The Python's are handsome guns, but it seems that there are a lot of "Like New" Pythons for sale on Gunbroker and they get bid up pretty high.

I'd rather a Smith with holster wear, but what do I know?

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Buy American
Vote Responsibly

They aren't really getting more expensive, your dollars are shrinking in purchasing power.

Been to the gas station lately?

edit to add: Priced in ounces of gold, they haven't gone up at all.

I'd rather a Smith WITHOUT holster wear!


Seriously, I've owned both and they shot so well that I couldn't tell which was better. Some claim the Python has an accuracy edge, but I couldn't tell , and I was shooting groups offhand at 25 yards in those days in which often, all six bullets were in a jagged hole.

I liked the older Model 27 better, for general handling quaities and the feel of the action and the checkering on top and that the cylinder will hold its timing a LOT better than a Colt.

But people buy Pythons as investments, seldom to shoot, nowadays.

Pythons are very accurate guns. Many years ago I would compare my colts against my smiths off the bench. The python and I think the old troopers had a slightly tapered barrel. I think it good for accuracy. I carried and shot the old colt trooper. I have presently two pythons and two troopers besides my smiths. The trooper is so high priced that I think a lot of us make them safe queens without planning to and carry cheaper good guns. I know I do. Those of you who have exspendsive collector cars dont drive them to work do you? Same deal!
I also have a fine 27-2. Its fine but in my opinion is overbuilt makeing it heavier than need be. It seems to be a safe queen along side my pythons and single action armys. I often take a nice m&p with me on my dusty quad rides or a converted from heavy duty .44 special. I dont sweat scuffing them up. My more exspendsive .44 specials also stay in lockup. If I want to take a .357 along I now opt for my 3" model 66-3 lew horton. Being stainless I dont worry too much about it getting dusty and by the way, I suppose that gun probley is worth almost as much as my pythons.

Not likely, at least in the shorter term. The don't make them anymore. They were, when produced, a nearly hand-made revolver. All the hand fitting made them unique as a "mass produced" revolver. Finish and fit were/are superior to nearly everything but a Korth.

Colt, sometime down the road, will run out of repair parts, and the 'smiths who repair and restore them. Not many commercial gunsmiths can work on them. The needed detail knowledge is retiring or dying off.

There is no one willing to step up and hand make a revolver. The retail price would be north of $2K, maybe even $3K.

Like all economic issues, the Python fits the model. Limited supply, high demand yields higher price.

Don't see the price coming down soon. I do believe they are overpriced, but what do I know? I'd trade mine for a nickel 3 1/2" 27, I just like Nframes better......

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Even older, even crankier....

I only own one colt. A 1975 vintage trooperIII. First 357 I've shot that I've enjoyed. When e-bay some years back was allowing the selling of parts, bought everything except the frame for a trooperIII. Frank

I'm with TexasStar on this one. While Pythons may have an advantage in mechanical accuracy, it doesn't show up in offhand shooting. Back when I was a good shot (many decades ago) I could always do just a little better with my Smith's than with my Pythons. It always seemed to me that Smith's had a little quicker lock times and that allowed them to be pointed just a little better when they went off. Wonder if it's ever been measured?

Ed

Call me cynical but it's my supposition that the rise in nib Pythons coincides with the availability of reproduction (counterfeit) boxes, hang tags, labels, paperwork, etc that is available on the auction sites.

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God spelled backwards is dog.

I had a 2 1/2 inch python, i was tickeled to death when i got rid of it! ill stick with the smiths, the python is the most over rated gun i know of.

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WILL WORK FOR AMMO!

Nothing is preventing Colt from making new Pythons. They wont be the same mind you -think of the Heritage S&W offerings. They wil be cooming out of the Custom shop.

IF they still have people employed there that know to to work on that action. If they no longer do, it won't be easily possible.

I own a couple of Colts, but lack of parts and lack of talented people to work on them keep them firmly in the safe.

Just try finding ratchets, hands and other wear parts for most Colt revolvers- they are non-existent.
If you have a honey hole of Colt double action parts- let me in on it.

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Lost it all in a boat accident

I'm a .357 fan so here's a couple of my over-priced guns...both brands.

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C & L

Yes, the bubble has been about to burst for over 55 years now.

I've shot a few Pythons, and think they're really nice, just always a little more than I've wanted to pay (note I did not say they weren't worth what someone is asking). I've finally quit buying guns, so they have joined the group I would like to have but probably never will, along with a SAKO Finnwolf, etc.

i have several pythons...great guns!

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SWCA#2208
KK4EMO

I sure hope so! I've always wanted one, but can no way handle todays prices.

colt has enough peopleto work on pythons and others with that type of action,but production and repair are two vastly different things.to have a newly built python today,with the original action, would be in the neighborhood of $2500. their was a study done at colts not long ago about this very thing. that was the number that was discussed and it was decided they couldn't sell enough of them to pay for personnel training and to support continued sales.

The Python stayed in production until the late 1990s. The New Frontier was gone longer and is now back. At the end they came out of the custom shop and people complained about them. But they were made.

Colt D frame revolvers are still made in the Phillipines by Armscor. They purchased the rights and crank them out. If they can start up production there it would seem that we could manage it here in the States.

There is no Python bubble any more than there is a 3.5-inch M27 bubble or a five-screw Pre-29 bubble. The demand for these guns is greater than the available supply. Prices rise and stay high.

I do think there is a trash market for Pythons that the gullible need to be aware of. There seem to be many fake-box Pythons and incorrectly stocked guns that end up offered on the auction sites as completely authentic. Also, there seem to be some pretty well used Pythons that are described optimistically by sellers as to condition. But if you want a Python and look carefully enough, you can find a correct one -- even a correct package -- at a price that is consistent with demand.

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David Wilson

Had I known THEN what I now know about Pythons, it would have stayed in my safe, in the box, unfired! It's still in fine condition but the box and original grips seem to have walked off. My 4" Smith 28 does everything I need a .357 to do.

I'm glad the Pythons became so valuable. I decided the cash mine could bring outweighed owning them, so they were sold.

I'm seeing a big gap between the NIB Pythons and the 96-98% examples. The ceiling keeps climbing.

Overhere in Holland the prices of the Python are rising to.
But we do not have many collectors here. Mainly clubshooters.

But a good Python will bring about 500 or 600 euro.
I do like the Python. It was on the topend of the production of Colt from 1955. My example is build in 1961. It is still in a very good condition.
I don't think I gonna sell it. Mayby after my dead.

But, beside the fact I really love this revolver, it has an outdated lock.
This so called Warnant lock needs a very good gunsmith when it is of time. It is also getting tougher to find spare parts.

So when the need arrised I will pack the Smith and Wesson 586.
All parts are still availleble. It shoots very accurate.

But I am carry away of the original question. No. The Python bubble won't burst.
You can get a new Colt SAA. But that is not the same as an Antique one.
In a way this counts for the Python to. There arn't comming new one's. If so it isn't the same.

The Python is not longer build by Colt. If you have one, stick to it. It is a revolver wich earned his place in the revolver history.

Beside that It is a very nice and Beautifull revolver wich I hold in my hand to admire it often.
Sorry for my English with a Dutch accent.

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Like a classic car with a flawless paint job (10 coats of hand-rubbed lacquer) , Pythons are just too beautifully polished and blued to be treated harshly. I cringe when I see them thrashed in movies. Certainly hope they were fake prop-guns.

I knew a few cops who carried Pythons and they showed the daily wear and tear an officers sidearm will unavoidably receive.

I was lucky to find a 4-digit (9xxx) example made the same year I was born in mint condition. It's certainly held up better than I have.

Like it's previous owner , I used my Python mostly for bullseye matches with target wadcutters for several years. It still sees rangetime , occasionally with 160gr hardcast SWC magnum-level loads. But I don't toss it on the ground or bench. I try keep it scratch free because I just love looking into that deep mirror-like blued steel after cleaning.

As far as being an 'investment'? I could probably sell it for triple the $500 I bought it for in 1990. But that will never happen. I'll own it till the day I die.



Yes , I still have the original fully checkered grips.

I bought one at one LGS two weeks ago, took it across town to another LGS. Paid 1400 sold for 1900. Take that same 1400 and put it in a cd and "watch" your money grow. NOT!!!

regards

Bill

I'll put my Pre-27 up against any gun, along with my 27-2.

Yer on!

Postal match?

I just heard on the news the the Federal government has taken over Colt and demanded they start making Pythons again. They have also instructed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to give interest free loans that never need to be paid back to lower income gunowners who can't afford a Python now. So the price of Pythons will drop significantly pretty soon.
Seriously, though, I'm stunned by the escalating prices for Pythons. I bought the only Python I think I ever had in my hand in the mid 1990's, but it just doesn't do it for me like my 3 1/2" 27-2. But I'll always keep the Pyhon.

Electroless nickel form 1980...

I saw a guy pay $1500 for one at a local gun show. I had a Trooper Mark III for a while. I had problems with it and traded it for another gun. Most of my revolvers now are S&W or Rugers.

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Corripe Cervisiam

When I first started I was a Colt only gal. Picked up a 4 inch Anaconda, a 6 inch King Cobra and a 2 1/2 Diamondback in 38 special. Then I encountered S&W N frames and haven't looked back since. Just got to love those N frame revolvers. As far as accuracy I'd put my 586-3 up against any other 357. Down right accurate even in my hands.

Yes the quality of Smith and Wessons are great. No question about that.

But. As I stated the Python dates from 1955. it was a top of the biil revolver then.
Back in 1979 when I starting shooting I really want a Python. It was on top of the ladder.

The price of a Python was 1800 Dutch Guilders against 700 for a good model 19 Smith and Wesson. So that became my first revolver.

But the fact is. The Python is really a great revolver with a good looks.

It hasn't the legend of the SAA but it is well build and has a very nice finish.

It will increace its value. My Python isn't for sale. It will stay in my collection.

Actually ,(the story I read way back when) in a deal with the devil (Clinton Administration) Colt agreed to severely curtail their production of civillian market handguns in exchange for an exclusive no-bid contract to supply M4s to the military. There was also some kinda deal with the State of Conn that in order not to be included in frivolous evil-gun manufacturer lawsuits , they would commit so much to so-called 'smart gun' technology.

The first Mk.III guns introduced new lockworks with parts made by sintered powdered metal. They didn't hold up and real steel parts replaced them.

When I bought my one and only Python in the mid 90's I had just read something about Colt getting out of the civilian market. That, and my wife suggesting I put the $475 Python on layaway, was why I got it. I figured I'd never get the chance again. That must have been the "deal" you are talking about.

...two guys bid one up (4" blue...nice shape) on Gunbroker recently...I dont know if it was legit...but it went for almost $3500...sounds like it's gettin' kinda bubbly to me. When the guys that borrowed to buy one thinking the prices will go up forever see the price drop below where they bought their's...look out below...cause the savvy guys will wait to see where it bottoms.

They gone have high enough in price to quit bangin' em around
in the woods.

Will the bubble burst? No. Not anytime soon.

Are they worth the price as shooters? No.

Are they worth the price as collectors items, like faberge eggs? Yes.

Remember, you can admire a thing without owning it. I think a smart person would sell now while prices are bubbly high. Once it breaks, there's no parts, so all you have is junk - OH, and Pythons DO break.

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But then, what do I know?

...that's like watching another guy take the prom queen home...

...you're not sure if he's gonna get any...but you KNOW you're not going to...

God I hope tue bubble bursts. I really, really want one.

But everytime I save up just about enough money to go find a shooter grade, I go to a gun show and buy 2 utility wheelguns for the same price.

Was sold last week in a Gun Store in MA.

Colt Python .357mag, 2.5" $1695.95 SOLD
Excellent Condition

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Doesn't hasta call me Johnson

A Python is quality. Better than a S&W? Not the point, why argue? I have 2, one to shoot and one safe queen. But I own more S&W.

A Python is like a pre '64 Winchester rifle, a classic.

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JIM
NRA Pistol Instr

I hope you bought it!!

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Miss My Buddy crsides!!

I guess no one told me about it. Bought the blue one 2-3 years ago for around $750.00. Thought I paid to much then. Bought the nickel one for $500.00 this summer. Thought that was a fair price. I collect mostly S&W's so I'm not that up on Colt prices.....I reckon I did OK.

Missed out on it, something like that only hangs out in the gun shop for a extremely short time in this neck of the woods.

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Doesn't hasta call me Johnson