Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Colt's big Shot Show announcement...

...I wonder what this will do to the current price of original Pythons... Saw a really nice 6" blue in a shop Sunday for only $2200...

I can see one reason for bringing back their revolvers in that S&W quality and engineering has gone way down and if Colt can make a quality product at the right pricepoint they will cut into S&Ws business...

I've owned a ton of Colt 1911s but only a few of their DA revolvers... The only two I still have are a Trooper .357 and a .22 Trooper...both 4" guns...

Bob

Next will be the Diamondbacks I hope. There is a market for them I would guess.



Note: I wish their grips fit my hand like the S&Ws do. I like to keep them stock.

I hope I'm wrong, but Colt sure seems to be living in the past. I wonder what the average age is of the marketing people who think this is a good idea to spur sales and grab market share.

Like someone mentioned before, S&W lately have little to be desired in the Revolver market.

OTOH, it's no longer the revolver market of 1974.

I'd love a Diamondback again.

Looks fine.

I remember. Someone got the scoop before Kevin.

I'll believe it when I see it.

Colt barely has anyone left in their service department that knows anything about the older designs and they haven't been able to provide much factory support for them for many years now.

If Colt has anything new coming out, it'll likely be based on the latest Cobra/King Cobra design ..... which will be much to do about nothing.

EVERYONE got the scoop before Kevin. I guess I need to talk to my boys in the industry more often.

I think it will ultimately depend on the quality, and the numbers that are built. The Python Elite's (last Python) tend to go for much more than other Python's just because the roll stamp is different, quality is the same, and the numbers were fairly low.

Fortunately I got into my Python at a pretty good price point. The new Python would have to come in REALLY low before I start to worry about any value loss to my Python. And if that happens, hell, I'll buy one!!! Might just buy one anyhow.

And good call on the Colt vs. S&W thing; I didn't think about that. Colt certainly does have an opportunity to dig into S&W's revolver sales. Oh how I'd love to the Colt's sales manager these days. Colt is KILLING it (on the guns, not so much the marketing).

Colt is clearly chasing the money. Small frame revolvers have been the best revolver sellers for AT LEAST 40 years, probably double that (I've only been doing this for 40+ years). Next is the "Medium Frame .357", which is traditionally the next best seller in the revolver market. And the new King Cobra is in some ways better than the old one.

So if they're really chasing the money, the next big seller traditionally is the .44 magnum, so look for the Anaconda next.

But to your point. It wouldn't be hard to turn the King Cobra into a 10 shot .22 Diamondback. If they did that, you'd see me sniffing around Colt's, because I'd want one. If they got it right, might even give up my S&W 617 (but that's a TALL order, it's my favorite handgun...so the Diamondback would have to be really good).

The Python action is VERY different for sure. But it's not as if it's a sub-component for the Space Shuttle...They can learn again...Hell, I'll go teach them if need be...it's just not THAT hard. Anyone with decent listening skills, a steady hand, and even a modicum of patience can pull it of if they apply themselves. Look at me, I passed the Colt Armorer course when I was just 22 years old...and I had a SCORCHING case of ADHD!!! (still do...probably worse now).

As for support of older Python's, it's mainly because they don't have anything but stainless parts in their bins, and even those are kinda thin. Colt also doesn't do Royal Blue anymore (that I'm aware of), and learning to properly polish a revolver to 500 grit without rounding edges is a cast iron bitch...THAT is probably the most difficult part to get right. Those polishing wheels can take big bites if you lose concentration for even a second. OMG I hated doing a 500 grit polish...Okay I'll be honest, I hated all finish work.

Retail is going to be somewhere around $1500.00. We'll see.
Bob

That would be a very fair price for a properly built Python...basing that on old Python's. Hitting that price point with a Python isn't going to be easy, but if their shop is properly equipped with lots of CNC and EDM machines; I don't see why they couldn't pull it off. Still, that's almost double the street price of a 686. And while the Python is a better revolver, it isn't twice as good as a S&W or Ruger. So they're going to have to appeal mostly to gun snobs and people who want to impress their friends. Which back in my day, that was kinda Colt's bread and butter. Colt has always been the favorite of the gun snobs.

To me, THE gun that goes head to head with S&W and Ruger is the King Cobra. It's smaller, lighter, action is smoother, and the build quality exceeds both S&W and Ruger (but not by much). So for general purpose, do a little of everything .357, the King Cobra has a lot to offer. If they aggressively market the King Cobra head to head against the 686 and GP100, they could make some real inroads (especially with those who are offended by modern S&W's).

Then you hit them with the Python for those looking for a good .357 but with some snob appeal. I'd say Colt is sitting in a VERY good position where .357 revolvers are concerned. Now throw in Gibby's idea of making a Diamondback version of the King Cobra... If they fail, it's because they're Colt and just unable to not be Colt.

bravo

No, you need to pay attention to your own threads right here and actually remember what somebody said and even IIRC you yourself commented on.



Less than two weeks ago...

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/14335660/4

I have no idea if the guy is a troll, but you put this info with what KG said he heard from his industry friend and it all seems to fit together.

Problem is this guy says "look identical on the outside" and "brand new action". If this is correct, it will not be the same gun everybody is salivating over presently, it will be a new gun that looks like the old Python and if things run par for the course, will be inferior overall.

Who knows what it will do to the current market for old Pythons because who knows why they are so high to begin with? It should do nothing since it will be a lookalike and not the same gun. Remains to be seen what all they've changed internally. It could be minimal but if this guy is right, it sounds like a whole different gun. Sorta like a Ruger New Vaquero looks like a Colt SAA. Or if they didn't change much, maybe it's more like an Uberti Cattleman and is essentially the same thing as a Colt SAA. Or even a 2nd gen vs. 1st gen. It sounds like a new gun.

If the action is different, then it is not a Python

Well I hope it has a decent barrel length. 4, 6 or even 8 inches. Personally I don’t care for 2.5 inch 357 mag’s.