Great informative post, thank you. . There still are some jigs that survive at the East Hartford plant in the testfire area but they look rusted beyond salvation. I think they missed the boat. By signing up you agree to Guns.com's 20 ounces loaded with 158s, a scant three ounces heavier than a loaded 642. The grips do not stick to clothes. I see that the extractor rod is still a bit short with the 2 brl. . All Rights Reserved, Original Cobras were produced from 1950 to 1981. This seems to be SOP for any new gun these days regardless of manufacturer. I wish I could take apart a trio of S&W, Ruger, Colt DA revolvers side-by-side and show people whats really going on inside a DA revolver, and what is required to get the timing right. Now sit down and ponder what that means for how solid the lockup feels. The latest Cobra also features a redesigned leaf mainspring that . However, it likely SAVED HER LIFE, regardless of how ideal the weapon and ammunition were for self-defense. So theres been an opening in the market for somebody like Colt to bring back theyre snake guns and trust me if they can hit it out of the park on this one they will sell. The LCR is the same story. The Cobra was made infamous when Jack Ruby used a Colt Cobra .38 to kill Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963. Colt made the right call on the finish, anyway. I remember that story as well. Its gone now and I dont miss it at all. It stood alone not only in Colts line at that time, but in American mass-production gunmaking at that time. Remington's Nylon 66 semi-automatic .22 LR rifles have grown from 1950s bargain buys to 21st century collectors darlings. It works one time, and then the cylinder doesn't rotate on subsequent shots (double action or single action). Fourth, offer a shrouded hammer variant as well. It was my backup and off-duty weapon since I bought it used in the 1960s and it has never failed me or jammed. Bean counters were the reason why you went bankrupt the first time dont you think you might want to listen to the people who purchase your products? The new Cobra is pricey, too, just like any other Colt. The Cobra was a version of the Colt Detective Special, and both were made on Colts D frame. With its small frame, 2-inch barrel, an unloaded weight of 25-ounces, it makes for an ideal carry or backup gun. Optic Ready Smith & Wesson M&P9 M2.0. Its nice to see Colt woke up and is back in the game. Whether this was shooter error or a problem with an early batch from Colt, I have no idea. In 2017 the costs are totally reversed, and hand-fitting would make the new Cobra a $2,000.00+ gun instead of a $699.00 gun. Buy a Smith & Wesson. Great way to show reliability and quality of craftsmanship the day they released the gun so that people can get a side at it and actually shoot it one of their seven test guns takes a dump. How about split the difference at 20 ounces? I cant think of any other gun from any other manufacture that got the level of attention and finish that the Python did in its heyday. but Economic reasons restricted my opportunity to own one of the percussion colts in the second release in the late 20th century. I recently handled a new Colt King Cobra at my LGS. Although introduced at SHOT Show 2019, the Colt King Cobra revolver traces its lineage all the way back to 1908 with the launch of the Colt Police Positive. All Colts locked up tighter than S&Ws or Rugers, if done correctly at the factory. A well place bullet (even a pellet gun) will kill you if the round finds vitals. Aside from that, very satisfied with the weight balance, look, feel, functionality and fit. The new models are updated small frames like the old Detective Special and Diamondback. People are getting over the polymer Plastic Fantastic guns now and were reverting back to a cold piece of Steel a hog leg if you will. Its all-steel frame is satin finished, with a grip thats been moved rearward to help manage recoil. How about a Smith and Wesson level of fit and finish, guys? When that same customer takes a Colt Cobra to the range, with its steel frame and revised grip structure, theyll have a much more pleasurable shooting experience, and theyll be inclined to shoot more often, and more importantly, feel confident enough to carry it. As for the finish, I carry concealed. The machinists who made the guns what they were have moved on and Colt in the post-bankruptcy worldmight not have the cash to invest in restarting the line properly. Im a woman and I love this revolver. Ergonomics on the Cobra are exceptional. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); I do like the Colt 38 spcl Night Cobra, 6r. But if you criticize the company for its perceived poor communication skills, perhaps you should sweep off your own porch before commenting on anothers mess., Im disabled combat veteran that was blinded in Afghanistan by an IED I use voice text and I cant check my spelling very well or my sentence structure and I live in Florida so I think I know about the people in Miami a little bit better than you. So, why would anyone choose this revolver over other offerings? Those 12 and 16 ounce revolvers are too light. But the gun look absolutely amazing just like the day I bought it in 1983. Nightwood Guns 9.57K subscribers Subscribe 60K views 2 years ago Keep the content flowing on Patreon!. Some of these vintage gems can be found in the Guns.com Vault. When they were making revolvers 40 years ago, labor was cheap and technology was expensive. I would encourage Colt to re investigate the market to determine to the Idea of returning the The Snake guns manufacture in the near future, I am a big fan of the perfect balance of the Colt Python . Colt claims it is as smooth or smoother than the original cobra's. They also said that the metal was stronger and a .357 might be in the future. As I looked the gun over, I realized that Colt must have come to believe that their customers are actually adults, as the gun had no key lock, nor were there endless admonishments to read the instruction manual (and avoid running with scissors) inscribed on the gun. After all, it is what the market demands more than anything else, the name Colt still carries a lot of weight with people, and they could leverage that. Last Edit: Nov 5, 2022 at 2:37pm by WAYNO. Some of these vintage gems can be found in the, Demand was so strong upon its release, the Cobra was often difficult to find. I have only one Comment. It has some holster wear and is probably in need of new grips but after much practice for a snub its pretty accurate. The Python 6 and 4.25 revolvers the Cobra and King Cobra in the Colt stables. Back around 1974 I bought the colt detective special which is still my carry gun today. I went back and forth between Nighthawk and Colt booths comparing the Cobra and the Skyhawk. One of the defining features of the line is the hand fitting of parts and highly polished exterior, things distinctly missing on the new Cobra handguns. Now old and retired, it is my wifes preferred concealed carry, and we both love to shoot it just for fun. A. Sweet little pistol, for sure! Im pretty sure Colt got rid of their custom shop so now who knows you probably cant get it done anymore. THE SATIN NICKEL FINISH & METAL ARE IN GOOD CONDITION. This article originally appeared in CONCEALMENT Issue 13. Firstly, go to the "Colt" site and select "Customer Service.". Discontinued in 2005, it remains one of the highest requested line of firearms to be brought back from the graveyard. I can recommend this gun without reservation, something I cant say about all compact revolvers. Is it produced by Colt 100%, or has Colt partnered with anyone else? Massey Hardware, what a magical place that was! I guess you have to fill up space and sell clicks but coming out of the gate with a slam like this is a bit lame. Another modification has been made, this one to trigger geometry. He bought it for his father, who was stationed in the Philippines while serving in the Veterans Administration. As much as it pains me to say this however what they need is a Glock contender. The second shot entered at the base of the skull and ended in the soft palate in the mouth. Mine is Nickel though, which I prefer! Colt CAN make high end firearms, their latest 45/70 custom Gatling gun and BAR 3006 semi auto version are works of art. I am one of the Nations Senior Citizen, But I am and avid reader. Colt on the other hand is EVERYWHERE. To be fair, you'll get the same wear from opening/closing the cylinder on any revolver. ***** In memory of Bill West / tommix who shared his vast knowledge and passion of Colt's with the forum for so many years. And the option to load from light .32 S&W and .32 S&W Long all the way up to .32 H&R Magnum and finally .32 Federal Magnum. Wide rear sights have very easy to adjust screws for windage and . However it is not cheap to refinish my original Detective Special in the royal blue bluing was $600 and they had to fix a small problem in the spring. Oh mommy. This gun is a winner. Are you guys at GUNSAMERICA interested in pictures of a Colt Cobra NRA special edition that has not been released to public?? My experience with these parts is that they are a little gritty and not as smooth as solid metal parts. Never was much of a Colt lover but wish I had scooped up more of those unpopular snake guns in the 90s when you literally couldnt give them away. Is there any word on when these will be released? I may even carry it with some Underwood slugs. However, it showed my lack of skill with revolver reloads using speed loaders or strips. Accurate? I was a big Colt snake gun revolver man in the early nineties. I predict we will see lots of variations soon from Colt and I am excited for where Colt is finally going. We have used my 79 Dback in our Womens Intro classes in the past and it does better than do the K frames- shorter trigger reach. Sporting a heavy-duty frame, and brushed stainless steel construction, the King Cobra secures a new place in the legendary heritage that makes Colt double-action revolvers some of the hottest collectible firearms today. Colt was not happy with their original CNC shop and switched after finding a machine shop with state of the art machines and equipment that could fit their needs better. Nov 5, 2022 at 2:55pm via mobile. The original Colt AGENT is a nice gun-i have 1- But the 3 barreled Detective Special is the finest handgun, for personal protection, that Ive ever seen. There is a definite market. The new Colt Cobra and King Cobra models are not medium frame revolvers like the old King Cobra. Not so great for my ex-large hand. And if you read the article, thanks for saying it looks like my Detective Special. My hope is that Colt does so and builds them with the same care and quality of the older Pythons, Anacondas and the like. Fits my hands perfectly and is light weight enough to carry, but Ive been looking at Kimber Micros to replace it for carrying because they are so much lighter and slimmer, but just cant make the switch. These two revolvers are chambered in .357 Magnum/.38 Special. Just be glad that another 1911, Glock or AR hasnt been created. I stopped buying 38s years ago and Ill tell you why. In these later Colt's repairs are done, not by refitting parts as in the old action, but by simply replacing worn or damaged parts with new parts. Seems as though you are a Colt fan boy! The SP101 is one hell of a gun. I remember the 90s like it was yesterday and I can remember seeing a lot of revolvers not just the snake series guns but Smith and Wesson Taurus and a half a dozen other ones sitting in the gun cabinets constantly collecting dust. Caliber: .357 Magnum, .38 Spl, .38 Spl +P. The Colt Cobra was preferred by detectives and policeman over the competing Smith & Wesson revolvers at the time. Could it have beed dressed up a bit more? Where is the new Colt Cobra produced? In fact, that last conglomeration resembles a sentence only because it has period at the end. Related Tags: Barrel not too short nor too long. Peace Officer Retired The combination of the grip angle and rubber grip makes shooting controllable and comfortable. I was at Shot Show when they released that turd. So I get it. I dont think anyone would assume that a $700 revolver would be better than a $1700 revolver. I have the original Colt Cobra Agent Aluminum Alloy 38, mfg in 1977. The pain on the hand is prominent after practicing. While manipulating the trigger on the gun, I was impressed by just how nice the trigger felt. Give us a grip option with more meat in the web area just behind the hammer (like my K.Cobra). Hell, before Kimber changed things up, revolvers were even plastic. Defender 45 ACP 3IN Barrel Matte Black Cerakote Handgun . Finding a Cobra has been a problem since Colt discontinued it was in the early 1980s and originals became collector items. They are great guns. I have gone to carrying the S&W J-Frames. The problem with repairing these revolvers, is a strong tendency to decide to alter a part so that it will work instead of replacing it as intended. I had one, and fired several other pythons that belonged to an uncle. 327 Meteor. I would buy a light weight Cobra rated for +p preferably with a shrouded hammer, otherwise, no thanks. And beautiful. Hogue overmolded grips come standard and a red fiber optic front sight comes factory installed. I owned the 3 of the snake guns. Posts: 787. The Ruger SP101 was made for a concealment purpose a little brother to the GP100. So if Colt can do this with a new production gun, I say bring back the 4" and 6" Python and give us another . THE GOOD: Easy to shoot and completely reliable. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. You can always deal with too short, but not too long. For a return to the double-action (DA) revolver market, a market we have a long and storied history in, .38 Special makes a lot of sense. The stainless steel finish of the Colt Cobra ensures durability and ruggedness. Call it the 1917 Combat or Marine model. The polished stainless finishes were nice, as were the nickels. Does anyone think that they will continue Manufacturing the snake gun series into the king cobra anaconda and python? Everything Ive read elsewhere indicates it is closer to the Colt Detective Special, steel frame and substantially heavier. Quick and powerful, it every bit lives up to its namesake. This Cobra looks like a Taurus. It will show less wear and tear with use that blued or polished up. In my admittedly limited experience with various revolvers, the only one Ive personally experienced that locked up (and not in the good revolverish way) was a colleagues Taurus. Colt's 357 Magnum Concealed Carry Revolver Returns. Dont need 357 magnum. He is right about the Bulldog having no competition at the moment. 3 Revolvers are Pure Sex. Once I learned where the sights needed to be pointed to deliver the shot where I wanted it to be, it was dead on. There were even Colt revolvers that had a rather rough, completely utilitarian finish to them eg, the New Service revolvers. I personally Believe The Colt 1851 is the most beautiful firearm ever produced. Hardly bigger than a S&W 640-1 but has a little more barrel and 6 rounds instead of 5. Had my dear ol grey haired Mother ship it to me as soon as I had an firm address. Could it have been .357 Magnum? or when cocking to fire? Out on the range the gun shoots just fine, but apparently theres still some bugs to be worked out since one of the test models they had jammed shortly before 11 AM and refused to work for the rest of the day. With an MSRP of $699, the, The Colt Cobra: A Capable Snub-Nosed Snake Gun. If youre short a demonstration gun, perhaps RF could beg, borrow, or swipe an example he could slide your way for that video ? And in the event you got a Friday or Monday gun, you better hope it was purchased from Davidson's, or any other outfit that offers a replacement warranty. Im just confused about one thing. Also, I always liked the looks of the Detective Special (my first gun), and Python (my third gun a Colt Combat Commander was my second gun) but by changing the grip length and barrel, they made it real ugly it now looks just like a Taurus. Leather, nylon, or Kydex holsters, it doest matter; youre going to get finish wear. Im hoping the new Pach. The smooth feel of the trigger pull was matched only by the exquisite exterior finish. Light. Not meant to disparage, but to point out that the downgrade Troopr looks a lot nicer than the new Cobra. The best gun is the one you have when you need it. That $200-$300 will buy a lot of ammo. As the article says Id love to be wrong about that, but indications seem otherwise. An astute study of the new Cobras internals reveals several Metal Injection Molded (MIM) parts, including the hammer and trigger. Colt's King Cobra is reincarnated for 2019 as the 6-Shot .357 Magnum big brother of the Colt Cobra Double Action revolver. These loads make the four-inch barrel Python a top-flight small-game revolver. You just described, minus the .32 calibers, an original 1950s-1960s era Colt Cobra / Detective Special. Once people would see that, youd see why just saying Oh, were going to make them on CNC machines! isnt going to quite cut it with the original Colt lockwork design. Get Guns.com offers and news!! Lets hope Colt ups the finish quality a bit, too. So one of the guns locked up at range day. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. And they still turn out excellent Gold Cup 1911s. In 2022, Colt chose to expand its King Cobra lineup with a rimfire chambering, and the new King Cobra Target packs 10 rounds of .22 LR inside its classically styled frame. Ive got a Tracker .44 that has the smoothest trigger Ive ever felt on a revolver, and Ive shot a Manurhin. Original Cobras were produced from 1950 to 1981. If you have an issue with this SP101 being a little small try one of the new GP100 with 2in OR 3in carry Barrel its pretty dang small for a full size 6 shot capacity. I ran the gun both strong hand and weak hand. Caliber(s):.22 LR, .32 Colt New Police, .38 Special; Weight: 0.94 lbs (0.43 kg) Barrel length: 2 in (51 mm), 3 in (76 mm) Capacity: 6 . We have stopped carrying them at our store because at one time theyre semi-automatics and their revolvers were coming back at least a couple guns a month to be shipped back to Taurus. revolver in 25 years. Thank you for reminding me of such wonderful memories from my childhood! Greg, this blog is called The Truth About Guns. Thats not necessarily a bad thing for a concealed carry styled handgun, but the better option for this specific line would be something similar to the deep blueing that came on the original guns. Save those semi-hand-made Pythons, the new King Cobra is as good as any of the standard production double action revolvers Colt has made. As I began rummaging through my stockpile of ammunition, I realized that I had sufficient quantities to really do more than just accuracy testing with the Black Hills 125-grain 38 Special +P.Once I was equipped with all the necessary gear, I strapped on the Colt, loaded up my speed loaders and speed strips, and headed to the range. Im very happy Colt brought this back and frankly I wish they would bring back ALL their old revolvers (same for S&W). Many times, small-frame revolvers are suggested for new shooters because theyre easy to handle and dependable. Not too light nor too heavy. I wish Colt would come back with their snake guns but lets bring them back the way they were originally created instead of this mass-produced mumbo-jumbo garbage crap. Here's what it's like to shoot this classic scattergun. I also prefer a .38+P to a .357 for a carry gun this size, and dont fault Colt for the caliber. Smith & Wesson Model 586: Reviewing A .357 Revolver With Class. We are building all Cobras right here in our factory in West Hartford, Connecticut. The New Cobra seems like an updated Detective Special. Make the same gun in a nice Thanks , Bob. Items you may find in this auction include 500 firearms to include modern & collectible rifles, shotguns, muzzle loaders, revolvers and pistols. The lock-up on this Cobra, if they are using the original Colt lockwork requires attention from a gunsmith who knows how to time up a Colt mechanism to make the lock-up what Colts were known for. It will be interesting to see what Colt does next. The only thing that keeps me from buying that gun is the dull matte finish. Colts double action / single action system has been perfected over the years and this trigger benefits from their experience. A target load of a 148-grain wadcutter at 700 fps offers excellent accuracy. The revolver points easily and the fiber optic red front sight is quick to acquire. I dont have high hopes for the return of the Colt snake line. They locked up well, but their finish was quite rough by comparison to the Python. Lee Marvin carried two Colt Cobras while playing Detective-Lieutenant Frank Balinger of the Chicago Police Department on the TV series M Squad. And it immediately turned heads, winning the 2020 Ballistic's Best Reader's Choice Award for Best Revolve r. . To prepare for my trip to the range, I pulled down that box of holsters that all gun guys tend to have and undertook my best effort to find something that the Colt would fit. The MSRP is a bit rich for my bank account but in line with what others charge. Give us the option of a nice fat trigger (like my K.Cobra). Nobody has cried about price yet though i may have to scroll down more. Your email address will not be published. The market is already absolutely saturated with striker fired polymer wonder 9s. The finish looks like a car in primer. The author was impressed by the design, operation and performance of the new Colt Cobra. I was encouraged by the pull experience you had but yours must have been worked on to get the pull weights you claim. The reason why the snake gun revolvers werent selling very well in 1990 through the discontinuation of them was simply because everyone had made the jump from revolvers to semi automatic handguns such as a clock. (If youve already posted a passing review of it, let me know I probably missed it in the deluge.). Some new Colt Python problems have been widely discussed online, including heavy single action triggers and a cylinder issue covered by Youtubers like Hickok45, but Colt has taken steps to address the concerns. I believe that if Colt can get their act straightened up this would be a good run for them. K-Mart Classics: Remingtons Nylon Rimfires Engineered To Last. Theres a market for them today, and Im surprised that Colt didnt jump in with both feet, instead of teasing the market with a hideout gun. I believe the exact opposite to be true. Following your click, you would see an option labeled "Serial Number Lookup.". But the best news inside this article is the trigger pull. Colt didnt quite get the SF stainless series trigger right- I have a DS-II thats no better than okay, and the Magnum Carry I had was better but not sensational. A few days to grind down and re-polish hammer, trigger, cylinder release. The trigger action in DA and SA is incredible. There is minimal recoil on this Colt. The cylinder is going to get worn to shit because Colt didn't take the effort to have it drop in the recesses.