Product Code Database
The Colt Python is a double action/single action revolver chambered for the .357 Magnum cartridge. It was first introduced in 1955 by the Colt's Manufacturing Company. Dougherty, Martin Small Arms: From the Civil War to the Present Day, New York City: Fall River Press, 2005, page 48.
Pythons have a reputation for accuracy, smooth trigger pull, and a tight cylinder lock-up. Pythons, built on Colt's large I-frame, are similar in size and function to the Colt Trooper and Colt Lawman revolvers.
The Colt Python is intended for the premium revolver market segment. Produced from 1955 to 2005, and again since 2020, it was described by historian R.L. Wilson as "the Rolls-Royce of Colt revolvers", and firearms historian Ian V. Hogg referred to it as the "best revolver in the world." Some firearm collectors and writers such as Jeff Cooper and Ian V. Hogg have described the Python as "the finest production revolver ever made". The Colt Python .357 Magnum Revolver by Chuck Hawks at chuckhawks.com accessed April 27, 2009Wilson, R.L., The Colt Heritage, New York City: Simon & Schuster, 1987, P. 272.Wilson, R.L., Colt: An American Legend, New York City: Abbeville Press, 1985, p. 272.Cooper, Jeff, Cooper on Handguns, Los Angeles, Petersen Publishing Co., 1974, p. 189.Hogg, Ian V. (1994). Military Small Arms: 300 Years of Soldiers' Firearms, Salamander Publishing
Al De John, who started with Colt in 1946 as a gunsmith, worked with factory superintendent Al Gunther. De John started to tinker with the .38 Special Officer's Model Match beefing up the cylinder, frame, and top-strap due to problems with blowback and firing pins from the excessive pressure from the .357 Magnum hammering the recoil plate. The recoil plate, a separate piece set into the frame, was eliminated by putting the firing-pin hole directly into the frame and making the top strap and crane more robust. Al Gunther first suggested having the iconic vent rib across the barrel. The Python snake name for the revolver came from Colt sticking to their reptilian revolver naming, following the 1950 .38 Special "Cobra". Thus the "Python" was the second snake moniker for Colt's lineup. The Colt Python was first introduced in 1955 as Colt's top-of-the-line model and was originally intended to be a large-frame .38 Special target revolver. As a result, it features precision adjustable sights, a smooth trigger, solid construction, and extra metal. Pythons have a distinct appearance due to a full barrel underlug, ventilated rib and adjustable sights. Colt revolver cylinders rotate clockwise compared to counter-clockwise of other revolvers (like Smith & Wesson or Ruger). When the revolver is at full cock, just as the trigger is pressed, the cylinder locks up for the duration of the hammer strike. As the trigger is pressed, the cylinder moves into lockup by the hand, and it is locked tightly. The Colt is locked up tight when the hammer falls. Colt claims that since the cylinder rotates to the right, this forces the cylinder into the frame, opposite of the Smith & Wesson. The gap between the cylinder and forcing cone is very tight, further aiding accuracy and velocity.
In 1980, an barrel Python was introduced chambered for the .38 Special. The Colt Python Target .38 Special was made in Royal Blue and only 251 Colt Python Targets were given the nickel finish. Also the Colt Python Hunter was unveiled, which was the 8-inch Python with Pachmayr grips, factory-mounted 2X Leupold scope on the barrel with Redfield mounts, and packaged in a Zero Halliburton case that included a Colt-marked plastic ammunition box, wood handle cleaning rod and tool kit. The Colt Python Hunter was the first field-ready handgun hunting package made by a major handgun manufacturer. It was discontinued by 1990 and briefly offered as a Colt Custom Shop model afterward.
In 1981, Coltguard, a proprietary electroless weather-resistant plating, was also made available. The stainless Python was reintroduced in 1984, followed in 1985 by the super-polished stainless Ultimate Python, which was fitted with an Elliason target front sight. In 1988 only 200 Colt Python Stalker were produced in stainless steel. It has an 8-inch vented ribbed barrel, a smooth non-fluted cylinder, a Leupold M8-2x Extended E.R. scope, and rubber grips with the Colt Medallion. A small number of Pythons were gold and silver plated for various commemoratives and special orders throughout the years.
In 1982, the Colt Python Silhouette came with a rib-mounted Leupold scope and Pachmayr grips, and housed in a black fitted-case with nickel trim. There was also an 8-inch Ten Pointer Series with a 3X Burris scope, wooden grips, an extra set of neoprene composition grips and a carrying case.
Two Colt revolver variants using Python barrels but not Python frames or internals were made in small numbers by Colt. The first was the Colt Boa of 1985, a limited production run of 1,200 .357 Magnum revolvers, made for the Lew Horton Distributing Company in Massachusetts. It uses a Python barrel mated to a Trooper Mk V frame. Six hundred 6-inch revolvers and six hundred 4-inch revolvers were made, of which one hundred were matched sets. Though it resembles a Python visually, it is substantially different internally.
The second was the stainless steel Colt Grizzly of 1994, another limited-production .357 Magnum revolver. It uses a Python barrel mated to a Colt King Cobra frame. Five hundred of these revolvers were manufactured, with six-inch Magna-ported barrels and smooth, unfluted cylinders. The ported barrel includes a bear footprint. Similar to the Grizzly was the Colt Kodiak, which was a Colt Anaconda with a Magna-ported barrel and an unfluted cylinder. Approximately 2,000 Kodiaks were manufactured. All original Colt Pythons use the original Colt E/I frame type mechanics with a leaf hammer spring design in common with earlier Colt models, including the postwar Colt .357 Magnum model and the pre-war Colt Official Police and Army Special models. As described above, the Boa and Grizzly are structurally part of the Mk.III/Mk.V revolver product lines which use the much later J and V designated frames. These various hybrids are very collectible due to low production quantities, but because they are a completely different revolver action based upon the later coil-mainspring Colt products, they may not be considered Pythons.
In 1997 manufacture of the Python was switched from the main assembly line to the Colt Custom Shop, and the gun was offered in both highly polished and matte stainless steel and renamed the Colt Python Elite. It remained in limited production, off and on, until 2004.
In 2020, Colt reintroduced the Python in barrels, followed by a version in 2022. "It's back: Python 2020" The reintroduced Python has been technically revised and reinforced compared to the original revolver. "New for 2020: The Upgraded Colt Python" Of the first issues, the 6-inch is generally the most common, the 8-inch was intended for hunting, the 4-inch was preferred by plain-clothes police, the 2.5-inch and 3-inch were limited and have become rare.
With the production return in January 2020, Colt sanctioned and authenticated the first engraved new production Colt Python. It was made by Tyler Gun Works and sold for $18,026 via auction on GunBroker.com on February 27, 2020. The proceeds were donated to the NRA Whittington Center Adventure Camp.
A downside to the older generation Colt Python's precision as a tendency to go " out of time" with continued heavy shooting. Going "out of time" or mis-timing on a revolver is a condition in which the hand does not move each and every cylinder chamber to the exact correct rotation with respect to the forcing cone. Furthermore, any revolver used for many thousands of rounds may eventually require the same timing adjustments. In any case, the first and most common symptom of typical timing issues will be only a slight loss of accuracy, which on a Python may not even be noticeable to many shooters. Colt beefed up the robustness by increasing the quality of the steel, hardness of the parts, and the amount of steel for the 2020 release of the second generation Pythons.
Stacking, a phenomenon where the weight of pull sharply increases at the end of the trigger's travel, was an issue for the first generation Pythons. For the 2020 release of the second generation Pythons, Colt redesigned the lockwork, simplifying and subtracting parts, and redesigning the V-spring into a "U" shape where 'stacking' is no longer an issue.
Author Martin Dougherty notes the weight of the Python as a drawback, as it is quite heavy for a handgun of its caliber, ranging from 2.4 lbs (1.1 kg) to 2.6 lbs (1.2 kg). This makes the Python comparable to Smith & Wesson's premier .357, the M27, which weighs with a barrel. Both revolvers are lighter than Smith and Wesson's more powerful M29 .44 Magnum, which weighs in barrel configuration.
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