Buckshot's New Colt King Cobra

[CZ93X62]

Rick Tunnell came by on Saturday with yet another new war toy, a King Cobra x 3" in 357 Magnum. DANG, it is a nice revolver! Heft is very K-frame-ish in that it felt a whole lot like the now-departed S&W Models 13 and 65 x 3". Cylinder is just a taste thicker than the K-frames' wheelhouses, and its lock-up is bank-vault tight. OEM stocks were Hogue neoprenes that fir my hand perfectly. Rick stated that "CZ must be cracking a whip on the Colt employees", because they are turning out some nice guns of late. D/A trigger was not quite "1960s Python-level", but still smooth and no "stacking" toward the end. Single action trigger is crisp and a mite heavy, but still decent for a mass-market revolver. I would very happily carry one of these.

To paraphrase from the John Wick film series.......I'm thinking Colt is back.

 

[Ian]

I remember something about him ordering one a while back, glad it did not disappoint. Hopefully you can drag that varmint and his new piece out to the desert for a test review.

 

[shuz]

Allan, sounds like you is snake bit!

 

[Jeff H]

I'm a sucker for a 3" stainless 357.

A good friend handled one a while back and was very impressed.

 

[CZ93X62]

@ Shuz--I have been "snake-bit" since about forever. I'm on a waiting list for a 6" Python as we speak.

@ Jeff H--They are an impressive sidearm, if Rick's example is the metric.

@ Ian--Rick stays busy on things other than desert trips and varmint hunting, a condition that is counter-productive in the extreme. Marie is in school for EMT training when not herding airplanes at KSBD. I am a little reluctant to try solo ventures into country lacking ZIP Codes currently (medical ^%&#).

 

[Winelover]

Latest gun rag (May G&A) is now showing the new Python available with a three inch tube. Originals were only made for two years (84 & 84) with a three inch barrel. At two pounds seven ounces (39 oz) I'll pass. MSRP is $1500.

 

[Jeff H]

@ Shuz--I have been "snake-bit" since about forever. I'm on a waiting list for a 6" Python as we speak.

@ Jeff H--They are an impressive sidearm, if Rick's example is the metric.

@ Ian--Rick stays busy on things other than desert trips and varmint hunting, a condition that is counter-productive in the extreme. Marie is in school for EMT training when not herding airplanes at KSBD. I am a little reluctant to try solo ventures into country lacking ZIP Codes currently (medical ^%&#).

I'll be honest, regarding Colt revolvers - I've never given them much thought at all, because almost everyone I knew who'd had one, paid a LOT for them and they didn't impress me as shooting any better than any of the cheap, second-hand Rugers I owned. To make it wore, anyone who'd had a problem with one got some seriously crappy treatment in the process of trying to get it corrected. So, I've just always pretty much ignored them.

When my friend told me how much he appreciated the new King Cobra, it got me to thinking, because we have similar tastes for, and expectations of revolvers. We've talked stainless 3" 357 revolvers a lot as being a "must-have," imminently useful trail gun extensively and have tried many. I was swayed enough by his opinion that I gave them a look.

I'd give one a try and feel confident that it may well be the very thing I have dreamed of in a compact 357 to never be without, but the astounding price of any new revolver these days puts it into a class I will likely never enter. Had this come out while I was still in industry, I think I'd own one.

Every objective thing I've seen or heard about them speaks well of the gun.

 

[CZ93X62]

There is a definite "mystique" surrounding Colt firearms, for certain. How much that translates into fine quality or rugged serviceability is best left to the eye of the beholder. Ruger, Colt, or S&W--I try to assess them on their respective merits and faults. I own or have owned examples of all three makers in some numbers. I am not in the market for a 3" 357 Magnum, because I am not working the streets any more. My 1990-vintage S&W 686 x 4" fills its role very capably, as a useful and practical back-country revolver that is accurate and powerful.

I do have a 6" Python on order, however.