Smith Equivalent of a Python?

[Auburn1992]

You could get a King Cobra for about half the price. All the durability just not as smooth apparently.

 

[Olympus]

Here's some pictures for everyone. It's got a bit of bluing wear, but nothing I'd write home about. It's going to be an awesome shooter grade Python. I can't wait to run some shells through it!

 

[Brian Dale]

Nice. Those stocks look like they'll be good for comfortable, accurate shooting.

 

[Guillermo]

It doesn't perform well with magnum loads

every smith I've talked to talks about having to re-time the things

It sure doesn't feel durable shooting it

This is not the voice of truth. Nobody says that a Python does not shoot well with the cartridge that it was designed for except Bubba.

"every smith" talks about retiming...pretty AMAZING since most smiths won't touch them...finding a smith worthy of a Colt is a problem for most of us. Then again...he could be talking about people that are unworthy...I don't know his "smiths".

as far as the "doesn't feel durable"...that is too wierd to even address.

All I can say is that Bubba is one with BS...Barbara Streisand.

 

[earlthegoat2]

The Smith 586/686 was developed for the sole intention of competing with the Python.

Just to answer the OPs queston.

 

[the lone gunman]

My 586 . I like the long tube as I use it for hunting. Smooth and dead nuts accurate.

 

[Bubba613]

All I can say is that Bubba is one with BS...Barbara Streisand.

Amazing. You post 20+ years worth of accumulated experience and get flamed for it by people who probably have never touched one before.
Good luck, pal.

 

[Guillermo]

get flamed for it by people who probably have never touched one before.

I own both. And have for more than 20 years myself.

Bubba, perhaps you were using poetic license but your claims are simply not valid unless you owned a lemon Python.

 

[DickM]

Bubba, perhaps you were using poetic license but your claims are simply not valid unless you owned a lemon Python.

I'm not interested in flaming anyone, but I have to agree with Guillermo on this, and I own both a 27 and a Python and shoot them regularly, along with a couple 586s and 686s and even nice examples of a Colt 357 and Trooper (not Mark III - the original Trooper), the predecessors to the Python. I love them all, which is why they have a home in my safe. If not, they'd be gone.

 

[hinton03]

Recommend anyone that thinks the Python is delicate read this article by Grant Cunningham.

http://www.grantcunningham.com/blog_files/colt_python_delicate.html

 

[Hawk]

I've lately come to wonder if folks posting the link to Grant Cunningham's article on the Python's robustness actually read it or have had a Ferrari serviced, or even spoken to anyone that's had a Ferrari serviced.

...

This is considered normal maintenance in a Colt revolver, which is not the case with any other brand. To get their famous "bank vault" cylinder locking and attendant accuracy, you have to accept a certain amount of maintenance; it goes with ownership of such a fine instrument.

I've often made the statement that a Colt is like a Ferrari; to get the gilt-edged performance, you have to accept that they will require more maintenance than a Ford pickup. Unlike gun owners, however, folks who own Italy's finest don't complain that they are more "delicate" than an F-150!

The 800 pound gorilla here is, of course, that anyone with the means can get a Ferrari serviced in any major metropolitan area without drama (I presume this would be the case in Germany as it is in the U.S.).

In contrast, servicing a Python, which Mr. Cunningham says is part and parcel of the gilt edged performance, is orders of magnitude more difficult.

If maintaining a Ferrari required either a wait in excess of a year or boxing it up and mailing it to Maranello, would the Ferrari then be considered "delicate"?

I dare say it would. "Delicate" in all caps, double underscore and bold face. Which I guess is why the Grant Cunningham article is cited by those on both sides of the issue.

Still, I'd concur that they're not as "delicate" as some would maintain. Mine is not exhibitiing any need of maintenance and was shot regularly. However, I did buy one that was in need of maintenance when I got it and that provided far more agita than any Italian sports car is likely to provide.

 

[JohnBT]

I've read it. I own Pythons. I've never had to have one adjusted, serviced or otherwise touched. When it gets half as loose as a new Smith I'll know it's time to service it.

"Their metallurgy is absolutely the best, and their forged construction is of superior quality. They are superbly made, and their longevity is a testimony to that fact. You are never compromising when you choose a Colt!"

Ford vs. Ferrari?

There are perfectly good reasons to own a Ford for a daily driver, but I'll never be heard claiming they're as good as a Ferrari. Put them on the road and take a few high-speed curves and long straightaways. It's so unfair it's just silly.


"The Smith 586/686 was developed for the sole intention of competing with the Python."

Really? And that's the best they could do? They should have gone back to handmaking the Registered Magnum.

FWIW, my other favorite .357 is a 4" blue Ruger Service-Six. Great stock trigger, too. I was lucky to find it.

John

P.S. - Speaking of Italian cars, back in 1969 I remember seeing a Maserati sitting at a little country airstrip in Virginia about 100 miles SW of D.C. The water pump had gone bad and they were waiting on a mechanic to bring one from D.C. and install it. Now that's service - the dealer sends a mechanic. I never did find out what it cost or if the warranty covered it.

 

[Tom Fury]

8" Blue Python at Buds' guns now...

with full length underlug. $1159; worth a look
Cheers, TF

 

[Olympus]

I've found a wealth of them in my search for one. All the way from shooter grade to NIB never fired.

Don't ask...I'm not about to spill the beans. If I could, I'd buy every one of them!

 

[Deanimator]

The top of the line Smith .357 is the model 27. Prior to the Model 27 this was the "registered magnum" produced in the '30's and would cost you at least as much as a Python. The Model 27 had a less costly service version that is called the Model 28.

I've got two, a 3 1/2" and a 6". They're simply fantastic guns. The current "Classic" versions with the locks can't hold a candle to them.

 

[hinton03]

Hawk.

Only in Germany becasue I work for DoD. Alas, all my guns, including my Python, are in a closet at my brother-in-laws house and I only get to shoot them oince a year. I haven't fired some of them in 6 years.

Anyway, maybe you know; won't Colt work on the Python any more?

 

[RedHawk357Mag]

A quick question...What is the connection to Ruger and Kool Aid? and is Ruger and Kool Aid or is GP100 and Kool Aid? Thanks

 

[Hawk]

Anyway, maybe you know; won't Colt work on the Python any more?

I understand that to be one of the better options. However, that's my "box it up and mail it Maranello" strained analogy.

Non FFLs are generally stuck with overnight shipment of the beast meaning I'd be out 150.00 before the work started. Same would apply to Grant Cunningham or Cylinder & Slide. I could handle the freight PITA if not for the horrendous lead times these folks have.

I don't consider something to be "maintanable" unless it can be serviced locally in a timely manner. Of course, that's where my "local dude claims expertise he really doesn't have" tale of woe comes in. (ruined Python).

In contrast, at least locally, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a competent S&W mechanic with a reasonable lead time. If that means the S&W is an F-150 as opposed to a Ferrari, I can live with that.

I don't have anything against Pythons - the absence of 'smiths that can work on them is a major annoyance however. It's literally easier to get the Ferrari wrenched and that just isn't right.

 

[M. Hall]

I have always been a S&W guy, but recently I snagged a beautiful 6" Royal Blue Python, and
I likey! Fit and finish rivals all of my Smiths-some new, and this one is an 82 model. Would I
give up my S&W's for Python's exclusively? Not a chance, but I will say that I'm a definite
convert now....

 

[Guillermo]

I'm not interested in flaming anyone

Dick,

I am not interested in "flaming" anyone either and if I have not been High Road...I apologize.

In the name of disclosure, more Smith revolvers reside in my house than Colts. It is not as though I am anti Smith. But to make silly claims like a Python doesn't "perform well with magnum loads" is just silly.

The "brandism" that exists is really kind of humorous

 

[Brian Dale]

Welcome to THR, RedHawk357Mag.

Around here, we sometimes refer to an incessant or undue fascination with the products of a particular company, or with a particular style of firearm, as "drinking the Kool-Aid" or "having drunk the Kool-Aid." No big deal; it's just slang or a shorthand term.

It might be used, for example, in a "What Smith is an analog of such-and-such Colt?" thread when someone posts about a third manufacturer that wasn't part of the original poster's question. It's also used by members who've known each other for a while to tease each other about known preferences that they've expressed before.

 

[hinton03]

Hawk:

I hear you. I own several Smiths but only one Python, and like a Ferrari, if I had one, my Python isn't day to day shooter. I take it out of the box every few months and put 50 rounds through it, smile, and put it back. It is an opportunity to marvel at the apex of American gun making art, similar to how I feel when I pick up my Colt ACE.

RedHawk357Mag:

In this context drinking the Kool-Aid refers to someone with a cultish fascination with a particular product or brand, as the followers of Jim Jones were when they drank the poison Kool-Aid. It seems the largest group of Kool-Aid drinkers in the hand gun world are 1911 followers, of which I confess to being a member.

 

[Brian Dale]

Redhawk357Mag, I can't resist posting the quintessential example:

March 22nd, 2007, 09:43 PM #1

loxety
Member

Glock dropped in a bucket of drano

What would happen to a pistol like the Glock if it was submerged in a container of drano (Drain Cleaner)?
__________________

March 22nd, 2007, 09:59 PM #2

Jorg
Moderator

Since Drano is safe for plastic and metal pipes, I think it would only dissolve the hair clog in the barrel.

However, in just a few minutes, a Glock fanboy will come by and post a link to a test where a Glock was put in a blender filled with Drano, sulfuric acid, Coca-Cola, piranha, and 2 pounds of industrial diamonds. A CAT D8 bulldozer was then dropped on it from 1000 feet. The owner picked up the Glock, chambered a 155mm HE round, hit a post-it note at 917 miles, and then proceeded to run 726,761 rounds of Wolf ammo coated with Gorilla Glue with no failures.

Here's a link to the thread.

I ain't makin' no comparisons to Smith fans and Colt fans here, noooooo, not at all, sir.

Now back to your regularly scheduled thread.

 

[RedHawk357Mag]

Ahhh Jim Jones, the cult guy down in French Guienna... I was way off on that one...sorta I was thinking reference to age and kids drinking Kool Aid, Kids liking new-er GP100s or new-er Rugers. Thanks for bringing me up to speed.
BD, that kind of post makes me want to get the T-shirt "Proud to be POLYMER FREE"
OLY sweet deal on the Python. Your the proud owner of about the only gun that can bring a flushed look to a lot peoples faces and kick in the "ahh...I need a cigarette feeling" just from looking at one of those beauties. Good Catch.
Thanks for the Welcome folks

 

[Guillermo]

The owner picked up the Glock, chambered a 155mm

there is a 155mm GLOCK...COOL!!!

I home they have a compact!!!