Post-SHOT Show Colt Cobra Update
- Thread starter DPris
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Walk', it's a great shame that the fun of the .32 S&W cartridges has been largely lost to the mists of time, isn't it?
I've got a line on an old I-frame .32 Smith that I'm hoping to acquire later this week. It will serve no "useful" purpose for me in terms of protection or hunting or competition... it's only rationale will be shooting for pure enjoyment. Sometimes, that's enough!
So, yeah, Colt, crank out a few in .32 while you're at it!
I've got a line on an old I-frame .32 Smith that I'm hoping to acquire later this week. It will serve no "useful" purpose for me in terms of protection or hunting or competition... it's only rationale will be shooting for pure enjoyment. Sometimes, that's enough!
So, yeah, Colt, crank out a few in .32 while you're at it!
ColtPythonElite
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Colt has been reading my posts for years. The next gun will be a MK V action with a Python barrel screwed on it. MSRP will be $824.95 for the Ultimate Polish Stainless model....slightly less for matte or blue.
ArchAngelCD
Member.
You may not believe it but I was thinking along the same lines lol. Great minds think alike...Maybe a 3rd model Colt "Garter" would sell to the ladies.
Get it? Garter snake?I know ... a cornball comment!
View attachment 229141
BLU
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Arch Angel: I have been angry with Colt for a very long time since they turned their backs on the normal consumer.
AMEN!!! And should Colt ever read this... I turned my back on Colt. I'm not sure whether or not I'm willing to give them my money again. (I still haven't bought a new S&W with the Hillary Hole). That being said, my attitude took a serious upswing when I heard about the Cobra at the SHOT show. I must admit, this may just make me forgive Colt. Sure as there's sin in the city, someone else from THR will own one before I do. Whichever one of you that may be... tease me with some pictures and a real & honest range report, please!
AMEN!!! And should Colt ever read this... I turned my back on Colt. I'm not sure whether or not I'm willing to give them my money again. (I still haven't bought a new S&W with the Hillary Hole). That being said, my attitude took a serious upswing when I heard about the Cobra at the SHOT show. I must admit, this may just make me forgive Colt. Sure as there's sin in the city, someone else from THR will own one before I do. Whichever one of you that may be... tease me with some pictures and a real & honest range report, please!
ArchAngelCD
Member.
There is one good thing that can come from Colt again building a good DA revolver. It just might force S&W to bring their QC back where it should be and possibly lower prices. I know there is Ruger but S&W had very little competition and that is never good for the consumer.
Im just glad that a new revolver is being made with a one piece barrel that isnt clocked, no idiot lock and its a design that I find some thought went into. That it is a snub with Colt roll marks (not cheesy laser etching) is just gravy.
The current company posing as s&w has not produced a product I would purchase in over 15 years. The over hyped "return of the 66 snub"? That thing barely resembles a real S&W 66.
For years the s&w fanboys and apologists have referred to us older revolver aficionados as "traditionalists". Well, this traditionalist now has a manufacturer making a new revolver that he wants to buy. AND IS EXCITED ABOUT!
The current company posing as s&w has not produced a product I would purchase in over 15 years. The over hyped "return of the 66 snub"? That thing barely resembles a real S&W 66.
For years the s&w fanboys and apologists have referred to us older revolver aficionados as "traditionalists". Well, this traditionalist now has a manufacturer making a new revolver that he wants to buy. AND IS EXCITED ABOUT!
Stephanie B
Member
The much repeated BS about Colt "turning its back" on the regular consumer is just that- BS.
No company, Colt or anybody else, should be expected to continue manufacturing non-profitable product lines because a segment of its customer base feels that company owes it to them.
Colt had limited resources & made a business decision to allocate those resources toward products that WERE profitable.
They didn't do that just to poke you in the eye.
Had you & others been buying those discontinued revolvers in sufficient numbers to justify Colt keeping them in production, you can bet those guns would still be in the catalog.
You go start up a business manufacturing red widgets & blue widgets.
You'll have the resources to build a finite number of widgets in total.
You start out making equal numbers, 50% red, 50% blue.
In a couple years you notice that red widgets are outselling blue widgets 100 to 1.
You can't keep up with red widget orders, while blue widgets are stacking up on shelves waiting for orders to come in.
The blue widget orders are intermittent, but operating expenses are constant.
You're a for-profit business, you have to not only pay your bills or go under, but make a profit, or there's no point in bothering to run the biz.
Gee. Tough decision there.
But, you make that tough decision, and you swing all available resources into expanding production of red widgets, and you drop the blues.
Sales increase exponentially, you stay afloat, you actually make money, and you simply tell those few people now deciding they want blue widgets "Sorry, had to move on."
The Blue Widget Brigade, completely ignoring the realities of the manufacturing world, may hate you forever for "abandoning" them, but business IS, after all, BUSINESS.
And you REMAIN in business.
Buy the Cobra or don't, but this unfounded resentment against Colt for doing what it had to do to survive is nothing but idiotic.
Denis
No company, Colt or anybody else, should be expected to continue manufacturing non-profitable product lines because a segment of its customer base feels that company owes it to them.
Colt had limited resources & made a business decision to allocate those resources toward products that WERE profitable.
They didn't do that just to poke you in the eye.
Had you & others been buying those discontinued revolvers in sufficient numbers to justify Colt keeping them in production, you can bet those guns would still be in the catalog.
You go start up a business manufacturing red widgets & blue widgets.
You'll have the resources to build a finite number of widgets in total.
You start out making equal numbers, 50% red, 50% blue.
In a couple years you notice that red widgets are outselling blue widgets 100 to 1.
You can't keep up with red widget orders, while blue widgets are stacking up on shelves waiting for orders to come in.
The blue widget orders are intermittent, but operating expenses are constant.
You're a for-profit business, you have to not only pay your bills or go under, but make a profit, or there's no point in bothering to run the biz.
Gee. Tough decision there.
But, you make that tough decision, and you swing all available resources into expanding production of red widgets, and you drop the blues.
Sales increase exponentially, you stay afloat, you actually make money, and you simply tell those few people now deciding they want blue widgets "Sorry, had to move on."
The Blue Widget Brigade, completely ignoring the realities of the manufacturing world, may hate you forever for "abandoning" them, but business IS, after all, BUSINESS.
And you REMAIN in business.
Buy the Cobra or don't, but this unfounded resentment against Colt for doing what it had to do to survive is nothing but idiotic.
Denis
.455_Hunter
Member
Given the number of small carry revolvers that S&W, Ruger, Taurus and Charter have sold over the past 15-20 years, coinciding with the rise of mass concealed carry, it seems to me that Colt really missed out on a huge number of potential customers. This is exactly what International Harvester did in 1980 by discontinuing the Scout II- just before SUV's became popular...
New V-Spring action.
Re-designed from the older V-Spring.
You can see photos of the finish if you look around.
It's not polished in texture, but it's also not rough parkerized in texture.
Those who like a polished finish will be unhappy, but on a working gun I prefer something less shiny.
Denis
Re-designed from the older V-Spring.
You can see photos of the finish if you look around.
It's not polished in texture, but it's also not rough parkerized in texture.
Those who like a polished finish will be unhappy, but on a working gun I prefer something less shiny.
Denis
BLU
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DPris
In the 80's Colt stopped working on innovative products and just relied on their traditional handguns already being produced. That backfired on them. Add to that the late 80's worker's strike and then operations at Colt seemed to unravel.
In 1996 they came out with a 'smart gun' that used a radio signal. This was suppose to deter unauthorized users from firing the gun. Innovative? Sure. Something that will richly reward the company? I don't think so.
In 1998, CEO Ron Stewart told a major Washington newspaper that he favored a federal permit to own a gun. A permit you would have to obtain training and a test to receive. That interview resulted in a boycott of Colt products.
These aren't opinions, (BS), these are facts. Cause and effect. Colt's attitude towards their own workers resulted in their workers staying on strike for years, (which caused Colt to hire replacements). Replacement worker's products were not up to the quality level they had been at, resulting in less sales.
Designing products the general public doesn't want. That's not the path to profits.
Stewart's comment about a permit to own a gun most definitely created a huge impact on the handgun market. I know it impacted me! I haven't bought a Colt in decades.
You can believe it's all BS if you want to. I'm not trying to sway anyone's mind here. These events are documented, I'm sure. No, I'm not going to look it all up to produce the documents. This is a forum, not a courtroom. These events happened, (I'm sure you can find them on the net somewhere). They are just some of the things that made me, (and others), turned off to Colt. And I am angry at Colt.
In the 80's Colt stopped working on innovative products and just relied on their traditional handguns already being produced. That backfired on them. Add to that the late 80's worker's strike and then operations at Colt seemed to unravel.
In 1996 they came out with a 'smart gun' that used a radio signal. This was suppose to deter unauthorized users from firing the gun. Innovative? Sure. Something that will richly reward the company? I don't think so.
In 1998, CEO Ron Stewart told a major Washington newspaper that he favored a federal permit to own a gun. A permit you would have to obtain training and a test to receive. That interview resulted in a boycott of Colt products.
These aren't opinions, (BS), these are facts. Cause and effect. Colt's attitude towards their own workers resulted in their workers staying on strike for years, (which caused Colt to hire replacements). Replacement worker's products were not up to the quality level they had been at, resulting in less sales.
Designing products the general public doesn't want. That's not the path to profits.
Stewart's comment about a permit to own a gun most definitely created a huge impact on the handgun market. I know it impacted me! I haven't bought a Colt in decades.
You can believe it's all BS if you want to. I'm not trying to sway anyone's mind here. These events are documented, I'm sure. No, I'm not going to look it all up to produce the documents. This is a forum, not a courtroom. These events happened, (I'm sure you can find them on the net somewhere). They are just some of the things that made me, (and others), turned off to Colt. And I am angry at Colt.
RealGun
Member
Colt would have to reinvent its guns to require less hand fitting and then labor cost. They can't be like the old guns, or we wouldn't afford them. Other companies do the same.
I am having trouble with the proportions of this gun. I have three 38s with 5 shots. The Colt as a 6-shot seems odd to me with its two inch barrel instead of three. It is already not a pocket gun like the 5 shots. Unless a person had a 3" poke them when sitting, the 3" barrel seems to me to be more in proportion. You just need a little forward cant on a holster for a three barrel. I see the old Smith model 10s and 64s in 2" barrels, but if I ran into one in 3" in decent shape and reasonably priced, it might become mine.
I am having trouble with the proportions of this gun. I have three 38s with 5 shots. The Colt as a 6-shot seems odd to me with its two inch barrel instead of three. It is already not a pocket gun like the 5 shots. Unless a person had a 3" poke them when sitting, the 3" barrel seems to me to be more in proportion. You just need a little forward cant on a holster for a three barrel. I see the old Smith model 10s and 64s in 2" barrels, but if I ran into one in 3" in decent shape and reasonably priced, it might become mine.
Blu,
I'm very much aware of Colt's history, I bought my first one in 1976.
There have been numerous managerial blunders in recent decades, which I do not defend. But, at the point where Colt dropped its DA revolver line-up, it did NOT do so to "turn its back" on regular everyday people.
Those everyday people were simply not buying enough of them to keep 'em going.
Colt at that time, and for many years after, did not have the money for R&D to be innovative.
They had to make what they COULD make, and concentrate on what they COULD sell.
What led to that is irrelevant to the purpose & intent of my "BS" statements.
With the most recent bankruptcy out of the way, they're able to slowly move ahead.
I refer to the concept of "turning their back on us" when I say again that's pure BS.
Be angry at Colt or anybody else you feel hostile toward, just drop this back-turning crap.
It's like people take it as a personal attack.
"Colt hates me, they won't make what I want them to make, and they're DELIBERATELY DOING IT to ruin my life and obliterate any possible chance at true happiness for me in this world. They've destroyed my marriage, driven the kids outa the house, caused my neighbor's dogs to poop on my lawn, and turned my cat against me. I HATE Colt and I will until they apologize on their knees 24/7 for a year, beg my forgiveness, build everything I want them to build, and sell me $3000 guns for $59.95!"
Jeeze.
Get over it.
You weren't buying enough of their revolvers to keep them in production, so they produced & sold other stuff to pay the bills.
They didn't do it just to make your life a living hell on earth.
At THAT POINT, it was purely a survival business decision.
Which worked for the company.
I do not address the other side issues, stick to the main point.
And don't buy the Cobra.
Colt will sink or swim without any help from you in either direction.
Denis
I'm very much aware of Colt's history, I bought my first one in 1976.
There have been numerous managerial blunders in recent decades, which I do not defend. But, at the point where Colt dropped its DA revolver line-up, it did NOT do so to "turn its back" on regular everyday people.
Those everyday people were simply not buying enough of them to keep 'em going.
Colt at that time, and for many years after, did not have the money for R&D to be innovative.
They had to make what they COULD make, and concentrate on what they COULD sell.
What led to that is irrelevant to the purpose & intent of my "BS" statements.
With the most recent bankruptcy out of the way, they're able to slowly move ahead.
I refer to the concept of "turning their back on us" when I say again that's pure BS.
Be angry at Colt or anybody else you feel hostile toward, just drop this back-turning crap.
It's like people take it as a personal attack.
"Colt hates me, they won't make what I want them to make, and they're DELIBERATELY DOING IT to ruin my life and obliterate any possible chance at true happiness for me in this world. They've destroyed my marriage, driven the kids outa the house, caused my neighbor's dogs to poop on my lawn, and turned my cat against me. I HATE Colt and I will until they apologize on their knees 24/7 for a year, beg my forgiveness, build everything I want them to build, and sell me $3000 guns for $59.95!"
Jeeze.
Get over it.
You weren't buying enough of their revolvers to keep them in production, so they produced & sold other stuff to pay the bills.
They didn't do it just to make your life a living hell on earth.
At THAT POINT, it was purely a survival business decision.
Which worked for the company.
I do not address the other side issues, stick to the main point.
And don't buy the Cobra.
Colt will sink or swim without any help from you in either direction.
Denis
ArchAngelCD
Member.
DPris, I'm not going to "fight" here about a company that means nothing to me but I do disagree, Colt did turn it's back on the general public. They thought they didn't need to cater to us because they had so many military contracts. That was until they no longer had those exclusive contracts. Colt went as far as to put up two WEB sites, one for military/LEO and the other for the leftovers. They rarely ever updated that sight too. It's my opinion they only changed because they almost went bankrupt.
Not producing very expensive to produce revolvers is not the reason why I say they turned their back in us, they just did. You could not go into a gun shop and see a Colt 1911 in the case, there were none. You had to order them.
One other thing, why is my opinion BS and not yours?
Not producing very expensive to produce revolvers is not the reason why I say they turned their back in us, they just did. You could not go into a gun shop and see a Colt 1911 in the case, there were none. You had to order them.
One other thing, why is my opinion BS and not yours?
eazyrider
Member
I'm happy I live in a world where Colt is making DA revolvers again. I'm happy I live in a world where more revolvers are coming into the market. I love Colt, always have and I always will. With that said though, I won't be buying this new Cobra. For me it fills no role. I carry a WC 92 most of the time and I recently purchased a 638 for pocket carry when appropriate. I like all of my guns to have some type of point, however stretched that point may be. This new Cobra simply has no point for me.
But I do wish Colt the best and I hope it sells well.
But I do wish Colt the best and I hope it sells well.
BLU
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Good point RealGun. I hadn't considered that. I have three 5-shot revolvers, (one with a 3" barrel). The new Kimber is a six shot and beefier than my J frames but I would still consider the K6s a pocket gun. I haven't had a chance to pick up the Cobra so I can't comment on it's size but when I do, I'll keep your post in mind. I sure hope they produce one that looks more like this:
ColtPythonElite
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I have a decent collection of snubs, some not Colt, some Colt including Cobras, Agents, Lawmen, and a Detective Special...I will probably buy the first new Cobra I see that is priced at or below MSRP.....I don't need one....I want one.
The difference in cylinder diameter is about one tenth of an inch.
ColtPythonElite
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I don't know about the new Cobra, but the old D frames make fine pocket guns.
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