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Old July 14, 2013, 08:41 PM   #51
Jim Watson
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Quote:
The early models had hollow under lugs and the vent ribs.
There is one in town, been traded around among the Colt SHOOTERS. We call it the "Airweight Python." Nickel plated to boot, and with a non-stacking action job for PPC.
I owned it for a while, traded a Gold Cup for it, traded it back to the previous owner for a blue gun. When he was killed in a wreck, his guns dropped out of sight for a while, then were sold off by his shiftless brother. One of the club members got it as a memento. (I ended with his GM S70 with adjustable sight installation.)

Quote:
Reportedly, some target shooters had been putting lead bullets in the hollow lug to add weight to the barrel.
Had to have used .22 or .25 bullets, that hole was not very large.
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Old July 15, 2013, 11:20 AM   #52
Peter M. Eick
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Foghorn,

I meant to say that if you are used to a non-drilled one, picking up a drilled one feels noticeably different.

I should have been more explicit.
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Old July 17, 2013, 07:32 PM   #53
James K
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In spite of the mythology, there is nothing unique or different about the Python action; it is the same as that of other Colt revolvers of the same frame size. The difference is that the Python was given special fitting and tuning, in effect a factory "action job" to smooth it up and to minimize (not eliminate) "stacking". Then it was highly polished and blued. The Colt Royal Blue was not really different from that of other Colt guns (Carbonia), but the high polish made it look so much better that stories (encouraged by Colt) spread that the bluing was a special "charcoal blue" or some other secret process.

Had Colt been able to carry out its plans to convert the DA revolver line to the new design, the Python would certainly have been changed also. It was kept "as is" because it was a money-maker for Colt at a time when they were losing money by the ton, and they didn't want to rock the profitable boat.

Jim
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Old July 21, 2013, 11:28 PM   #54
jackcorbett
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My personal opinion is the Smith and Wesson revolvers are going to hold up better than the Python, and back when I used to be married I got my step son a Smith and Wesson 686 while I had a Python. We could both shoot the two guns equally well. And my Python did go out of time. The reason was a friend foolishly snapped the cylinder shut with a flick of his wrist. However, I used to write gun articles for a small adult magazine, and recently I wrote and published those articles as a book, Extreme Guns and Babes an Adult World . You can find an excerpt from it on the Python Dirty Heather and the Colt Python

My whole idea for the initial article was to appeal to an audience that was not firearm centric. So that was the reason for choosing "Dirty Heather", a stripper I knew who had a lot of attitude. In the article I compare Heater to Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry. Rightly or wrongly, I chose the Python ever all other revolvers because I felt it had more Panache. Still, my thoughts are that Pythons are relatively finicky so they might not always be the best choice out there.

But are they just a little more accurate than a Smith and just a little more polished? Well, at the time I was writing my articles for Xtreme I went through a number of reviews on Colt Pythons and their competition in the gun magazines and this is what I wrote in Extreme Guns and Babes for an Adult World

In 1955 about the time Smith and Wesson was first introducing its new .44 magnum, Colt unleashed what would soon become a true classic, the Python. Name identification with the powerful snake combined with the ventilated rib and overall graceful appearance of the new revolver might have been enough to win it everlasting fame alone, but it's under the hood where the true beauty of the Python lies. Originally intended to be a target revolver in 38 special only, critical parts were custom honed and fitted by hand. The inside of the Python barrel was engineered to taper from the cylinder outward giving them a slightly narrower barrel diameter at the end of the tube than at the breech which gently forced the bullet into the rifling. Since the frame was already substantial enough to handle the pressures of the .357 magnum cartridge Colt decided to chamber the Python in .357 magnum instead of .38 special only. Painstaking attention to detail made the Python twice the price of a good Smith and Wesson, but whereas a typical Smith could be expected to group within two inches at twenty-five yards, a good Python can put six shots into an inch at the same distance. For most this would be a moot point since there are very few shooters who can shoot that well with either gun, but for the purists, the Python's unparalleled fit, finish and accuracy, put it into a class of its own.

Ironically I'd wind up choosing a much more pedestrian revolver over my Colt Python when it came down to keeping just one .357 magnum revolver when I felt I had to sell nearly all my guns. I moved to Thailand eight years ago and sold 31 guns, while keeping just seven which are now in the hands of my nephew. The .357 magnum we retained was a Ruger GP-100 stainless. The reason I kept it over the Python was 1. I could shoot it nearly as well, 2. Ruger GP-100's are the opposite of "finicky" and 3. I could get a lot more money for the Python to help finance my condo here in Thailand.
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Old July 22, 2013, 09:40 PM   #55
geodimeter
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This thread has been extremely enjoyable to read. I've only collected a few revolvers (S&W and Ruger) and have read much about the Holy Grail, i.e., a Colt Python. Lots of good info here about the differences between S&W and Colt actions, etc. I'd love to shoot a Python but I may need to save up some $$ even to get a shooter. I did find a well used Trooper .357 at a pawn shop with the factory stocks but it was a little beat up for the asking price. Maybe a truck gun. Meanwhile I'll shoot the hell out of my 686-4 with the 8-3/8" barrel, a real tack driver, especially with the Leupold scope on it.
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Old July 28, 2013, 01:20 PM   #56
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I have several, and love them, the fit and finish is outstanding. My 6" is the best shooting gun that I have ever shot.That being said I simply would not pay the price that they are asking now days.
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Old July 30, 2013, 04:23 AM   #57
jackcorbett
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I'd pay it even though I sold mine. Provided I were still living in the U.S. that is. Been a bit out of touch but last I heard a Freedom Arms .454 Casul would go for around $2000 or so. I'd pay that too, provided that until the moment of purchase I was getting the absolute best there is.

Uhhh.....Just checked the prices. They've changed, a lot. Freedom Arms model 83 Premier Grade $2450. Okay with that, but the Pythons? Looks like $3000 and up for like new or new.
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Old July 30, 2013, 11:45 PM   #58
Tad_T
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I have a 1970 6" Colt Python. I have a hard time deciding if I like it or my S&W 6" Model 19-4 better.

They are both great revolvers with good triggers.

I better take them back out and shoot them both again.

My wife likes the Model 19 better because it's a little lighter. She keeps trying to call it "hers" but I've never said that she could have it.
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Old August 1, 2013, 12:10 AM   #59
Sgt127
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I went through several Pythons. The looks kept me coming back. But, for my S&W tuned finger, the trigger just felt "wrong". I never doubted thier design, strength, accuracy or looks. They are outstanding guns. I still have one, an older nickel 4" just because I want to own a Python. As a shooter, I'll take a Smith any day.

My first gun was a Colt Diamondback .22. My next gun was a 6" model 27. After that one 27, I pretty much stuck with Smiths.

I would never try and discourage anyone from owning a Python, they are beautiful pie es of machinery.
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Old August 1, 2013, 02:37 PM   #60
mrray13
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Just reread this thread, had to pull the 1974 4" Python out and dry fire it a bit. Man is it a world apart from everything else I own, save the 1961 6" version parked next to it.
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Old August 1, 2013, 03:50 PM   #61
Grant D
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I like shooting my 1962 6" Python, but my 1963 6" Officers Model Match is more accurate, and a joy to shoot.

It's my favorite, out of all my handguns, revolver, or semi auto.
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