Why do Colt revolvers go for so much $ these days?

[CajunBass]

Are they really? I see Python's on Gunbroker with sky high asking prices but do they sell for those prices? The ones I see in my favorite shop seem to be tagged about what a nice 27 would be tagged at. Maybe twice what a Model 19 would bring. Which is about what I remember them selling for new.

The beater Official Police I've got I paid less for than I did any Smith & Wesson I've got. Yesterday I looked at a Trooper MK III (IIRC) that was the same price as a Model 15 that was marked "reduced." The Trooper was a fixed sight gun, the 15 adjustable, but otherwise they seemed about equal. I've seen Model 10's for the same price.

Now, I don't see anywhere near the number of Colts that I do Smith & Wessons.

 

[fyimo]

I kind of always wanted a 6 inch Python and I came real close once on buying one from a friend in the 90's for $600 which I thought that price was high then. Little did I know the would cost 2 and 3 times that these days. I think the allure for me was the vent rib barrel and the fantastic fit and finish of the bluing.

All that said I didn't buy a Python and now the desire has left me because of the high prices and the fact that they are no longer made. I much prefer my S&W model 29's and 629's these day because they are beautiful, easy to get parts for if needed, and most gunsmiths can work on them it needed.

 

[glenncal1]

Really the only Colt DA revolvers that seem to be priced "higher" than Smith's are the Pythons and Diamondbacks. You can get Army Specials, Official Police, Police positives, Officers Models etc at equivalent prices IMHO. I just bought a 1941 OM in .22lr, it is a sweet shooting gun and accurate, so is my K-22 Outdoorsman. I am mainly a S&W guy, but the older Colt DA's are nice guns.

 

[Frank237]

The past week or so the $1400 to $1700 Pythons I've seen on the various for sale sites have overnight gone UP to $2300+. And Python grips with asking prices of $200+ ar now not uncommon.

Unsure if any of these are actually selling.

I was never a big Colt fan, though certainly respected the brand. Colt to me meant 1911 autos more than anything else.

I did carry a 6 shot Detective Special for a year back in the late 70's but was ALWAYS a S&W guy.

Though have to say I DO have a LNIB blued 6" Python in the collection and I'm happy to have it.

I'm also unhappy unless I have a Walther PPK , at least one Browning Highpower , Colt Commander and Colt SAA in the safe.

FN in MT

 

[sw44spl]

I have a 1938 4inch OP and a 1965 5inch OP both shoot very accurate but double action pull is not what a smith is.I got them because sometimes andy and barney carried them from time to time.I have 2 colt 1911s a gov model and a combat commander. bot h are very accurate.I feel if you want a 1911 you cant beat a colt. why buy a copy when you can have a colt. I love my smiths but I sure would hate to see colt go under.

 

[garandman]

I agree with "dfariswheel's" statement: "The Colt Detective Special is the best quality and most accurate snubby revolver ever made". Especially the 1st gen. models of the 1930's. However, the Colt Python is no match for an "old model" Smith & Wesson model 27. The Python's lock work is too flimsy and has bad timing issues. However, I will admit the Colt Python sure is pretty to look at and has some what of a better buff and blue job than the 27. The old S&W 27 has a far superior lock work and trigger not to mention it's more accurate if you have a good smith do the same trigger work that was done on the Python. I own both and if one had to go it would be the Python.

 

[oberon]

This is a pointless argument, but I'll make it anyway.
I am really a S&W man. Those guns suit the very definition of what a hand gun is. Why is it, then, that I own more Colts than S&Ws?
2 of my last 3 aquisitions are S&Ws. I outfitted my son with a 66 recently.
So, why is that?
The whole culture of firearms encompasses a broad swath of modern industrial history. There have been, are, and always will be companies whose purpose is to produce the best product they can at a fair and marketable price. Colt and S&W have been the benchmark for quality, reliability, and performance scince...always. There can be no arguement there. If 2 engineering firms seek to build a high performance machine of a type that must conform to certain specifications, then both will produce something that meets those specs. They won't be alike, but they will be competetive. That's a fact.
So when we compare who has what and how much and why, just be aware of the simple free market economy that drives the gun business.
It ain't so much the intrinsic characteristics of the individual product, that affects the cost, but the understanding, preference, and need of the consumer.
A crappy beat-up gun that goes 'bang' is infinitly prefereble to no gun at all.
You can never have too many guns, but you can have too few.

 

[firearmsunlimited]

In 1973 I owned a Colt Trooper and a S&W 27. Obviously to compare those two model would not be an apples to apples comparison, however, I found the Trooper to be so inferior to the 27 that I just could not abide the loose lock-up, excessive end shake, inferior finish and stocks of the Trooper so down the road it went. To this day I have never regretted selling it for less than the purchase price. In defense of Colt, in 2002 I purchased a 3rd SSA from the great Harrison Carroll. Initially I did not want a 3rd due to their poor reputation. Since Harrison was the recognized authority on SSAs I relied on his contention that there was indeed a small window of time during which Colt did produce a very high quality 3rd. I must say that he was absolutely correct. The fit and finish is impeccable and trigger is surprisingly smooth. Earlier this year the Arizona State Legislature voted to adopt the Colt SSA as the state firearm.

 

[frbeall]

Name and that's all, I've owned the vaunted python and it went bye bye for another 686, no regret here. Colt's can't hold a candle to a proper older Smith.

My wife's Mustang has jamed 3 times in the last month, my 4516 never has and we're talking several 1000 rds.

 

[perrazi]

colt triggers are different and if you aren't used to them they feel strange. however, after pulling triggers on colts for over 45 yrs and tens of thousands of rounds, i don't find them a problem. if you can shoot a colt, the smith is easy.i have one python with a minimum of 12 thousand rounds through it. after about 7500 i sent it to colt for their tuned action. and the result was outstanding. with over 4500 rounds since then it shows no out of time any other problems. if this is delicate,fine it suits me. btw is started out with a model 15 that got shot a ton too and still have it. for an earlier poster, the python lockworks started with the new army not the new service which is a bigger framed gun.

 

[pawncop]

I am an accumulator of fine firearms, not a collector and have a number of brands, calibers and the like because I cannot make up my mind. I used to swap, trade, and sell guns because I wanted the newest and greatest - - and now I do not do that any more. I love my Python, and I love my two (2) Model 27's. There's enough love to go around, and they don't mind if I cheat on them with my Ruger Security Six.

This is one of a number of topics that can argued from now until end of time, and hopefully will never be settled.

Other topics that fall into this catagory are:

45 ACP vs. 9mm vs. 357 mag vs. 44 mag etc, etc, etc

revolver vs. self loading

bolt action vs. single shot

blondes vs. brunettes vs. redheads vs. bald (bald always looses)

So long as we can appreciate individual preference and differences of opinion we should have fun with this.

Annnnd once it is decided we can move on to a really important topic:

Charcoal vs. gas.

But finally, to put my hard earned $0.02 into the answer, supply, mystic, and ever present intangibles that make collecting the sport it is. There is not a lot of reasoning going on with some of these prices.

 

[Onomea]

Like Pawncop, I, too, am a promiscuous accumulator of handguns. My policy is, "Buy 'em all, and let God sort 'em out!"