ive heard tons of great stories about them, ive seen lots of great groups shot from them, they were overall better then any s&w of there time, so why was the colt python discontinued? ive heard the dropped it to take on the majour manufacturing contracts when the bought the rights to make AR's. ive also heard that they were just phased out by the cobra and king cobra.
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Colt did---and has done a lot of strange things over the years.
The Python was a great double action revolver. No doubt. However it was over priced. And it was a very poor seller for the dealers. Dealers had to discount them as much as they could in order to sell them. The Python would sit on a dealers shelf for a long time.
For most revolver shooters it is impossible to tell the difference in accuracy between the S&W 686 and the Python. The Python is a better revolver---no doubt. However the extra cost was not justifiable. And most S&W's have every bit as good of a trigger.
Bottom line was that there just was not a lot of Python's sold. Tom.
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I like the idea they were discontinued! Not many sold you say? Mo betta...makes mine that much attractive!The Trooper was the base line Python minus the rib under barrel and the trigger was night and day difference!Trooper were good but the Python was much better.Great balance,trigger,smooth action,wouldn't trade mine for anything.There was some came out of Colt custom shop that were engraved and nickeled,friend had a 4" and it was fantastic looking...it had a problem with cylinder locks rounding off and throwing cylinder out of time! Had ugly situation when he fired it and it sheared off some copper jacket from bullet!He was City Marshall and it was his carry weapon.Got it fixed and set it in safe!
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Because everything that Colt has ever made has been over priced and poor sellers and Colt revolvers are notoriously difficult and expensive to work on.
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I believe that they (Colt) attributed it to high cost of manufacture. I had one that was stainless that was a fine gun and I wish I still had that one. I had a 686 as well but there was no comparison in quality.
I have a Diamondback (.38 special version of Python) that was handed down to me from my Grandpa. He kept it on his side during many of his 42 years with the local police department.
Of course it has more value to me than most guns, but if I try and take that aspect away it is still an incredible firearm.
Last edited by chevymanar; 10-28-2009 at 11:10 AM.
I just made this mod to my Trooper. I still have the rear sight and the walnut grips so I can restore it to stock. I hear you on the trigger, but it is a fun gun to shoot. Next year I might even hunt whitetails with it.
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Last edited by RenaissanceBiker; 10-30-2009 at 06:00 AM.
The Python was all but a custom shop handgun and the price reflected this. Many competition shooters purchased the Python, but for the weekend shooter the Diamondback and Trooper were in their price range. The Ruger Security Six also cut into the Colt profits. It was about this time that many Security Six handguns were purchased by police across the nation. I purchased one of the Python Hunters in the mid 80's. One of the best shooting, factory handguns I own. They will still bring a good price depending on condition.
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A good many years ago, my neighbor bought one, 6" in blue, one of the most beautiful revolvers ever. I saved and saved and finally bought my own. Problem was, you didn't want to do anything with them that would damage that mirror finish. Also, much more delicate than the Smith's. We wouldn't even put them in a holster, we both shot them a couple times then put them away while we went out and had a ball with our model 27's, 28's and 29's. I have a 586 now, the Pythons long gone---------John
why was the python discontinued?
