Colt's Double Action Revolver Market: The Road Ahead

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I regret turning down a 4" Anaconda in .45 Colt for what was a reasonable price. Little did I know it would be a double whammy in value being both a 4" and .45.
 
I'll buy a new Ananconda post-haste. If it's blued, I'll hurt anybody that tries to get between me and it. Like Walmart on Black Friday. If it's actually a New Service Target, there could be gunfire. :p

Just kidding. (not really)
 
BigBlue 94 said:
None of em. Keep the classics as classics.

Just as Ford did with my beloved Bronco and Dodge did with the Hemi, the new Python has little in common with the original.

Id like for Colt to add to the Snake line. There are thousands of kinds of snakes. Gimme a royal blue New Service frame, 4" barrel, shooting 327FM/32H&R. Id call it the Blue Racer.
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I’ll have a Colt Corn Snake in .22 short, thank you very much.
 
How about something made for the modern market and not people who want something based off a decades old design destined to be a safe queen? How about something innovative, which is something Colt's use to be, it's what it was founded on, something that that the market isn't focused on because they're not thinking outside the box?

One idea that immediately comes to mind is something like an improvement on the M1877/M1878 double action revolvers. How many hundreds of thousands of those guns got made back in the day and go to a CAS match and it's all single actions because those are much more easily available at a low price and can all handle smokeless just fine. Sure, a modern smokeless generation of the 1877/1878 DA revolvers wouldn't be pocket change, it'd probably cost $1500, but it would be Colt leading the market for the first time in forever instead of following the market.

For the modern market the answer is obvious. Look what sells for revolvers, it's lightweight snubs. Crank out some alloy frame .22's, .32's, and .38's for under $500 and you will start turning heads.

I'm in agreement with others about a large frame revolver, I don't see a reason to invest in what is a rapidly dying market as more and more people prefer a semi auto that costs half as much, holds twice as much ammo, weighs a pound less, and shoots a cheaper ammo with less recoil.
 
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All of the Colt revolvers I ever worked on were just barely timed, or not timed at all. That was mid-80's to mid-90's more or less, with a few after that. Most could be corrected though.

If anyone comes across a King Cobra 6" from that era..... and it has a "vented" top rib that it shouldn't have.... hehe.... chances are I am the culprit. At the shop, I had plunge EDM and modified quite a few (maybe two dozen?) 6" KCs to "mimic" the Python look. The first ones were non-tapered openings, the latter ones had the radiused tapers on the openings like a Python. They should be easy to spot from the latter "factory" produced ones, as there are no machine marks, only a slightly rough surface on the tapered part from the EDM.
 
TTv2 said:
One idea that immediately comes to mind is something like an improvement on the M1877/M1878 double action revolvers. How many hundreds of thousands of those guns got made back in the day and go to a CAS match and it's all single actions because those are much more easily available at a low price and can all handle smokeless just fine.
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They were extremely fragile, and very difficult to repair. Few of those found today will function.

The DA pull was terrible.

They were slow to reload.

The Colt New Army was a very significant improvement on them.

It's the ancestor of the new Python.

TTv2 said:
For the modern market the answer is obvious. Look what sells for revolvers, it's lightweight snubs.
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There are plenty of them available now.

TTv2 said:
I'm in agreement with others about a large frame revolver, I don't see a reason to invest in what is a rapidly dying market
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There seems to be a market for N-Frames, big DA Rugers, and very big single action revolvers.

The question is one of whether the market is saturated.
 
Have you ever tried to shoot an 1877/1878 in double action? They're basically a double action version of the SAA and they handle terribly as a DA. There's a reason why modern DA's are not designed like that.
 
Kleanbore said:
They were extremely fragile, and very difficult to repair. Few of those found today will function.

The DA pull was terrible.

They were slow to reload.

The Colt New Army was a very significant improvement on them.

It's the ancestor of the new Python.
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The new Python doesn't have the Old West charm like an 1877/1878 does and I wasn't suggesting that a new production 1877 or 1878 Colt DA be the exact same design as it was 142 years ago, update the design, re-work the internals to make them more durable, easier to repair and obviously those things would make it less expensive to produce due to a simpler design than if it was the exact same gun.

I mean, if the new Pythons are different internally than the old ones and we're still considering them to be Pythons, then I have no issue with improved internals on the 77 and 78 Colt DA's because the idea is solely to appeal to a collectors market, the CAS crowd, etc.

There are plenty of them available now.
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Because that's the largest market for revolvers and if you look at what other companies are producing, if you want lightweight snubs you're stuck with Charter and their pink lady revolvers, S&W a their pricey Scandium stuff, or Ruger and their half plastic LCR, which I like, but if given the choice on a revolver I'd rather have an all Aluminum alloy frame.

There seems to be a market for N-Frames, big DA Rugers, and very big single action revolvers.

The question is one of whether the market is saturated.
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I don't think Colt is ever going to bother expanding into making more SA revolvers. I do expect a .44 Mag DA from Colt in the future, it might end up being a 5 shot, which would compete with S&W model 69 as a slim 5 shot .44, and that would be enough for Colt to cover its bases.
 
I doubt that an acceptable DA mechanism could be made to fit into the 1872 SA frame.

I would be extremely dubious about the size of the market.

The less commonality with existing designs, the harder it would be to close the business case.

A light alloy Cobra may be viable.
 
How about a COLT King Cobra Target with 4.25 inch barrel and a ventilated rib like the Python and an aluminum frame. Chamber it for .22lr and .38 Special +P (if possible) and call it the NEW DIAMONDBACK!

Also, I will second a call for a 4.25 inch Trooper MK V return. The MK V series overcame the timing problems of the MK III without the extra weight and complexity of the new Python. I would not turn down a ventilated rib. What I really want is a blue 4.25 inch gun without the Python finish or full lugged barrel (or price). It would make a more comfortable belt gun.

Jim
 
I just want Colt (or someone) to bring out an update version of the Double Action Army with a Merwin Hubert-esque skull crusher on it.
 
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UncleEd said:
Right now, the new Python remains a hot item
in auction biddings and the few at LGSs. If
the suggested retail price or below is to be
achieved, Colt needs to ramp up its
production. Until then the new Python
remains, as I see it, a boutique firearm.

As a boutique firearm, it exists more for
most buyers to talk about if at all but not to
buy.

Had Colt wished to fill the Trooper market,
which some here think exists, it could have
launched King Cobra as a firearm more
in keeping like the original instead of
a costly Diamondback in disguise.
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Yep. Until I can buy a python at MSRP, from the shop without a lot of drama they’re boutique show guns that have nothing to offer real shooters.

In the meantime, the beautiful 686 is a steal
 
Believe me, no one wants to shoot a DA designed after an SA. The grip and geometry is all wrong for DA shooting.

I also do not think the S&W 69 should be Colt's target on the market. Why target the niche within the niche when they don't even have enough basic offerings?
 
CraigC said:
Believe me, no one wants to shoot a DA designed after an SA. The grip and geometry is all wrong for DA shooting.
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All part of the fun and while it's not a gun that people will be buying for their next carry piece, it's meant to solely offer a modern reproduction of a classic gun that hasn't been available for over a century and is unique in its look and design.

I also do not think the S&W 69 should be Colt's target on the market. Why target the niche within the niche when they don't even have enough basic offerings?
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Colt should be focusing on getting the low hanging fruit and bringing back the Python was a big move as the fruit was hanging so long that it was a no brainer as it's something people had wanted for a very long time. IDK who has been asking for an Anaconda, it's not a .44 that people talk about much compared to the S&W29, other Smiths, Ruger Redhawk, and Taurus, but the slim 5 shot .44 only has two offerings currently and it's S&W69 and a Taurus. This is low hanging fruit taking the largest frame Colt currently makes and turning it into a 5 shot, easy money.
 
TTv2 said:
All part of the fun and while it's not a gun that people will be buying for their next carry piece, it's meant to solely offer a modern reproduction of a classic gun that hasn't been available for over a century and is unique in its look and design.


Colt should be focusing on getting the low hanging fruit and bringing back the Python was a big move as the fruit was hanging so long that it was a no brainer as it's something people had wanted for a very long time. IDK who has been asking for an Anaconda, it's not a .44 that people talk about much compared to the S&W29, other Smiths, Ruger Redhawk, and Taurus, but the slim 5 shot .44 only has two offerings currently and it's S&W69 and a Taurus. This is low hanging fruit taking the largest frame Colt currently makes and turning it into a 5 shot, easy money.
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I dunno about you, but I'd carry a modern 1878 Double Action Army.
 
TTv2 said:
All part of the fun and while it's not a gun that people will be buying for their next carry piece, it's meant to solely offer a modern reproduction of a classic gun that hasn't been available for over a century and is unique in its look and design.
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And you think that for that limited market, the investment to develop such a firearm would pay off?

I do not.

Heck, the original proved unprofitable long ago.
 
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