The new Colt revolvers don't do it for me

[Ascot500]

Am I the only one who finds the new Python and Cobra models ugly?
Maybe not on their own, but put one beside any of their older models - including the Police Positive and Official Police - and tell me if you agree
Notice the elegant curve of the trigger guard and the cylinder release on the old models?
The modern iterations look like they were drawn by a ten year old
I thought that modern manufacturing methods should make it easier to produce complex shapes

It is just me?

 

[shoebox1.1]

I think you’re in a fairly small club of dissidents. Which is fine

 

[Speedo66]

Highly polished Colt Royal Blue vs. matte stainless, not even close.

 

[CraigC]

I don't care for the Cobra but the Python and Anaconda are right nice lookin' sixguns. The triggerguard is weird on the Cobra.

Highly polished Colt Royal Blue vs. matte stainless, not even close.

The new guns are not matte finished. They are polished to a mid-level shine.

 

[SterlingBullet]

Highly polished Colt Royal Blue vs. matte stainless, not even close.

Yes, the bluings on the older Colts, if you get to see and handle one in mint condition, are awesome.
In your mind, you can actually convince yourself that the frame is made of metal in that color and mirror polished.
Probably a lost art, unless the retired Colt employees left with the knowledge and recorded it somewhere.

 

[Old Dog]

put one beside any of their older models - including the Police Positive and Official Police - and tell me if you agree

I do not agree.

While I have a great fondness for the old Colt DA revolvers (and do think the Police Positive in particular is an elegant piece of engineering and art), I believe the new King Cobra and Python series to be superior firearms.



The shape of the trigger-guard on the new KC doesn't bother me.

The modern iterations look like they were drawn by a ten year old

Ah, but in the immortal words of the legendary actor Patrick Swayze as "Dalton" in the classic motion picture Roadhouse, "Opinions vary."


Yes, we all mourn the death of the old high-polish bluing. In the meantime, it's still possible to procure minty specimens of the older pistols and revolvers with most or all of the bluing intact, you'll just have to take out a second mortgage on your house or trade in ten of your Glocks...

 

[.38 Special]

I grew up with S&W revolvers and so to me, that is the height of handgun attractiveness. The Colt look has never quite done it for me - although some of them (the Police Positive and its kissing cousin the Detective Special, in particular) are in my wheelhouse.

What's funny, with regard to the Python and its relatives, is that as a young fellow I had a Crosman CO2 gun in that exact shape, and now that silly bit of plastic and pot metal is the first thing that comes to mind when I see a Colt!

 

[bigpower491]

I kinda like the looks of my King Cobra Target, then again, I like polished stainless.
Dad's mid 70s blued Python is the bomb, and I do get to look at and handle it sometimes(my brothers got it, good on him) But nothing today, save a Freedom, Kurth, etc.,is made like those were.
I heard recently the Freedom 83 is ugly, too. I reckon to each his own, but I sure as heck didn't buy em to look at em.....
Go shoot one and lemme know what ya think

 

[Ohen Cepel]

The QR code on the side is a big turn off for me. What does it even scan to?!?! Why do I want to scan my revolver?!?!?!

 

[bigpower491]

The QR code on the side is a big turn off for me. What does it even scan to?!?! Why do I want to scan my revolver?!?!?!

Agreed, I'm not a fan of it.
But it's a nice shooter

 

[Old Dog]

The QR code on the side is a big turn off for me.

I find it pretty innocuous. Certainly, less obtrusive than the hole on the side plate of current production S&W revolvers, and far less offensive than some of the huge roll marks, billboards and lawyer warnings on many firearms.

 

[shoebox1.1]

Touché’! Lol

 

[silicosys4]

The newer pythons are all right, the older ones look better but I'd rather have a newer one for the lockwork.
I haven't seen an anaconda
All the other modernized snake guns remind me of when modern cars tried to go retro looking and some just ended up looking goofy because they couldn't merge a modern aesthetic with the vibe of the car they were trying to emulate.
Kind of like the retro Tbird.

 

[cfullgraf]

Ruger SA/DA revolvers look frumpy to me. But, I still have a couple as they are good performers.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I like the looks of the new Colts. The bluing on the old Pythons is exquisite but it is just too expensive to do these days.

 

[shafter]

They could at least hide that QR code under the grip panels or the cylinder rod.

 

[Mark_Mark]

you guy bet me to the QR code…

has anybody tried scanning the code?

 

[Mark_Mark]

this was at my local… but I didn’t have $2200 someone put it on hold as they put it back in the display case

 

[HKGuns]

The thing that turns me off on the newer one's is the lined barrel construction. It reminds me of a cheap .22 pistol barrel.

 

[dfariswheel]

Colt doesn't use lined barrels.... that's a S&W thing.
The Colt barrel is counterbored to protect the muzzle which may look like a liner.

As for the blued versus stainless revolver.......
Back in the 1980's the American gun buyer decided they liked stainless revolvers, but liked blue or black autos.
The gun makers responded by making mostly stainless revolvers, but it's harder to find a stainless auto.

The new Colt small frame revolvers have the odd shaped trigger guard to prevent pinching the trigger finger.
Notice how the new models have much less curved triggers. They have a redesigned lock work to give a much nicer DA trigger pull and that required a straighter trigger.
If the guard was like the older guns you'd get serious pinching.

 

[mcb]

Colt, the cylinder release goes the wrong way, it will get you killed on the streets.

-Certified Colt hater and S&W fanboy!

 

[Mark_Mark]

Colt, the cylinder release goes the wrong way, it will get you killed on the streets.

-Certified Colt hater and S&W fanboy!

Improved Colt ! lol

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I think Colt has done a great job with the aesthetics on the Python, but agree the smaller new Colts have strange proportions and look....."off."

That said, I like the trigger pull just fine on the Cobras and they still carry better than an SP and shoot better than a J-Frame.

 

[Mark_Mark]

I think Colt as done a fine job with the aesthetics on the Python, but agree the smaller new Colts have strange proportions and look....."off."

That said, I like the trigger pull just fine on the Cobras and they still carry better than an SP and shoot better than a J-Frame.

The trigger pull on the New Python is really good!

 

[SterlingBullet]

The newer pythons are all right, the older ones look better but I'd rather have a newer one for the lockwork.
I haven't seen an anaconda
All the other modernized snake guns remind me of when modern cars tried to go retro looking and some just ended up looking goofy because they couldn't merge a modern aesthetic with the vibe of the car they were trying to emulate.
Kind of like the retro Tbird.

Unfortunately, the retro Thunderbird was a miss. A little too small; even at 5’9” my head was above the windshield. The headlights and taillights were too simplistic and the engine too anemic. It should have been more of a larger luxury two-seater with a sleeper, screaming high horse power engine to put those Challenger guys in their place.

 

[mcb]

Improved Colt ! lol

View attachment 1172486

Is that a left handed single action? The loading gate is on the left side.