Colt KC .22

Finally located a Colt King Cobra Target .22lr locally. Paid $1,099, so it’s a pricey little .22, but I’ve been wanting one of these for a while; Merry Christmas to me. Could have gotten one for $999 online and saved a little money, but I like this LGS and thought I’d shop local. Plus, thanks to Bidenomics, a hundred bucks doesn’t seem like as much money as it used to.

It’s a beautiful revolver, the finish is beautiful, it has a very smooth action, a great double action trigger pull, and good single action break. I’ve shot a few hundred rounds through it and it functions great, and I’m getting good accuracy out of it. It ejects the casings nicely, doesn’t get sticky ejection like my S&W 617s, including my new 617. Also compared to my new 617, the Colt action is much smoother. Now my no dash 617 is by far the smoothest, but I believe the person before me did an action job on it…

The rubber Colt branded Hogues are very comfortable, but I think that a revolver this nice should have some nice walnut/hardwood grips. I also think that they should have put a target trigger and hammer on the gun, it is sold as the “King Cobra Target” after all… That said, it’s a nice hammer and trigger, I believe they are polished stainless, and not MIM. It just would be nicer if they were a little wider. The other nit that I have with it is that you have to pull the hammer way back to lock the trigger for the single action pull. Seems too long of a pull than it should be, and it’s a little awkward thumbing the hammer single handed. Don’t really notice it when pulling the trigger during double action. Also, during double action pull, you can stack it if you want, so that you feel the single action break (if that makes sense), or pull it quickly for a smooth DA pull. It’s also important to note that KC .22 is the small frame Colt revolver, and is definitely smaller than the K frame Smiths. I’ll include a photo with my new 617 for size comparison.

Overall, I’m really happy with the purchase, it’s a beautiful gun and a great little shooter, I’d happily buy it again.

Thanks for the review! mine is on order, cant wait....wood targets would be nice, as would TH and TT

I gave a good bit of thought to trading my 617 for a KC22 but found a beautiful condition Diamondback that scratched my itch. I don’t have any real complaint with my 617 except the internal lock but after buying several new Colts lately I’m more impressed with Colt these days. Now if Colt came out with a 2” KC22 id have to sell the 617 and get one.

At the range. Really fun gun to shoot.

I would rather see cz colt bring back a Huntsman / Woodsman rather than a revolver but the python crazy crowd wants'um !

I still enjoy my '61 6" huntsman I learned with as a 6 year old . What a trigger at 2lbs with not perceivable take up or over travel still.

That’s nice and will be a great plinker for years. I hear ya on buying locally, I am still waiting for an Anaconda to show up locally.

Who knows by the time one shows up in a local shop—be it 22 or 44–there may be some like new ones for sale at around $400.00 off… I am already seeing this locally with Pythons where people want to sell and asking $1,150.00 OBO.

TheHobbyist said:

That’s nice and will be a great plinker for years. I hear ya on buying locally, I am still waiting for an Anaconda to show up locally.

Who knows by the time one shows up in a local shop—be it 22 or 44–there may be some like new ones for sale at around $400.00 off… I am already seeing this locally with Pythons where people want to sell and asking $1,150.00 OBO.

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I bought one of the new Anaconda’s a year ago, locally, for MSRP. Tough decision between the 6” and 8” barrel, but went with 6”. Super nice revolver, I definitely recommend getting one when you can. And yes, the market has softened a bit, you may be able to get one for a good price, especially used.

Oooh! a new Woodsman! What a great idea!

How is the single action break on the KC22? Any movement at all? How heavy is it?

I’ve jumped ship. I like the old Smiths. The new stuff is a turn off.

In the last couple of years, I’ve bought a CZ Shadow 2; I had CGW mill it for a Delta Point Pro. Then I bought a CZ75B which got sent off to Cajun Gun Works for an action job and sights. Those things are incredible.

After you get the single action pull cleaned up the new Pythons and Anacondas are better than anything else in the world, says my Gunsmith.

I've got a 4" Python and a 6" Anaconda and have my eye on one of these once they show up locally. One thing I really like is that they have a smooth faced trigger instead of grooved. I wish they had done that on the Pythons and Anacondas.

I’d like to get a look at one in the wild even though I possess two 4 inch pre IL 617’s.

I also found a King Cobra Target 22 about 2 months ago at MSRP, at a local??(about 75 miles away) gun shop. I also have a Smith 617. The Colt rear sight is Junk!! The Colt double action trigger is nowhere near as good as my 617. 617 trigger is smoother and about 1-1/2lb lighter. I also have a new model King Cobra target .357 magnum and it has the best, out of the box double action trigger of any revolver that I have ever owned. I expected the .22 to be good and am disappointed. If I had to part with it or my 617, the Colt would be gone. The Colt is back to the mother ship now for evaluation. I will hopefully see an improvement when it comes back.

Electraclyde said:

I also found a King Cobra Target 22 about 2 months ago at MSRP, at a local??(about 75 miles away) gun shop. I also have a Smith 617. The Colt rear sight is Junk!! The Colt double action trigger is nowhere near as good as my 617. 617 trigger is smoother and about 1-1/2lb lighter. I also have a new model King Cobra target .357 magnum and it has the best, out of the box double action trigger of any revolver that I have ever owned. I expected the .22 to be good and am disappointed. If I had to part with it or my 617, the Colt would be gone. The Colt is back to the mother ship now for evaluation. I will hopefully see an improvement when it comes back.

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If it's any consolation, I picked up a 617 4" a few weeks back. It's back at Smith now as I couldn't get through a cylinder without multiple light primer strikes.

Electraclyde said:

I also found a King Cobra Target 22 about 2 months ago at MSRP, at a local??(about 75 miles away) gun shop. I also have a Smith 617. The Colt rear sight is Junk!! The Colt double action trigger is nowhere near as good as my 617. 617 trigger is smoother and about 1-1/2lb lighter. I also have a new model King Cobra target .357 magnum and it has the best, out of the box double action trigger of any revolver that I have ever owned. I expected the .22 to be good and am disappointed. If I had to part with it or my 617, the Colt would be gone. The Colt is back to the mother ship now for evaluation. I will hopefully see an improvement when it comes back.

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Interesting. I’ve got three 617s, two with a lock (a 6” and a 4”), and a 6” no dash. My new KC .22 has, by far, a better double action trigger than the lock 617s. I’d describe the newer 617s as having stiffer feeling actions and heavier double action trigger pull compared to the Colt. My brand new 6” 617 has a bit of a binding feel at times, but seems to be getting better; we’ll see.

I’d say the single action pull on those newer 617s are a little better than the new Colt, but not by much, and the Colt single action is not at all an impediment to accuracy. Now my no dash 617 has a butter smooth double action and a nice single action pull, but I do think someone did some action/spring work to that revolver. I get some light strikes with certain ammo, but none with other ammo (CCI). I’m debating whether to change out the springs to get 100% ignition, or keep it the way it is and continue to enjoy that super smooth action… At the end of the day, I’m getting great accuracy with the new Colt.

The rear sight is definitely an odd choice for Colt to put these on their new revolvers (I also have a couple of new Pythons and a new Anaconda that has this sight). But honestly, it’s not that hard to use. I have a small hex bit that fits the set screw, along with bits that fit the windage/elevation adjustments. I just keep these tool bits on the shooting table when I initially set up the gun for the ammo that I shoot. Back off the set screw, adjust the windage and/or elevation, tighten down the set screw, shoot a few rounds to and see impact. Repeat if necessary. Once dialed in, I’m good. Would it be easier if it didn’t require un tightening and re tightening a set screw to adjust, yup! Would it be better if the windage adjustment had click stops, yup! Is it that big of a deal not having those features, absolutely not. Have the right tools handy, make the adjustments, and it’s done. I mostly just adjust my sights once with a certain weight bullet and speed. With the KC .22 I adjust for standard CCI Target ammo. After that’s dialed in, any 40 gr. standard velocity round will be pretty much be where I need it to be. The sight does give a good sight picture. That said, I got a Wilson Combat rear sight for one of my Pythons, and it’s definitely better. Colt should do the right thing and make a change…

Overall, while I really like both, if I had to choose I do prefer the new Colt to the new 617, it’s a very nice gun. But everyone has their preferences, and it seems like there are some variances from gun to gun in terms of how the actions feel.

Congrats on a real beauty. If I didn’t already have several Colt and Smith 22 revolvers, I’d be looking for a King Cobra.

CH4 said:

Congrats on a real beauty. If I didn’t already have several Colt and Smith 22 revolvers, I’d be looking for a King Cobra.

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Oh heck, don’t let that hold you back, go and check one out… There’s always room for one more at the table!

I'd be very interested in a Colt King Cobra 22lr with a 3" barrel and adjustable sights to go along with my 3" Python and King Cobra .357s.

It's good to hear there are new KC .22's coming out now that work well. They are a nice looking DA revolver.

Hmmm... I'm no expert but I can't really recall factory Colt's ever having a wide target trigger outside of the Gold Cup. The Python and Diamondback did have a wide "beavertail" hammer though. I like wide triggers but I can live without them.

glenwolde said:

Hmmm... I'm no expert but I can't really recall factory Colt's ever having a wide target trigger outside of the Gold Cup. The Python and Diamondback did have a wide "beavertail" hammer though. I like wide triggers but I can live without them.

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No expert here as well, I’m also not aware of any TH/TT on a factory Colt, and I’ve got a bunch of them. My point is that it sure would be nice to have the option. New Colt, new features kind of thing… The new Colt triggers and hammers are good, but would be nice for a target revolver to have target-oriented controls.