Hello SP, lets throw a same era 4" Python in on the next trip to the range.
I would like to read your opinion. I have gotten to old and shaky to get a nice group. Best, Mike2796
Will you accept a six-inch Python (two of them) against several M-27's and three M-28's? One pre-27 had a 6.5-inch barrel; all the rest had six-inchers.
Ammo varied, but consisted of Speer 140 grain JHP, 145 grain Silvertip, and some 125 grain stuff from Remington, Winchester, and Federal. Quite a lot was Remington's 158 grain SP and JHP stuff. And I shot various .38 Special loads, too.
I'd read that Colts outshot S&W's and Rugers and were the darlings of the PPC crowd. I expected the Pythons to do better.
Honestly, I couldn't see any difference by brand. Results overlapped so much that I concluded that there was no practical difference between the S&W's and the Colts. Both shot VERY tight groups at 25 yards and if I hadn't marked the targets, I probably couldn't have told which guns shot which targets. I should probably note that I was then a very good handgun shooter and hit the range several times a month. My groups were SUBSTANTIALLY better than almost any that I've seen posted on the Net. I also handled Magnum recoil better than most do. If I shot like some men who post pics of their targets, I wouldn't put them on the Net. I'd be too ashamed and I certainly wouldn't claim to have conducted any meaningful testing. These guys who get their first .357 and fire a lousy group at just 10 yards and claim to have tested the gun are an embarrassment to all gun owners. They do a disservice to newcomers who then think that revolvers are inaccurate!
If you can't put all six holes touching closely in a pretty tight ragged hole at 25 yards from "offhand" at least fairly often, you aren't a very good pistol shot, and need to keep your results to yourself. And you shouldn't hunt live animals with a handgun.
BTW, I also owned a Colt Trooper .357, the old model, not a MK III. It shot pretty much on par with my Combat Magnums, several examples, including those marked as M-19's. One was a pre-19. It was, with an early M-29, as fine a revolver as I've owned. Later, I bought my M-66-3, which is among the most accurate four-inch .357's I've shot.
The Trooper and those M-19's were all with four-inch barrels. I have owned a couple of six-inch M-19's, but will not incude them here, as they were easier to shoot well and gave exceptional results, about on par with the N-frame guns.
It is possible that extremely skilled shooters who routinely win tough matches can detect that Colts shoot better. Most of us are not able to establish that. I make no claim to be a master marksman.
For what it may be worth, I do believe that Ruger's GP-100 averages better accuracy than did their previous Security-Six series. This is subjective and I've owned only a couple of them. But present GP-100's probably overlap S&W accuracy.
Some revolvers do prefer certain ammo, so should be fired with several brands to see what they like best.
and I also know you don't care.
