Sold a Python for a Smith.

[jhcii]

686 .357 PC Competor.

I looked over the old threads and found some interesting reading realizing this gun has been around after an earlier PC .357 686.

I had the Python for years after thinking it was my last .357. However, I could not bond with it for some reason and I thought why hand on to it?

So I sold it and went back to the gun shop that had on display the stainless weighted barrel gun with excellent sights. Though weighing 52 ozs the balance of the entire open sighted rig was perfect--the weight seemed to disappear from the balance. The action was better than a Python or 29. I was told by the seller it was a "rainy day gun" and I saw exactly what he was saying. All weather gun.

I have loads of wadcutters and 125gr Rem on hand to see what the results will be for me shooting it at the range. The sights are as excellent as SW's factory installed Model 41 sights.

I will be posting pictures and welcome input on this gun. It's new to me.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

The 686 is a great revolver. Enjoy and "bond" with it.

 

[andyo5]

Pythons look 'cool' but they use an outdated cantilevered mainspring which causes the trigger pull to stack badly. To solve this issue you could spend as much as the purchase price of the gun. The Smiths are mechanically much more sophisticated and can be easily gunsmithed to yield a good trigger pull.
I think that the main attraction of the Python nowadays is that they are out of production and supply is very limited. Enjoy shooting your new gun.

 

[Tom_R]

The 686 is arguably the best modern revolver ever made when all things are considered.

Pythons are cool, but I think they are so overpriced now that if you are lucky enough to have one, you can't even shoot it.

Enjoy that 686.

 

[diyj98]

The Pythons sell for big bucks, but I find the S&W lockwork to much stronger and I never really found the Pythons I've owned to be anymore accurate than most S&W's.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

The 686 is arguably the best modern revolver ever made when all things are considered.

Pythons are cool, but I think they are so overpriced now that if you are lucky enough to have one, you can't even shoot it.

Enjoy that 686.

Buy a couple of dozen so other Smiths. Shoot them for 40 years and then decide which "is the best ever made".........All are good/best.

"So overpriced that you can't shoot it".......Again just another chunk of metal...I shoot mine from the custom shop and consider it a "lessor" gun than a K-frame Smith.

Ya'll can fret over whats best and whats to expensive to shoot after I've tried to wear them out and dead & gone.

 

[sodacan]

The current prices on Pythons are so absurdly high that I have often thought about selling mine. I bought it brand new in 1973 for $198.00, but the gun is such a work of art that I can't bring myself to part with it. I went through at least five sets of stocks until I found a set that I could comfortably and accurately shoot with (Herrett's Shooting Stars). I shoot it fairly often, but my 686, 6" (no dash) is its equal at the range. My pre-model number "N" frames surpass them both. Enjoy that revolver.

 

[DocB]

I have to agree with you. . .I can't bond with a Colt of any model either. I must have ten by now. Same goes for Ruger. . .the Number One Tropical in 375 and the LCP Custom are the only two they make that I really like. That's why I stay with the Smiths.

 

[jtcarm]

I could never bond with snake

I've owned a Series 70 and Trooper MK V and wasn't impressed with either one.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I've owned my python for 35 years. TWICE....I've had to peen the hand to bring it back into time. Had to replace the main spring (V) to stop it from snapping.......Never had to do that to my much more used Smiths. Pythons are way-overpriced relics that current owners seldom shoot.

 

[jhcii]

The Python craze started about the same time as the Dirty Harry 29 red ramp front and white outline rear sights on the famous 29 still being produced today. I can shoot the 29s more accurately than any Python I've owned in the past. Whether the Python is 4" or 6" I find the trigger wrong and the recoil wrong.

First time I shot a 19 SW I saw the light. The L frame came out later and it is about the same size as the Python. The 19 or 66 or 586 or 686 SW beats the Pythons all together in my shooting for accuracy.

I can't understand why Pythons are worshipped. I gave up. I am happy to be rid of it and will never get another Python.

My dad had a Trooper MK III that was fine but that was in the 70s. The Python is over rated over priced and just a disappointing chunk of metal to me.

So today I will shoot the Competitor at 50 yards and prove again the SW .357 made today is better than the Python. I finally shed the shroud of what everyone says about a Python. I say the Python is dead forever in my life. How did Colt end up making this gun so successful? Easy. Those who believe in them bought the premier gun of everyone else's dream based on old machining on a v spring and action many times more complicated than a DA SW in the caliber. Goodbye Python and let the unlucky souls buy them now for thousands of dollars used.

Here's the Python I sold:

It is NOT accurate to me despite all my patience with it and so it goes OUT of my house.

PS. Funny thing is my PY (Python) HKS speedloaders work in my Competitor as well! I didn't have to buy L frame speed loaders at all!

 

[DFrame]

I'm glad you are happy with your trade. It's not one I would make, but if you're happy with it great.

 

[Stilltrying]

I had a 6'' PYTHON on which I had a BoMar sight to shooting PPC Course. The trigger pull on the python is not as sweet as it is on a S&W wheel gun. The cylinder keeps turning on the python almost until the gun go bang. The lock time on S&W seemed quicker. They still look pretty.

 

[DR505]

Pythons look goofy to me

I've never liked the look of the Python...silly useless vent rib on top of the barrel, with the tiny .357 bore underneath. It looks awkward to me. The 586/686 just look cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing to me. I first fired a Python in 1978, didn't care for the action then, don't now.

 

[wproct]

I've never liked the look of the Python...silly useless vent rib on top of the barrel, with the tiny .357 bore underneath. It looks awkward to me. The 586/686 just look cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing to me. I first fired a Python in 1978, didn't care for the action then, don't now.

This is ironic, as looks was always my main attraction to the Python, thought it was the best looking revolver ever made. Having said that, I've never owned one. Always thought they were a little out of my price range. Now they are "way" out my price range! I've always settled for Smith & Wesson or Ruger.

 

[9mmsubgun-m11]

I've always settled for Smith & Wesson or Ruger.

You did not settle. You chose wisely!

 

[chief38]

No argument from me - - I think the older/vintage Smith 586/686 is a better designed gun than the Python and that is why I never owned a Python. The Python's "guts" are a bit too fragile for me and I never cared much for its grip-frame either. That said, the Python is a much "prettier gun" with better bluing, better fit and finish and is more unique. While the Python is probably the highest quality revolver ever made, its design is not as good as the Smith design IMHO and the Smith is much more robust and durable. I also much prefer the Smith grip-frame but I suppose that is a personal thing.

The main reason it is now so collectible is because it was Colt's best and they have not been made in around 15 years - don't we all get into collecting when the item is no longer made??

 

[jhcii]

Magnum Force

Is where the S.F. Police hunt down Dirty Harry with their 4" Pythons. I think that is the only time I get excited with those guns but that was a movie!

They could have done just as well with the SW 19 4" though!

 

[9mmsubgun-m11]

Is where the S.F. Police hunt down Dirty Harry with their 4" Pythons. I think that is the only time I get excited with those guns but that was a movie!

They could have done just as well with the SW 19 4" though!

It's also where Eastwood messes up his line by telling the young magnum force that he uses a light special for better control. Supposed to say light magnum-per John Milius.

 

[jhcii]

I'm glad you are happy with your trade. It's not one I would make, but if you're happy with it great.

It's not a trade I was ever considering and the Python left me strictly because of every other gun and rifle and shotgun in my house the Python was the Pink Elephant sitting like Buddha in my storing areas never to be shot again. I would ask anyone who likes the Python for shooting to compare with the SW 19 for a start. Then go completely to N Frame .44 Magnum and see what I am saying.

The most accurate center fire revolver to me is the 29. The most accurate .22 LR to me is the SW 41. I can't bond to the Colt Huntsmens or Matches with their Luger hand grips.

The Pythons in my life all were inaccurate despite what people say about them. I can do better with a 19 or 66 or 656 or 29.

In all honesty I can shoot the 29 like a scoped hand rifle without the scope needed at 100 yards. The .357 has limitations restricted to be used seriously at maximum range 75 yards. That's fine for any handgun.

The SW 29 is easily a 100 yard gun on anything alive....