Why spend many thousands for older Pythons?

[CajunBass]

Originally Posted by Lavan

Do the new ones REALLY have a QR code on them?

Yes they do. The picture doesn't show it too well, but it's just in front of the screw.



Some people seem to hate it. Just a quirk of modern manufacturing. I'd rather it wasn't there, but I don't lose any sleep over it.

[tomrkba]

As a shooter, I always disliked the Python, didn’t like shooting it, never wanted one and I still don’t.

But, as an investment, it was probably a good buy when they hit $1,500-2,000. Now I am seeing prices in the $3k range for a “shooter” and higher for collector grade.

[Ricklin]

HiBC,
Right on the money, excellent post, great analogy.
The Eq. I make my living with has only existed 25 years, "technology" runs the show today.
I've a cool photo on my machine, it was shot in a machine shop in Japan, I sell their products.
It's a rectangular Aluminum bar the top surface is a double complex curve rather like two waves.
Into that top surface is written the manufacturers name.
The Y is 35 microns deep
The O is 30 microns deep
The S is 25 microns deep
The H is 20 microns deep
The I is 15 microns deep
The D is 10 microns deep
The A is 5 microns deep

Imagine writing the CNC program that drove that ball end mill! 50 microns? About the thickness of a hair on your head

[HiBC]

To fully appreciate Ricklin's post, a micron is 0.00003937 inch.

Its extremely rare "hand fitting" that could approach what can now come off the machine.

We must remember the "Hand fitted" Westly Richards or Holland and Holland was literally carved from a lump of steel with little more than drills,chisels and files. And extreme skill.
Guns that cost as much as houses.

Essentially the same gun can be produced from advanced machines ,for maybe not much more than the cost of a Lambo, or maybe even a Tesla.
And with the programing done,you could make several. With interchangeable parts.
We have come a ways from the skilled blacksmith and the marvelous work they can do at the anvil.
But between now and some apocolypse, we must appreciate them as Artists.

I take that back. Depends on what you need. Pretty silly to CNC machine horseshoes,or tongs,or the other useful items a blacksmith can produce with little capital equiptment ,scrap steel and pure skill.

[Ricklin]

Yes, those great old British bests, many made in the days before interchangeable parts changed manufacturing forever.

I've been in manufacturing a very long time, I love the history of firearms, because the history of firearms is also the history of manufacturing.

Firearms are the first thing a nation-state needs, to either become a bigger one, or defend from the bigger one.

[MSD Mike]

Same reason people pay more for a 69 Camaro than for a new one.
Character.

[wild cat mccane]

Teehee. This time the character that built the Python mythology has a name: Rick Grimes.

[Blue Duck]

Yep, Rick Grimes in the Walking Dead is what gave the Python renewed interest, in my opinion. The Python always was a beautiful gun but as far I am concerned the Smith and Wesson L Frame was a nail in it's coffin back in the early 80's.

I shot revolvers a lot in combat matches back in the 80's and I always shot Smith's and so did just about everyone else. The Python never seen hardly any use that I remember, because it had an inferior double action, and was very difficult to make as good as the average out of the box Smith. If it had been worth a crap as a combat gun it would have been far more popular then it was in the combat matches. It was more expensive the an L Frame but not nearly as good in my opinion.

Still I wish I had bought a few and put back back in the day.

[44 AMP]

Essentially the same gun can be produced from advanced machines ,for maybe not much more than the cost of a Lambo, or maybe even a Tesla.

If you're selling a gun made by CNC machinery for "not much more than" the cost of a high $ automobile, I think your gun is grossly overpriced.

Remember that while those fine old handmade "best quality" guns of the past were always very expensive, their value today is a result of MORE than just the fine craftsmanship involved in their manufacture.

They are rare, scarce, valuable antiques, long out of production, and there never were very many to start with. Along with their desirability to many, and the fact that with ammunition can still work as well as they ever did, makes them worth more than an equal quality gun made new today.

Yes, those great old British bests, many made in the days before interchangeable parts changed manufacturing forever.

If they were muzzle loaders, maybe....the days of interchangeable parts in the firearms industry began about 1798 with Eli Whitney. The fact that those "best" gun makers choose to continue hand fitting parts to individual guns for another century+ (in some cases) was their choice, and doesn't change when interchangeable parts changed manufacturing forever.

[4V50 Gary]

While the parts may be may, it's the skilled workforce that has to be trained to assemble and time the parts. It is more labor intensive than S&W, Ruger or any other modern revolver (except if Webley were to produce the Mk VI again).

[Jcon72]

Nostalgia will make many people spend a LOT more money for a product that is technically inferior in some ways to a newer one.
For me personally, Pythons are beautiful (and yes, I'd buy one if I found a smokin' hot deal that was cheap enough) but there's no way I'm spending those big bucks for a "purty" revolver that is mechanically inferior to a S&W or even a Ruger. I have NEVER had timing issues with any of my Smiths or Rugers but the Colts were/are notorious for going out of time more often than the others. I'd much rather take the same money and buy two or three nice (yet collectible) Smiths that wouldn't make me feel guilty if I took them out to the range and shot them several times per year.

[pete2]

The old guns are the real Pythons and therefore worth more money.

[dgludwig]

The thing that drove up the interest of the Python was The Walking Dead.

Dirty Harry should star in Walking Dead, The Sequel: "Do you feel lucky, corpse that breathes? Make my day!"
Zombies have to be shot in the head if you're armed with a .357 Magnum; with a .44 Magnum, you can kill them with a shot to the elbow. Just ask Detective Callahan.