COLT .357

[DC3-CVN-72]

Last year I bought a used COLT revolver in .357 MAG. that I thought was a Trooper, but it dose not say Trooper anywhere on it. On the left side of the bbl. it reads "COLT .357" underneath that it reads ".357 MAGNUM CTG." On the right side of the bbl. it reads "COLT'S MFG. CO. HARTFORD. CT. USA." It has a 4 in. bbl. and is serial # 69XX. I was just wondering if this is what COLT called the trooper first, or is this a seperate model. The gun has modest holster ware and came with some cheep hogue rubber grips. the action is verry smooth and lock up is supper tight. I paid just under $300.00 for it. Also I would appreciate it if someone could tell me the year it was made. Thank's in advance.

 

[SaxonPig]

I think that might be first year production, 1954. I have trouble with Colt numbers.

The "357 Magnum" came out in 1954 as a high-end revolver. The next year the even more deluxe Python was introduced. They made the 357 model for about 9 years I think before dropping it and offering the Trooper (which had been made simultaneously with the 357) as the lower end magnum.

The internal mechanism on your gun is the same as the Python and the same stocks will fit.

These were not big sellers and are somewhat uncommonly encountered now. Like all Colts prices are way up in recent years and these will rival the Python in asking prices and maybe even exceed the snake guns.

$300 was a steal but the stocks are a problem. Proper target stocks for this gun look like these below and will sell for $150+ these days. The Pythons from the 1950s and early 1960s had gold medallions and all other models came with silver so the ones pictured originally came on a model other than the Python.

 

[dfariswheel]

You have a Colt 357 Model. That's both the caliber AND the name.

In 1953, Colt introduced the Trooper model, in 1954 introduced the 357.

The 357 was to be Colt's premium holster revolver, and the similar Trooper was for police agencies and budget minded civilians.

The Trooper was available in .38 Special and .22LR only, with the 357 in .357 Magnum.

The problems started in 1955 when Colt introduced the Super Premium Python.
People wanting the best bought the Python and the police and people wanting a cheaper gun bought the Trooper.

This left the 357 as "odd man out" and in 1961 after about 15,000 were produced, Colt discontinued the 357, and started making the Trooper in .357 as well as .38 Special and .22LR.

The 357 was available in bright blue, bright nickel, with 4" or 6" barrels, and your choice of Service grips and hammer, or Target grips and hammer.

The 357 was the direct precursor to the Python, with the Python being a better blued, more tuned and refined version of the 357.

The 357 is an extremely high quality revolver, and is a "sleeper" today, since most people seeing one think it's just a Trooper.

 

[Kor]

Dude - I just bought a '58-vintage Colt .357 a week ago, ALSO for $300.00: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=238157

Hmmmm...maybe these guns are coming back onto the secondary market due to their owners getting older and/or passing on...

Trivia - According to my friend/supervisor/fellow gun collector, the Colt .357 was the sidearm of none other than Dick Tracy.

Now, of course, I must get a set of faux-ivory grips from Ajax or Eagle Grips, and have them scrimshawed with Dick Tracy's likeness...

 

[DC3-CVN-72]

Thank's for the info. I figured it was old but not first year production in '54 I would like to get a set of the origanal target grips for it. they don't have to be perfect, just correct. $150.00 is 1/2 what I paid for the gun. Where can I find these grips besides a gun show? If I can't find a set for cheeper I was thinking about a set of American Elk Horn from Eagle grips. How do you think these would look?

 

[Steelharp]

So, if the 357 is the direct predecessor of the Python, what really is the difference between a Trooper and a Python, other than the name? Is there a serious quality difference, or is it just aesthetics?

 

[Majic]

The Trooper was the service model. It doesn't have the high gloss polish of the Python. It's action isn't tuned like the target models (which includes the Python and "357"). It doesn't have the specially treated and tapered bore of the Python's barrel. The Trooper also have the firing pin on the hammer while the Python (and the "357") have a frame mounted firing pin.

 

[GrantCunningham]

Hmmmm...maybe these guns are coming back onto the secondary market due to their owners getting older and/or passing on..

There may be something to that...I've had more .357 models through the shop this year than all previous years combined. According to their owners, most of them were recent purchases.