvers in general. I guess I woulda bin called a "Smith Man."

For that reason I lusted for a M-27, and opined that it was the most beautiful handgun made! :tango_face_grin:

Seems to me our State Troopers used them. Or maybe the M-28. :confused:
 
#15 ·
I admit I have a soft spot for those old Colt revolvers. But, they're sure not worth the price people are asking for them now! To me the Python has the "look", and that Royal blue finish was never quite matched by anything else. I also preferred the Colt style cylinder latch.

All that said I would much rather buy 3 or 4 model 19's instead of one Python!! If you want something to show off at the range buy a Python. If you want a working gun buy a Smith or Ruger.
 
#16 ·
I LOVE the "K" frames, I've owned M-19's since the early 70's... Especially if they are chambered in 44spl.!!



OR, how about 25/20 Winchester?



Those two kinda make ya wanna have a party!!


DM
 
#17 ·
Possibly due to my particular hand - eye combination I have not found any Smith, be it N, L or K frame to match any of my Pythons in accuracy or in either SA and DA trigger feel. The older Smith models are pretty good, but the more recent (Hillary hole) models are disappointing. The only revolvers that best the Pythons in accuracy are my Manurhin MR73s and my Freedom Arms revolvers.

I've had to sell two K frames as parts guns due to forcing cones cracking. S&W told me they were out of stock when I inquired about replacement barrels. I still own two (or three?) but their relegated to the safe. I'm not going to risk shooting them again. I still have their original boxes and original grips
 

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#18 ·
I find it interesting that back when the Python was priced within the reach (barely) of the average person it was probably the most universally admired revolver. Now that the prices on them are out of reach for most people it's suddenly become the most criticized revolver ever made! It's only a matter of time before someone says they'd rather have a Hi-Point than a Python if the price was the same!

Human nature - "If I can't afford it I have to criticize it"!! Sort of like criticizing someone who buys a big house or fancy car.
 
#20 ·
I find it interesting that back when the Python was priced within the reach (barely) of the average person it was probably the most universally admired revolver. Now that the prices on them are out of reach for most people it's suddenly become the most criticized revolver ever made!
This just isn't true...

Back in the day, no one was into handguns more than I was and believe me, they were criticized plenty by those of us that USED our revolvers, back then.

On the competition scene, they were NOT considered the most accurate, and on top of that, the action was considered some what fragile when used hard, and not easy to get properly repaired once it broke.

Besides the above, one of the reasons hunters didn't care for them, was because of the vent rib that was hard to keep the dirt out of and rust forming there.

Then there's that assbackwards cylinder release! AND...…….well, I think you are getting the picture...

These are guys that use their guns hard, not a bunch of guys that buy and sit around and grin at their revolvers!!

DM
 
#19 ·
ill put my old "shooter" 15 up against any python. It actually outshoots my clark ppc custom 10 off of bags. Have had numerous 10s 15s and 19s and have yet to find one the wasn't an exceptional shooter. Where I screwed up is when the police trade in 10s and 15s were going for a 150 bucks. I bought 4 of them and gave three away. Should have bought 10 and still had less into them then id have paid for one nice python. Good reason you don't see a python on a ppc line. Dont tell me price when i see 2000 dollar smith customs out there. Python trigger pull is so long and a smith with just a little work is as smooth or smoother and shorter. Forcing cone? You can shoot out a python too if you feed it a steady diet of 357. Thing is people thing pythons don't wear out because about nobody I know shoots the snot out of them. Show me one with 50k round count and if you can find one id bet most of those were 38s. Smith k frame forcing cone is a problem for you get a L frame. My 15 has I don't know how many thousand rounds through it and the forcing cone is just fine. Sorry fan boys but in my opinion a python is the most overpriced handgun ive owned.
 
#34 · (Edited)
Python trigger pull is so long and a smith with just a little work is as smooth or smoother and shorter.
Anybody that is familiar with both actions will know a S&W trigger pull cannot be made as smooth as what a Python can be made. The S&W design simply doesn't allow it. The trigger return slide on a S&W is a relatively large metal on metal slide that causes stiction, stiction the Python does not have. The return slide is also pushed by a cheap, and nasty, coil spring. So claims your trigger pull being as smooth as a Python's; sorry, that's simply not true.

Also worth noting, anybody that has worked on S&W actions will be painfully aware that softening the DA pull results in the sear failing on SA if that is set too light. IOW, a S&W cannot be optimized for both SA and DA. You have to get a nice balance between SA let off and DA pull. The Python design does not have that restriction.

Pythons are not popular for competition because of it's slow trigger reset, not trigger pull.

Forcing cone? You can shoot out a python too if you feed it a steady diet of 357.
Nice spin you're attempting there ... no, the issue is not wear, but actual forcing cones failing. K frame forcing cones don't ever wear out, they crack way before that. They crack because S&W K frame .357 revolvers have a design flaw. See attached image. The K frame is too small for .357 cal and therefore S&W engineers had to trim away part of the forcing cone to fit. That is were the K frame forcing cone will fail. Shoot enough rounds and a K frame breaks. I have never heard of a Python breaking a forcing cone (or anything else)

As far as L frames go, note the pic pf the L frame Cylinder. That's one of my L frame cylinders after 50 rounds of rapid fire. Never had that issue on any other wheel gun.

Thing is people thing pythons don't wear out because about nobody I know shoots the snot out of them. Show me one with 50k round count and if you can find one id bet most of those were 38s.
While I don't shoot "the snot" out of any of my guns, my Pythons have shot more rounds with the same full power .357 ammo that had caused two of my K frames to break their forcing cones. For the record, I never ever shoot 38's out of .357 chambers. A K frame is probably robust enough for a steady diet of 38s and should probably never have been sold as a 357.

You'll do well to read up on the French GIGN. They initially adopted K frames as their side arm, only to find that they tended to expire after 25,000 rounds. They then switched to Manurhin MR73's, one they allegedly tested to 170,000 rounds of full power .357 where they stopped with the MR73 still operating to satisfaction.
 

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#21 ·
The vent rib was a problem?? Must be a lot of shotgunners that never take their vent rib shotguns hunting!

Yes, qualified old model Colt gunsmiths are few and far between so it's gonna cost to get one put right again.

As far as the cylinder release, that's just a matter of personal preference. There's no practical advantage to either style.

It's a miracle Colt ever sold ANY Pythons, seeing as how they were so inaccurate and so fragile they would break in half if you weren't careful taking them out of the box!

I just don't understand why some on here have to bash anything they don't personally think is the best?? People have different tastes and preferences, I don't see why some can't tolerate anyone liking something they don't!
 
#26 ·
The vent rib was a problem?? Must be a lot of shotgunners that never take their vent rib shotguns hunting!
When hunting, I never saw anyone where "I was" carrying a shotgun with a vent rib, but I did see a python with rust under it's rib. We hunted for weeks, out in the bush, (in tents) and I never had my M-29 fail in any way, never saw any "qualified colt people" out there either. I guess IF, we had had a sat phone, we could have had one flown out there though. lol lol

Buy what you like, I just prefer reliability, accuracy and easy of maintenance when I'm out in the bush.

Having it look "pretty" at home, means nothing to me!

DM
 
#22 ·
Some people here wouldn't be happy with anything, anyone, anywhere, anytime. Sure is nice having people celebrate other people's joys. Whatever happened to, "if you're happy, so am I?"

Thanks, Dinny
 
#23 ·
This website is a website of opinions.
I haven't seen ANYONE here say don't buy a Python.

As someone whom carried a duty weapon for a living I saw the Python as THE duty weapon.
It was 357 magnum, it was accurate, and it just looked sexy.

My first stark disappointment was at an instructors only 2 week school at the Tarrant County SOs firing range.

In a fifty round speed drill my Python locked up due to heat at about round 36.
All I could do was wait till it cooled before the cylinder would open.

There were 15 of us, all LE instructors, and I and another instructor were carrying the only 2 Pythons there.

There were days where everyone fired 1,000 per day each.

A little past midway of the 1st week, everyone was having trigger finger issues.
But the long trigger pull on the Python enhanced the damage.

When I came back from the weekend for the last week of training, myself and the other instructor showed up with a Smith.

That week we fired as many as five 50 round qualifiers a day, with no revolver issues.

Now I doubt anyone here would put their revolver through such a test, but the Python proved not up to that test.

And I haven't said don't buy a Python, what I've said is MY opinion, based on my "personal" experience0, and I'm entitled to that.


It's like someone wanting a Street Glide "CVO". I don't care if he wants to pay an "extra" $18,000.00 for a Street Glide.
I get a better commission, and he gets what he wants.
He can park it in his garage, or jump ditches with it.
 
#24 ·
Opinions are great. They're what makes this place interesting.

I don't remember anyone here claiming the Python was the greatest revolver of all time, or that it was the best choice for everyone in every situation. Obviously your personal experience proves it was not the best for what you wanted to use it for.

For someone else it may be the best choice - all depends on the intended use and what a person enjoys owning for whatever reason.

I'm just saying some on here can't give their opinion without an accompanying attack on someone else's opinion.

"My dad can beat up your dad" attitude!
 
#25 ·
Well, I don't see where that's happened either.

And I agree with you in that everyone is entitled to what they buy, and what they use it far.

Are we borrowing conflict when there actually was none?
 
#27 ·
Hard to imagine someone who has never seen anyone hunting with a vent rib shotgun. I guess it's entirely possible if someone has never hunted birds.

I saw a Smith & Wesson once that had some rust on it - and gee, until I saw that I thought they made some real good guns!
 
#28 ·
Hard to imagine someone who has never seen anyone hunting with a vent rib shotgun.
You really need to work on your reading and comprehension skills!!

What part of, When hunting, I never saw anyone where "I was" carrying a shotgun with a vent rib, don't you understand???


In case you missed it AGAIN, where I was, is the key phrase!

DM
 
#29 ·
Some people can really kill a thread with their attitudes and behavior. Why don't you all kiss and make up or just stop posting. This has been some serious competition for the Urinary Olympics!

Thanks, Dinny
 
#31 ·
I never owned a Python, always out of my price league. I have known a lot of people that have and every one of them bragged about them in one way or another. I have owned many a Smith Wesson and always thought they were fine guns whether it be a revolver or semi automatic. I don't know anything about weakness or strength of a Python but one thing I do know is I would surely love to have one to give my Grandson. For I do know what the name COLT means to me as an American and gun lover.
 
#32 ·
When one starts a thread, one could post the rules, and criteria allowed in the discussion.
In that format, one would always hear, what one wanted to hear.
"Eutopia" Did I spell that right?
 
#33 · (Edited)
I simply shared what I heard re Colt releasing the Python again and didn't have anything by the way of expectations of other posters. That said, I never thought it would draw a bunch folks that would turn the thread into a Python bashing contest.

I have to agree with Spruce on this one, it sounds a lot like sour grapes. Given I own most of the guns that supposedly best a Python, 'actual' experience tells me otherwise.
 
#36 · (Edited)
The K frame 357 magnum Smith revolver, was a "brain child" of one Bill Jordan, and he worked with Smith & Wesson to develop the "Model 19 Combat Magnum".
The K frame Smith was never intended for a day in, day out, constant diet full power 357 magnum ammunition.
It was developed for law enforcement who carry every day, and other folks who wanted a lighter weight pistol, with more power.

Now, as far as the Python having a better trigger on double action/single action, I would say BS.
I have had Pythons brought to me, with gritty, uneven triggers.
The Python is a target pistol, the ventilated rib was more about forward weight, and sex appeal.
But will it outshoot a cleaned up Model 27?
Depends on the 2 men shootin'em.
Now someone mentioned that one of the Smith action problems on smoothing is the trigger return spring block. BS!
That component is one of the easiest fixes towards a smooth action fix.

AND! In making kinder, smoother actions in a J, K, L, or N frame Smith, I have never had issues negating single action pull, or sear engagement.
I have no idea how that would happen.

Now, apparently their are some thin skinned folks that got their feelings hurt over the Python criticism.
I, like the other "haters" merely gave our experience. The Python is a beautiful gun, but shot for shot, it is not worth the extra $1,000.00 TO ME.
It may be to you, and that's all I meant.

But, the Python is not infallible, it has warts.

The K frame will suffer under hundreds of rounds of heavy magnum loads.

If you want to lighten your looooonnng trigger pull on that Python? Take the grips off, take a dow rod slightly smaller than a pencil and stick it in between the V spring and cocke the pistol with the hammer.
There! Technology readjusted.
 
#43 ·
Now someone mentioned that one of the Smith action problems on smoothing is the trigger return spring block. BS!
That component is one of the easiest fixes towards a smooth action fix.

.
If you say the component is easy to fix, then there must be a problem right? The component is easy to improve, impossible to fix. Let me explain by way of comparing to the Manuhrin return slide.

Consider the two trigger return slides pictured below. The Smith's is a cheaply cast one-piece that slides (metal to metal) on the frame. The trigger return spring is an equally cheap coil spring, and changing trigger return weight requires you to open up and replace the coil spring. I don't have to point out a coil spring isn't linear right? Now if you stone the surfaces on the slide carefully you improve your trigger feel. However, improving does not mean fix. The Manurhin trigger return slide on the other pic runs on 4 rollers, and utilities a leaf spring. The leaf spring engages the return slide via another roller. You can see they went to great lengths to reduce friction.

The Manurhin has more tricks up it's sleeve, i.e. the main spring engages the hammer via yet another roller. All done to eliminate stiction. The result is that the Manurhin gives you feedback on what the revolver is doing during the trigger pull. You can feel when the hand engages the cylinder, you can feel the cylinder lock engage and you can tell exactly when the hammer is staged.

A S&W simply cannot do that - I have spent many many hours stoning parts. Now I'm not saying a Python is better at giving feedback than an S&W, I' simply sharing this you to illustrate that the return slide is an issue, and "improving" it via a bit of stoning does not mean "fixing".
 

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