Colt Python: Best .357Mag ever?

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prezbucky

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It sure is pretty, and from what I have read, the Python may be the best .357Mag mass-marketed (high production) revolver ever made.

What do you think?

And why doesn't Colt make them anymore? I see sh1tloads of "old style" revolvers being put out by Colt, but the "Pythons 4 Sale" sign seems to always say "Used"...
 
Colt stopped mass producing all double-action revolvers almost 2 decades ago.

There were many factors, but the most important was that they were no longer cost-competitive.


The Python represented the best of their production line. Fit, finish, internal polishing and attention to detail . . .

Whether it's "the best" among everything on the market is a matter of opinion. But it certainly received the most personal attention on the production floor, and without a doubt it represented the best of Colt's line of DA revolvers.
 
The Colt 'New Service' in .357 Magnum was pretty alright also, if a larger Frame, suited for larger Hands I s'pose.

The 'Python' was the last of the Old Time Religion.

I had a Python .38 Special only 'Target' Model in the mid 1980s...it was very very nice...shoulda kept it.
 
I can't really say what the "best" revolver ever made is. Tha S&W Model-27s were about as good as anything on the market. I can say I like my blued, 6" Python better than any gun I've ever shot.I can shoot it better than anything else I've shot. Fit, finish,handling and :D factor are the best for me. YMMV.
 
not even close,,nickel is too thin, and the internals were prone to issues, however they are very beautiful guns, that ribbed barrel does much for the aesthetics.
 
Wasn't the Python back in production in maybe the late 90s-early 2000s? I thought the rubber grips were a sign of that, changing from wood.
 
in .357 Mag, i started with a 8.375" S&W M-27 and it was great, but a 6" Python took it's place on my range trips and i even switched it out to a 4" barrel for duty carry and finally back to a 6" tube for PPC "Leg" matches.

i tried to "baby" my Python with first a 4" M-19 and then a M-686 (first in 4" and then 6") but they just never had the Python's trigger feel or point. i even tried a Ruger GP-100, but it was a horrible failure in comparison to the others in feel.

when i got mine, the Python was almost twice the price of the M-19 ($375 Vs. $200) and it was worth it to me for a revolver to stake my life on.

if you look inside a Python's action, you'll understand why they can't be produced at a competitive price. everything works though angles and camming surfaces...it's all handfitting
 
No. Beautiful finish, and very accurate, but the lockwork was not the best, at least for me. Folks debate about how sturdy the lockwork is, and as I never worn one out, I will not enter that fray. I do know the DA stroke was very long, and the arc of the trigger return just as long. I could not shoot my early-1990's stainless Python nearly as fast as a Ruger or S&W in DA fire. That long stroke also affected my accuracy in DA fire. (If I had larger hands, that might not have been so.) Back, then, I was too poor to keep a handgun that didn't work for a living, and my Python was traded or sold, while I kept my Ruger GP100 and S&W Model 58.

Now, for a shootable collector piece, I wouldn't mind owning a Python again someday. I figure the Python is a DA-capable sixgun best fired in single action mode, and I have a greater appreciation for SA fire than I did when I considered sixguns to be just working tools. I am in my own economic downturn right now, so that will have to wait a while.
 
I think that the Python is the best collector's .357. I strongly favor blued 4" .357s. The best shooting .357 is the S&W Model 19 Combat Magnum. Perfect weight, balance, presentation, action, and performance. I would even place the S&W Model 28 Highway Patrolman ahead of the Python as a shooter as well as the platform the Python came from, the Colt Trooper. Great shooters of the three models I've mentioned can be had from $350 to $600. You can't even touch a worn Python shooter with aftermarket grips for $600 bucks. And the Python Safe Queens--Forgetabouddit!
 
I believe the Python is the best quality (fit and finish) of any mass produced revolver. The S&W M27 came close but owning numerous examples of both I judge the Colt superior.


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PS: To the folks saying the Python is fragile, or not for shooting, horsefeathers. I shoot all of mine and they shoot just fine, thank you. Group pictured was shot with a 6" Python at 25 yards using full power 357 ammo.


standard.jpg
 
I don't know if the korth 357's were/are mass produced but have heard they are even better than the pythons on numerous occasions from numerous people. Never had the pleasure of holding one myself but they are gorgeous to look at.
 
Pythons are great

S&W Model 27s are too

Personally I love Smith 19s

Capt Awesome mentions Korths and they have a good reputaion (never laid eyes on one)

The Colt design has a slight "stack" to the trigger. If you do not like that you will like the Smith better.
 
Two years after my uncle died, my aunt discovered his 4" Python in a cardboard box on the floor of her garage. It was badly rusted and pitted. The grips were gone. She gave it to me, and I sent it to Colt to see what they could do for it.
It came back nearly perfect. You can still see remnants of the pitting if you know where to look.
It is super-accurate, but it stays in the safe most of the time. I know it's value is down since it has been refinished...but still too purdy to drag through the brush and mud.
 
colt python

I to once owned a 6" colt python 357 bought it new in 1978 for 410$ keep it until 2005 sold it for 825$ . that was the best and smoothest and very well balanced, revolver I ever owned.You could hold steady on your target when you choose to rapidfire all six rounds.Money wows only made me sell it. since then I did come across a nice Colt trooper mk111 in a 6" 357 and purchased it for 490$ its nice and Iwill keep this one no matter what! :D:D
 
I learned to shoot double action revolvers on a Colt Python. Then I ran out and bought my own. The Python had the smoothest trigger pull of any of the major three revolvers. Smith came in second and Ruger third.

What gave the Python the advantage was the sear that had a graceful arch. This meant the contact time between the trigger and sear was longer and smoother as opposed to the abruptness of other guns (especially the Ruger). Certainly both Smiths & Rugers could be honed (I've done both), but for out of the box fit, finish and smoothness, they couldn't match the Python.

Now, as to which one is best. It depends. If you want the most rugged revolver ever, it would have to go to the humble Ruger. If left with the decision to keeping my Security Six or the Python in a apocalyptic situation, I'd go with the Ruger. It can take more abuse than either the Python or a S&W and keep working like a Timex.
 
I don't know if the korth 357's were/are mass produced but have heard they are even better than the pythons on numerous occasions from numerous people. Never had the pleasure of holding one myself but they are gorgeous to look at.
Click to expand...

Well, a buddy of mine has a Korth in .357. And we included it in the ballistics tests, so I've actually shot it a fair amount.

Nice gun. But I prefer my Python.
 
I have had many Colt Python's over the year's; and YES, they are very nice
firearms; but they just never did fit me. The smooth action of a good S&W
model 19 or the finely ehnanced deep blued finish of a S&W model 27
excited me more than any of the Python's I ever owned; from a 2.5 "
pony to a 6" model~! ;) :D
 
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