Which S & W is comparable to Colt Python?

[DWalt]

The original .357 Colt Trooper is the same as the original Python. Same everything except for the barrel profile. Sort of like comparing the S&W Model 28 to the S&W Model 27, just a little plainer and different cosmetics. None in features where it counts.

 

[Sgt. Buzzard]

I'm going back over 50 years in my comparison but my bottom line is you either have a Colt trigger finger or a Smith & Wesson trigger finger. How they look means nothing to me. I carried for a living. I shot D/A except at 50 yards. I learned pretty quick I had a S&W trigger finger.

I do have a customized Colt Woodsman series One that is the sweetest shooting.22 auto I've ever shot. But revolvers, it's Smith all the way.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

IMHO. This 586/686 will have a better action than any Python that has not been professionally tuned. And the S&W action is easy to improve with an aftermarket spring kit. And before I get roasted I am very familiar with both firearms, buying my first Python in 1976 and many S&W’s since then

Partner I was going to roast you over the Spring Kit thing.

A Spring Kit has left many a cop's revolver inoperative. I'll save the story of "Officer Humanitarian" for another time.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

Kimber K6s Dasa Texas Edition 357 Mag 2 Inch

Kimber also have three or four inch models too.

 

[BabaBlueJay]

If you are talking about standard, out of the box revolvers S&W never made one that was even close to the older Python's.

The Colt Python is a fantastic revolver... To say there is nothing even close is hyperbole and many 586/686 owners would strongly disagree. While the Colt might be slightly more mechanically accurate, and the trigger may be slightly better, in terms of reliability a 686 is far less likely to have the timing issues of a Python. Again I think the Python is a terrific firearm, but I just don't see the need to put down Smith revolvers in the same category to make that point.

 

[Model19man]

I went to a gun show around 1981. I ended up buying a new S&W Model 19-5 in nickel with a 6" barrel. I paid $320 in cash. Still have the revolver, it is a dandy.

My buddy Jim at the same gun show bought a new Python. It also had a 6" barrel but was blue. The price was substantially higher than my Model 19 if I remember it was around $700. He still has it too - it's worth a lot more than $700 these days.

 

[sodacan]

The original .357 Colt Trooper is the same as the original Python. Same everything except for the barrel profile. Sort of like comparing the S&W Model 28 to the S&W Model 27, just a little plainer and different cosmetics. None in features where it counts.

The 357 model was the progenitor of the Python, sharing the same lockwork as the Pyrhon it evolved into. There was more attention paid to the finish and tuning. The Trooper, although a nice gun, was not made to the same standards as the 357, but at first glance, the look very much alike.

 

[Hawg Rider]

I went to a gun show around 1981. I ended up buying a new S&W Model 19-5 in nickel with a 6" barrel. I paid $320 in cash. Still have the revolver, it is a dandy.

My buddy Jim at the same gun show bought a new Python. It also had a 6" barrel but was blue. The price was substantially higher than my Model 19 if I remember it was around $700. He still has it too - it's worth a lot more than $700 these days.

I had a similar experience. Back in 1978 my buddy and I went out to buy a couple of handguns. We were just out of college and had our first real jobs that paid real money. I bought a brand spankin' new 4" blued Model 57 (presentation case and goodies), and my buddy bought a brand new 6" blued Colt Python. I think I paid around $400 and he paid around $650. Both revolvers were beautifully made and we really enjoyed them. Unfortunately about a year later both revolvers were stolen when our apartment was burglarized and were never recovered.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

You are 100% correct, I choose not to believe statements from 1 or 10 or even 100 anonymous internet voices that Colt Python's fall out of timing quickly, because that has not been my experience and I trust my personal experience more

Now when you are talking about shooters who also happen to be gunsmiths I take those reports far more seriously

I am certain that folks who had problems with their pythons were told by their gunsmiths they were out of time. Those people naturally believed what their gunsmith was telling them and that is why they repeat it. But we don't know what actually went wrong nor what the actual fix was

A single person's gun going out of time and a gunsmith telling him it's an epidemic problem does not make it a fact, not even 10 or more reports make it epidemic. Many 100s of thousands of Pythons were produced over the decades. The actual best guesstimate is that the number is somewhere between 500,000 and 750,000. And of course that number grows larger every year

One fact is that the Florida Highway Patrol began issuing nickel plated 4" Pythons back in the 1960s

Another fact is that in the mid 1980s the Florida Highway Patrol began taking deliveries on Pythons finished in ultimate stainless

Another fact is that only 50 of the BSS Pythons were delivered before the switch to the Beretta 92

Unfortunately I do not know the fact as to how many Pythons the Patrol actually had over the years. It was more than a few 100 but less than a 1000

Obviously there are some State Troopers that hardly shoot at all, but it is also a fact that many of the State Troopers used to shoot PPC matches during that time frame and naturally they used their duty Python

The point that is obviously being made here is that I'm not the only person I know of who's put more than 30,000 rounds through a couple of Colt Pythons

I only recall a couple of the Pythons going out of time but as I stated above I am not sure of that total sample size.

We have a choice between Colt, Smith and Wesson, and Ruger for the same reason that we have a choice between GM, Ford and Mopar

Different people will choose to own different things and it does not necessarily have anything to do with one thing being better than another

Tisk Tisk........Don't shoot the prancing pony..............

 

[357-RevolverGuy]

686/586. I kind of wish Smith & Wesson would designate these revolvers with their true name, and not just model numbers. "Distinguished Combat Magnum" revolver sounds so much more intimidating than Colt Python.

 

[D1911]

I still do. Found the barrel and donor gun; unfortunately, they are incompatible. I either need to screw this barrel on a k frame or find 1991 or later Python barrel. Will probably start looking for a 2.5” 66-2 as a donor.

Not sure why they'd be incompatible. I had my local smith build a Smolt on a 686-4 using a 6" Python barrel. Also had him do a 4" on a 686-2 a number of years ago.

The 686-4:

And on a 66-2:

 

[Doug M.]

Apples/oranges. When I was in HS in the 70s, my goal was a 4" Python. As I got older, I cared less. My first LE qualification was with a Smith 581, IIRC. The L frames were not only built to be tougher than the K frame, but clearly designed to look as much like a Python as possible. The response that pointed out that the holsters for the two were the same is correct; my Dan Wesson HB .22 also uses the same holster.

TO ME, the best feeling S&Ws are the K frames. My K38 has a great trigger and I would consider it the most comparable. My M66 has a factory action job from about 20 years back, along with w/a gold bead front sight. I cannot conceive of a better shooting revolver. The money needed to have a Python of any era is simply not worth it to me.

 

[silicosys4]

A nice finish isn't exclusive to the Python. I have some S&W's that have a very nice polish and bluing....and I have seen Pythons, particularly 60's era Pythons, that almost look like they skipped the final polish of that "royal blue".

 

[CH4]

686/586. I kind of wish Smith & Wesson would designate these revolvers with their true name, and not just model numbers. "Distinguished Combat Magnum" revolver sounds so much more intimidating than Colt Python.

Not if you’re afraid of large snakes…

 

[PALADIN85020]

For my money, I think the Smith 27-2 and the Older Colt Python are quite comparable. Both are smooth, good-looking and very accurate. It's a toss-up as far as I'm concerned.

John

 

[ruger 22]

My brother and I have had this discussion for years. He is a die hard Python fan and I much prefer the 586/686 to any Colt offering either old or new. Our experience has been that both shoot well and are dependable and it just plain comes down to personal preference. Can't go wrong with either.

 

[steelslaver]

 

[Modified]

If you are talking about standard, out of the box revolvers S&W never made one that was even close to the older Python's.

I take it you have never had the pleasure of a range day with a Pre-War "The .357 Magnum"?

Early pythons were dang nice, but not as nice as a good Registered or Non Registered Magnum.

 

[AlHunt]

I would rather have a Model 27. But, then again I am a Smith & Wesson Man. The Python rotates the wrong way!

You must have got the southern hemisphere model.

 

[CH4]

Not sure why they'd be incompatible. I had my local smith build a Smolt on a 686-4 using a 6" Python barrel. Also had him do a 4" on a 686-2 a number of years ago.

The 686-4:

And on a 66-2:

Hmmm

The smith I spoke to said the barrel shank on the pre 1991 Python barrels are the same diameter as the hole in the 686 frame, but they have different thread pitch’s. Not enough meat on the barrel to turn the threads off the barrel and rethread it. I see the barrel on the bottom Smolt is a 1991+, but the top is a pre 1991. .

What’s the name and number of your guy?

S&W L frame .500 x 36
Python barrel 1991+ .500 x 36
Python barrel pre 1991 .500 x 32