Colt Cobra alloy

Old TexMex · Apr 27, 2019

What’s the story on the Cobra with alloy frame? I saw one at a show today. Asking was high enough that it’s probably there tomorrow. Shooter grade, obvious wear,etc,etc. any thoughts out there?
Seller called it an “agent”. 2” bbl, said he’d owned it for “a long time”.
Shroud ejector rod, .38spl.
Thanks

colt_saa · Apr 28, 2019

Did it say Cobra?

There is a Colt Agent. Mine was an allow frame and a parkerized finish. I think I bought it in the early 1980s.

The older ones were blue

murphydog · Apr 28, 2019

The last older production Cobra was (dimensionally) the alloy frame Detective Special. The Agent had the shorter grip frame. Looking at the left barrel should tell the difference. These are fine revolvers with the usual caveat about finding good gunsmiths and parts.

Targets Guy · Apr 28, 2019

Mine is a 1957 Cobra. Lots of use but still a fine shooter.

Old TexMex · Apr 28, 2019

Targets Guy said:
Mine is a 1957 Cobra. Lots of use but still a fine shooter.

Yours shows the same wear level, (his was a Parkerized looking finish)the one I was looking at had a shrouded ejector rod, a later unit. He was asking over 600 for the thing, I didn’t want to offend the guy. Nice guy, a real optimist.

murphydog · Apr 28, 2019

Yes, an above market asking price. The last of the 3rd generation small frames were Parkerized due to (I recall) labor issues at the Colt factory. They are functionally fine but their appearance is...functional.

Old TexMex · Apr 28, 2019

Thanks Alan, and all you guys, that’s about all I need to know on that subject. Much appreciated

Jim

Lonestar57 · Apr 28, 2019

The Colt Cobra and Agent are essentially the same gun just named differently. Around 1966 the D framed revolvers had the grip frame shortened. Then around 1972 Colt changed to the shrouded ejector style (heavy barrel look). The Cobra was offered in polished Blue or Nickel and tends to bring more money due to it being a snake named gun. The Colt Agent was offered in polished Blue or as described above the diminished Matte Parkerized version during the Colt strike years. This Parkerized version also had the Rampant Colt insignia stamping on the gun's sideplate deleted and is the least desirable of Colts. Good luck.

smitty_bs · Apr 28, 2019

Here's one from 1961 that I inherited from my father-in-law. Very light-weight six-shot snubbie. It's the only Colt I own being a Smith guy, but I may change that up soon.

Richard Simmons · Apr 28, 2019

Had these NIB Agents for a few years now. Only difference is that one has checkered stocks. When I ran across the pair my thought was that they’d make a nice CCW, one for my wife and one for myself but that hasn’t happened yet.

If I ran across another one, either Cobra or Agent I’d probably grab it if the price was right.

For a shooter grade the $600 asking would not be the “right” price for me.

Art Doc · Apr 28, 2019

I had a Cobra for a while. Recoil was too much for fun and I am never comfortable with alloy revolvers after seeing so many with cracked frames.

ladder13 · Apr 28, 2019

$600 is out of line Jim. I paid 300 a couple years ago for a shooter.

Richard Simmons · Apr 28, 2019

Art Doc said:
I had a Cobra for a while. Recoil was too much for fun and I am never comfortable with alloy revolvers after seeing so many with cracked frames.

I’ve yet to see an alloy frame Colt or S&W with a cracked frame in person. Not sure how many I’ve seen posted online? Maybe a couple dozen? Seems like if It was a huge problem Colt wouldn’t have made the various models it has for all those decades.

IIRC the original Cobra was produced for 30+ years. It definitely happens. I just don’t believe it a common occurrence.

sheepdawg · Apr 28, 2019

I paid $349 for this not very pretty but quite tight 74 Cobra and IWB leather holster about five years ago. She's a shooter and my usual everyday carry. The shrouded ejector ones were said to be able to handle +P as long as you didn't feed them a steady diet of them so I carry Speer Gold Dot 38 +Ps for short barrels and practice with standard SWC. Never thought recoil was real bad with either load. The Pacs are the grip of choice on these, far better than what originally came on them.

Ivan the Butcher · Apr 28, 2019

I bought my Cobra in 97 or 98, very worn (Frame almost white!) very tight for $169 at a shop that is high priced on collector pieces. Birchwood-Casey make a marker that colors the frame to the anodized color. First coat looked like a kid with a crayon had at it. The second coat looked like factory, but the steel looked very worn. These my be a candidate for ceracoat (sp).

For a carry gun they work well, but I am more accurate with a steel J-Frame! I only carry it for backpacking now, and may switch over to the LCR for backpacking.

Ivan

ImprovedModel56Fan · Apr 28, 2019

murphydog said:
Yes, an above market asking price. The last of the 3rd generation small frames were Parkerized due to (I recall) labor issues at the Colt factory. They are functionally fine but their appearance is...functional.

Similar to my recollection. I was not aware of the reason for the change in finish, but I bought both a steel and an aluminum gun of that era, for reasons too lengthy to go into. The aluminum had a sideplate so proud of the frame that it hindered speedloader use, yet both guns had superior working of the action, DA and SA both. I have neither now, but not because they were not good guns.

crazyphil · Apr 28, 2019

The Cobra came out in 1950 as a lightweight version of the Detective
Special. Five years later the Agent came out. Basically the same as
the Cobra but the grip frame is a bit shorter, supposedly to make it
more concealable. Most of the Parkerized Agents came out in the 1980s.

The big selling feature was that all three, Detective, Cobra, and Agent
held 6 rounds vs 5 rounds offered by their competitor (S&W).

I bought mine for $250, but that was 15 years ago or so. I had the
hammer spur and the SA notch removed to render it totally DAO.
And put the Craig Spegel extended boots on to compensate for the
short grip frame.

Here, left to right, is my Agent with some of it's favorite leather.

The Agent
KD's gator trim, culver gator belt, Bear knife
Black Hills Lizard culver lizard belt, Camillus knife
PWL's 120TS Haugen belt Case knife
Heiser 457 Chic Gaylord belt Buck knife
My wife and daughter gave me the Resistol for my
27th birthday. I'm 84 now, so it's getting kinda old.

les.b · Apr 28, 2019

Jim, I have a bunch of these Colt "D" frames. The "Agent" is the same as the "Cobra", except for the shorter grips. Same Grip frame as the contemporary Cobras, just the stamping on the barrel and the grips is the only difference. Here's mine, made prior to the parkerized finish, and wearing the Tyler T Grip. It fits in the same pocket holster as my J frame smiths...with an extra round. 6 instead of 5 cartridges. Makes a nice little pocket gu.

les-b-albums-some-of-my-colts-picture16807-my-colt-agent-shrouded-barrel-version-period-tyler-t-grip.jpeg

Here is my "pre-shroud" Agent. Again, note the short grips:

For comparison, here is my pre shroud Cobra. Othe than the barrel stamp, and the longer grips, they are identical:

By the way, the price on these little Colts has gone up in recent years, at least in my area. While $600 is pretty steep, $450-$500 wouldn't be unreasonable, depending on condition, of course.

Best Regards, Les

Colt Cobra alloy

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