I looked at a Python yesterday

[Standing Wolf]

I looked at a used stainless steel four-inch Colt Python yeseterday. It locked up tightly. The finish was in reasonably good shape. It had Pachmayr rubber grips with Colt medallions, which I don't care for. The single action pull was about four pounds, but crisp. The double action pull was needlessly heavy, as well, but fairly smooth. I've always liked four-inch Pythons: they're handy, but balance well, yet still afford me an acceptable sight radius. The price tag was $789.

I thought about it long and hard.

The cylinder was dirty inside and out. The previous owner obviously had shot lots of .38 specials in it. There was plenty of dirt under the extractor, but the star was in good shape. The guy behind the counter said there was no room for negotiation.

I thought about it overnight.

I went to another gun shop today, didn't see much that caught my eye, and couldn't find any .40 caliber Nylon brushes, which work fine on .357 magnum cylinder bores. I decided to cruise the display cases a last time before leaving, still thinking about the Python, still reluctant to pay such an inflated price. I happened to notice a Browning Buckmark. Nope. It wasn't a Buckmark.

It's a Belgian-made Medalist.

I haven't seen one of those in years. This one had been shot, but obviously not very much, and included barrel weights and a handy-dandy screw driver in a plus-lined presentation case, as well as stocks with a thumb rest.

Well, I couldn't very well leave the poor neglected orphan languishing in a dusty old gun shop, could I?

 

[BigG]

Nice piece. Hope it shoots as good as it looks!

 

[10-Ring]

Good you bought the one that called out to you!

 

[firestar]

That the one I would have bought.

 

[cratz2]

Nice gun. Knew a guy in Texas that had one, or one very similar to it. I never got to shoot I but always though it was about the most comfortable gun I'd ever handled. At the time, anyway.

Congrats.

 

[GlocksRock]

Very nice! I see why you mistook it for a Buckmark. If you don't mind me asking, how much did it set you back?

 

[Standing Wolf]

It turns out my Medalist was made in 1968, which makes it my oldest firearm by a decade or thereabouts.

It took about half an hour to remove the rear stock: the original Cosmoline had turned to glue, and the stock is a tight fit, anyway. I may have done some serious cursing, but the Cosmoline did its job: there's not a speck of corrosion anywhere on the gun. The bore, once I'd brushed and swabbed it a little, has turned out flawless and spotless.

Here you see it soaking in a pan of mineral spirits.

 

[Bullet Bob]

Medalist

Great gun, and one I'd like to to add to my .22 collection. There's just something about that little "forearm" that tickles my fancy. Let us know how it shoots - great, I'll bet.

 

[Kahr carrier]

Nice ,Congrats on the new toy.

 

[BHP9]

I have nothing but praise for the Medalist. It was made the way pistols should be made, no junk plastic, no junk castings , no stamped sheet metal or aluminum.

I would not buy any new Pythons. I hear that they hav junk MIM cast internal parts just as all the new S&W revolvers have.

Even original Pythons are noted for going out of time very rapidly sometimes within only 1,000 rounds. If the hand was fitted up properly (on the long side) they last a very long time but too many I have seen were fitted at the factory on the short side and this leads to short life. The problem is that the forged hands are probably unavailabe and I would not trush a cast Mim part any farther than I could spit.

On the other hand the Original Pythons were the most accurate, moste beautiful handguns ever made. One hole groups at 25 yards are not uncommon.

 

[Standing Wolf]

I've finally finished cleaning it up now, and spent some time this afternoon taking pictures. If it had been warm enough today, I'd have left the camera in the closet and taken the gun to the range.

The rear sight is definitely a change of pace from the proportionately much deeper sights on High Standards.

 

[Standing Wolf]

It was warm enough to go to the range yesterday!

 

[Standing Wolf]

Wait! Sorry! My mistake!

Here's the real picture.

The Medalist turns out to be reasonably accurate, although I encountered a lot of stove pipes. The only ammunition I had was CCI Green Tag and standard velocity, so I'll have to pick up some others before I take it back to the range.

I shot the target on the right at 30 feet with my hand resting on a sand bag. I shot the other target at the same distance bullseye-style.