Posted: 11/22/2015 2:02:42 PM EDT
|
I will preface this by stating to me the S&W 66 will always be the best all-around 357 revolver for the everyday man, 2nd back in the late 90’s Miculek proved that S&W’s have faster trigger resets for revolver competitions. 3rd I’ve shot ruger super redhawks that splattered me with lead because they went out of time and once read of a 686 owner who broke the forcing cone after firing his 35k shot of full bore magnum ammo. If you shoot it enough it will eventually break or wear out. This is the only real scary part of owning a Colt – having a competent smith around to work on it.
Colt Python, yeah the prices are crazy! Back in the early 90’s one would walk into a gun store and the S&W 686 would be $325, a Ruger GP100 $289, A Taurus 66 $225, a Colt would be $450. I was raised S&W so the cylinder release to me is always sliding forward. If you are older and watched Magnum Force enough times you will choose the Colt or if you like the little pony on the side you would cough up the extra hundred. Was it worth it though? Yes! 
Back then most gun shops had a smith attached to the shop. If you wanted an action job you bought the gun for 300 handed it to him and 6 weeks later handed him 200 and now you had a really nice gun. For most duty & security personnel who weren’t going to shoot their gun a lot the actions were good enough on the 686 & 100’s. For most shooters just raising the dough for the gun wiped them out so they also deemed the actions good enough. Now for the shooter who wanted a nice action but didn’t want to wait for a smith to work on it the Colt was the obvious choice, especially if this was your first revolver and you were not already sold on the cylinder release. The Colt Python to me represents the height of American Revolver manufacturing. In single action or double action it is easy and a joy to shoot. Most revolver shooters cock the hammer, they usually can’t hit shit double action but with the python your shots are almost as good double action as single action. With these guns you hit the bullseye, none of that “here’s the bullseye but 3 inch’s over look at my grouping bullshit” no you hit where the lines cross. The usual responses in regards to pythons are “you can’t shoot magnums”, “people who work on them are dying off”, “the timing is so delicate”, “I shot one wasn’t impressed”, “the prices are ridiculous” and “Is Glenn “Gene” dead?” I have roughly over 2K rounds, 500 of those rounds being 158 gr & 180 gr factory magnums, if you cock the hammer, pull the trigger and hold the trigger back there is absolutely no play in the cylinder at all, these are magnum revolvers they can handle a reasonable amount. The scale of the revolver fits right in between a model 66 & 686. The truth is what really hurts these actions like all revolvers is idiots spinning the cylinder and flicking it closed, Colts do not like this. Yes the experts who work on these are “getting low”, so if you want a python to shoot and enjoy do it sooner than later. Don’t forget to tip your gunsmith by the way they are way more valuable than the liberal waitresses everyone is always worried about. The “I shot one and wasn’t impressed” crowd never mention the condition of the guns they shot. I shot a friends super Blackhawk the other day and wasn’t impressed either but we only had 2 types of bullets to run through it and it’s an older gun that’s beat to shit, truth is the ruger super Blackhawk is one of my favorite 44 magnums and have shot plenty to know how well they perform. My opinion on the one I shot last week would not be a very fair assessment. “The prices are crazy.” If I were buying one today I would buy one that has been shot so I could put at least a 1000 rounds through to get my enjoyment out of it and then sell it for a profit while the market is high. I know walking dead is helping drive the prices up, I guess 2 more seasons until viewers get burnt out and move on so I would gather 2017 would be a good time to sell. Keep in mind though rule of thumb is every 20 years things are popular again so a whole new generation of kids watching reruns will gladly drop cash to own a grimes gun. “Is Glen dead?” Probably – if not he will die eventually – either way he’s dying. If the show has any integrity Rick will die too at the end of the series. Most revolvers are selling for 700+ nowadays they should be around 600. Realistically Pythons should be at 1000 – 1500 as a good quality used gun. A good python is on the same level as a performance center revolver and they are 1k+ The King Cobras action is still better than a S&W 686 and the KC was created to directly compete against the 686 & 100’s. The roll down hammer makes cocking this gun so smooth, S&W & Rugers the hammer is like pulling the arm on a slot machine, not the end of the world but minor movements at the shooting line open the shot placement down range. 
The wife’s mini 86 has 1000’s of rounds through it, it’s going to need an action job as it still sucks shooting double action – that being said I really love this gun and wish it were mine. 
Rugers Match Champion has a nice double action pull on it, they are selling at around 700 bucks, this Wiley Clapp loves being shot double action and has a nice compact feel when shooting it, however in single and double action mode it is the worst compared to my smiths and colts – It will most likely take the most beating and that’s always been Rugers charm – your great great grandchildren will also complain of the shitty trigger pull. 
A decent target auto is going to run upwards of 800 bucks so if you want a target pistol or revolver I don’t see too many cheaper offerings, back in the 90’s the autos were 200 bucks more than the revolvers – plastic pistols changed everything. Rock Island has been a good option for a quality gun with a realistic price point of what a gun should cost but let’s face it everything is overpriced today – little fishing boats are several thousand dollars. 
Personally I would like to see Colt set up a division in a nonunion state and partner with a company much like Dan Wesson did with CZ. Take revolvers and pistols and produce them to keep the brand alive and maintain the quality but to where it’s not the main companies bread and butter so limited runs wouldn’t hurt them but could afford to sell the guns at a more down to Earth Price. Lastly I will say if you have a new in the box gun that is unfired than yeah I would treat it like a stock and not shoot it, but if the guns been fired you owe it to yourself to shoot it and enjoy it. We’re only here for a limited time, pull the trigger. 
The best tools of grandpas hanging on the wall are those he used often. |
