In these posts I've not seen mention of the Colt Lawman Mk 3. I may have just missed it, though. A good friend in Colorado had one and he loved it. The grips didn't fit me well but the revolver was accurate, in his hands. How do they compare to to the other Colts? It seems to me that they should be directly comparable in quality but perhaps less time spent on polish.
They are completely different than the older Colts. DFariswheel is a Colt expert on the Colt Forum. He explains it better than I ever could. What follows is his explanation.
"The big difference is, the Trooper Mark III was the world's first revolver designed to be "machine fitted".
That is, the parts were made to very close tolerances and the revolver was assembled by pulling parts from a bin until a fit was achieved.
The Python is a product of two centuries ago.
The direct ancestor of the Python was designed in the late 1890's and perfected in 1908.
The Python is manufactured by making parts over-sized. A Master fitter assembles the parts by carefully stoning and filing until a perfect fit is achieved.
This requires a LOT of time by the most highly paid workers Colt has, and this level of hand labor and finishing accounts for the Python's high price.
The Trooper Mark III, and it's later versions, the Trooper Mark V and King Cobra have nothing in common with the Python, being totally different designs.
While the Trooper Mark III has a modern transfer bar ignition, (Colt developed the first modern transfer bar system, which virtually every revolver maker in the world has copied) the Python has the older type revolver system of hammer block safeties.
The Python has the only "bank vault" lock up ever used in which the cylinder is tightly locked in PERFECT alignment with the bore at the instant of ignition.
This insures the bullet enters the bore with no deformation, and along with the Python's tapered bore accounts for the Python's reputation for the best consistent accuracy of the double action revolvers.
The down side is the cost of the revolver, and that the action MUST be in absolutely perfect adjustment to work at all.
The Trooper Mark III uses the modern system in which the cylinder is NOT tightly locked at ignition.
This allows the cylinder to align itself with the bore.
While this costs less money to build, the bullet doesn't enter the bore perfectly, and is distorted, degrading accuracy slightly.
The action is cheaper to make, but accuracy isn't what it could be.
The basic difference is, the Trooper Mark III is a modern, super-strong revolver made for the mass market.
The Python is a relic of another age, like a Rolls Royce. It's essentially an true custom-built, hand fitted and hand finished revolver.
The Python is like Lamborgini sports car. It's expensive, and you have to treat it like the expensive speciality item it is.
You can't treat it like a cheap pickup truck, and batter it to death by mistreating it.
If you want a good shooter revolver that's at least 1/2 a step above other brands of revolvers, and want a real tank of a hand gun, the Trooper Mark III is it.
If you want, and can afford the finest hand made production revolver in the world, the Python fills the bill."
![[Linked Image]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v226/Jaywalker1/Colt-LeftSide_zps084a3c81.jpg)