Anyone think "Python Madness" is about done? - Page 2

Don P · July 13, 2018, 06:36 PM

Wow, I must have done good at paying $491 new in box out the door in 1982 for a 6" blue Python

muzzleblast... · July 13, 2018, 07:58 PM

Anyone think "Python Madness" is about done?

Yes. Unless of course I stumble into a smoking deal on another one...

tipoc · July 14, 2018, 10:57 AM

Maybe. But then it will, like always, rise again. These things, collector or enthusiasts interest in specific models, come and go.

tipoc

**4V50 Gary** · July 14, 2018, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 603Country

I have a Python that I bought in the early 80’s for about $360. It’s a 4 inch Nickel model. I assume, from the slight wear pattern, that was a cop’s gun. In and out of a holster. Wonderful single action trigger pull and a long but very smooth DA pull. What I don’t know is whether not it was ever ‘smoothed’ by a gunsmith..

They left the factory that way. It's the bent teardrop shape of the sear that makes the difference and results in a long transition for the compression for the spring. The very old S&W revolvers had a similar sear and the Korth revolvers use a roller to achieve the same results. S&W can be smoothed out but there's only so much you can do with MIM parts (surface hardened and if remove the hardened surface, wear accelerates).

Great picture MuzzleBlasts.

Dfariswheel · July 14, 2018, 05:58 PM

Usually when people talk about the Python trigger they mean the single action trigger.
It was arguably the best ever in a production revolver.

As for the stacking Colt trigger, an interesting bit of history was that in many S&W PPC guns the trigger had a rubber trigger stop installed.
This was so the DA trigger pull would stack just before the hammer dropped, much like a Colt.

Brownell's still sell them.

Road_Clam · July 14, 2018, 06:16 PM

I love revolvers, I love my practicality shooters. I payed $1375 for my 12" S&W 460 PC XVR. I don't buy "collectible safe queens". IMO people thinking a used Anaconda is worth $2K is just stupid, but hey it's your money not mine.

walnut1704 · July 15, 2018, 08:38 AM

I've bought two, and sold two. They are fantastic, but ultimately I settled on the S&W line as shooters. They had a much broader product line and more reasonable prices. A fellow could get multiple revolvers in an array of calibers all of the same pattern. That was much harder to do with Colt, and a lot more expensive.

As I recall my first 6" was $350 in 1980-1981. The second was more interesting. I walked into a chain sporting goods store in 1992, and sitting in the case was an 8" Python Target in .38 Spl which was a single run that they did in 198...7?

It had been sitting in the case for years. The box was shredded from being put in the safe every night and the Styrofoam liner was a mess. It still had the original price on it. $550.

That was the most accurate revolver I've ever shot. It shot like a rifle. But then it should, as it weighed about the same as a rifle (or so it seemed). It was just too heavy, even in my younger years, to do any extended off-hand shooting with.

Bear in mind that at the time, you could buy target K-frames for half to three-quarters the price of a Python. After decades of trigger time with S&W's I have no desire for one any longer.

Drm50 · July 15, 2018, 09:15 AM

I have suffered two symptoms of Python Madness. 1st in early 70s when I had
a couple I sold them. Why?, because I could shoot a S&W M27 better.
2nd I could now kick myself for selling them then, so I could sell them now!
I had Diamond Backs too, also abandoned for m17s & m14 S&Ws. They were
all nice pistols but I stuck with S&Ws and still do. There is S&W Madness also.
The older P&Rs just keep climbing in price every day. No one makes them like
they use to.

reteach · July 16, 2018, 09:45 AM

I've resisted saying this for as long as I could:

As long as there are fans out there who can recite lines from the Dead Parrot sketch, Python Madness will live on.

"Its metabolic processes are of interest only to historians."

zeke · July 16, 2018, 01:56 PM

Last time I looked, the prices on Pythons had slumped. Maybe that was just the 2 1/2 inchers, as someone dumped a bunch of them several years ago?

craddleshooter · July 16, 2018, 07:42 PM

The pythons have been highly sorted way before “walking dead” series. The guess the prices are just tipping people off. Colt revolvers aren’t typical an edc or much of a range tactical weapon so I guess these factors has lead to less buyers

Master Blaster · July 17, 2018, 12:51 PM

Pythons are collectibles in today's market. That is what makes them valuable. The fact that collectors are willing to pay the high prices could change at any time. Just ask collectors of 17th and 18th Century Antique furniture how much value can decline or increase in just a couple of years.

July 13, 2018, 06:36 PM	#26
Don P Senior Member Join Date: December 17, 2005 Location: Swamp dweller Posts: 6,187	Wow, I must have done good at paying $491 new in box out the door in 1982 for a 6" blue Python __________________ *NRA Life Member, NRA Chief Range Safety Officer, NRA Certified Pistol Instructor,, USPSA & Steel Challange NROI Range Officer, ICORE Range Officer, ,MAG 40 Graduate* *As you are, I once was, As I am, You will be.*

July 14, 2018, 10:57 AM	#28
tipoc Senior Member Join Date: December 11, 2004 Location: Redwood City, Ca. Posts: 4,114	Maybe. But then it will, like always, rise again. These things, collector or enthusiasts interest in specific models, come and go. tipoc __________________ 1. All guns are always loaded. 2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. 3. Keep your finger off the trigger till you are ready to shoot. 4. Identify your target and know what is beyond it.

July 14, 2018, 06:16 PM	#31
Road_Clam Senior Member Join Date: November 21, 2013 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 1,695	I love revolvers, I love my practicality shooters. I payed $1375 for my 12" S&W 460 PC XVR. I don't buy "collectible safe queens". IMO people thinking a used Anaconda is worth $2K is just stupid, but hey it's your money not mine. __________________ "To be old an wise you must have been young and stupid"

July 13, 2018, 07:58 PM	#27
muzzleblast... Senior Member Join Date: April 16, 2015 Location: Obwat, TN Posts: 285	Anyone think "Python Madness" is about done? Yes. Unless of course I stumble into a smoking deal on another one...

July 14, 2018, 05:58 PM	#30
Dfariswheel Senior Member Join Date: May 4, 2001 Posts: 7,478	Usually when people talk about the Python trigger they mean the single action trigger. It was arguably the best ever in a production revolver. As for the stacking Colt trigger, an interesting bit of history was that in many S&W PPC guns the trigger had a rubber trigger stop installed. This was so the DA trigger pull would stack just before the hammer dropped, much like a Colt. Brownell's still sell them.

July 15, 2018, 08:38 AM	#32
walnut1704 Senior Member Join Date: October 28, 2009 Posts: 156	I've bought two, and sold two. They are fantastic, but ultimately I settled on the S&W line as shooters. They had a much broader product line and more reasonable prices. A fellow could get multiple revolvers in an array of calibers all of the same pattern. That was much harder to do with Colt, and a lot more expensive. As I recall my first 6" was $350 in 1980-1981. The second was more interesting. I walked into a chain sporting goods store in 1992, and sitting in the case was an 8" Python Target in .38 Spl which was a single run that they did in 198...7? It had been sitting in the case for years. The box was shredded from being put in the safe every night and the Styrofoam liner was a mess. It still had the original price on it. $550. That was the most accurate revolver I've ever shot. It shot like a rifle. But then it should, as it weighed about the same as a rifle (or so it seemed). It was just too heavy, even in my younger years, to do any extended off-hand shooting with. Bear in mind that at the time, you could buy target K-frames for half to three-quarters the price of a Python. After decades of trigger time with S&W's I have no desire for one any longer.

July 15, 2018, 09:15 AM	#33
Drm50 Senior Member Join Date: November 10, 2014 Posts: 1,380	I have suffered two symptoms of Python Madness. 1st in early 70s when I had a couple I sold them. Why?, because I could shoot a S&W M27 better. 2nd I could now kick myself for selling them then, so I could sell them now! I had Diamond Backs too, also abandoned for m17s & m14 S&Ws. They were all nice pistols but I stuck with S&Ws and still do. There is S&W Madness also. The older P&Rs just keep climbing in price every day. No one makes them like they use to.

July 16, 2018, 09:45 AM	#34
reteach Senior Member Join Date: August 31, 2016 Location: Texas Posts: 379	I've resisted saying this for as long as I could: As long as there are fans out there who can recite lines from the Dead Parrot sketch, Python Madness will live on. "Its metabolic processes are of interest only to historians."

July 16, 2018, 01:56 PM	#35
zeke Senior Member Join Date: November 17, 1999 Location: NW Wi Posts: 1,671	Last time I looked, the prices on Pythons had slumped. Maybe that was just the 2 1/2 inchers, as someone dumped a bunch of them several years ago?

July 16, 2018, 07:42 PM	#36
craddleshooter Junior member Join Date: March 9, 2018 Location: NY Posts: 90	The pythons have been highly sorted way before “walking dead” series. The guess the prices are just tipping people off. Colt revolvers aren’t typical an edc or much of a range tactical weapon so I guess these factors has lead to less buyers

July 17, 2018, 12:51 PM	#37
Master Blaster Senior Member Join Date: October 11, 1999 Location: One of the original 13 Colonies Posts: 2,281	Pythons are collectibles in today's market. That is what makes them valuable. The fact that collectors are willing to pay the high prices could change at any time. Just ask collectors of 17th and 18th Century Antique furniture how much value can decline or increase in just a couple of years.