Orrin M. Knutson It stood alone not only in Colts line at that time, but in American mass-production gunmaking at that time. The cylinder revolves clockwise, like a Colt should. It will be interesting to see what Colt does next. They should have been making the Magnum Carry, Detective Special, and the Cobra (light weight) right along. Lower the cylinder release a bit. New Colt King Cobra speedloader update Well I picked up one of these bad boys last night and ran a few hundred rounds through her. Add some Icing, Strengthen the cylinder & ream the chambers slightly so we can fire 38 Super +Ps to get a 125 JHP up to 1,000fps! Q. You sir are very correct. Where is the new Colt Cobra produced? Like the 6 rounds. I have the original Colt Cobra Agent Aluminum Alloy 38, mfg in 1977. I havent found a stainless version of the old Detective Special. Hogue overmolded grips come standard and a red fiber optic front sight comes factory installed. Was that from closing the loaded cyl. First, I buy 357 magnums because they are heavier, but most important they will shoot 38s, 38+P, plus 357. there are more models coming. 1.The Quick Method: It is the simplest method for reading colt serial numbers, and all praise goes to modern technologies. Cougar attacks are on the increase in several western states, and the new King Cobra would be an ideal carry gun for hikers, mountain bikers, and others who would rather not end up as kitty kibble. I need a crappy built replacement model snake gun like I need a big hole in my head. Please dont tell me this is what you think people want. I have an original Cobra and it is a sweet handling revolver. I would welcome the same. Peace Officer Retired & an occasional spent case hangs up. , rifling 1/14 LH twist. Buy At Auction. With an MSRP of $699, the, The Colt Cobra: A Capable Snub-Nosed Snake Gun. When they were making revolvers 40 years ago, labor was cheap and technology was expensive. The new Colt King Cobras are guilty of slide plate screw misalignment, sticky ejector, trigger spring/ hammer issue, long trigger reset and double action problems. I would buy a light weight Cobra rated for +p preferably with a shrouded hammer, otherwise, no thanks. I guess you have to fill up space and sell clicks but coming out of the gate with a slam like this is a bit lame. One of the defining features of the line is the hand fitting of parts and highly polished exterior, things distinctly missing on the new Cobra handguns. As they have more time, I would expect to see versions with a myriad of options. Here's what it's like to shoot this classic scattergun. If you have an issue with this SP101 being a little small try one of the new GP100 with 2in OR 3in carry Barrel its pretty dang small for a full size 6 shot capacity. We are confident our antique Colt Cobra will serve our children and perhaps our grandchildren and great grandchildren as well. As far as Im concerned Night Hawk might as well be make believe. Epic 22 Pocket Pistol: The Beretta 71 Jaguar. In my admittedly limited experience with various revolvers, the only one Ive personally experienced that locked up (and not in the good revolverish way) was a colleagues Taurus. Defender 45 ACP 3IN BBL Matte Stainless Cerakote Handgun. Then come out with the Detective Specials again. I agree with the writer of this story on what the quality of these guns is probably going to be or their lack of. Your email address will not be published. Even adjusting for age, the finish on the New Cobras (as described in the review) would be better than the Old Cobras (even adjusted for age/wear) I have seen. Colt can produce the old style pistols if they actually want to put a couple bucks at it but apparently from your review it seems that there CNC Machining all the parts and assembling them on assembly lines buy gun techs not gunsmith theres your freaking problem Colt. Colt a message from a customer that youve had since the early 1980s please hire some gunsmith and have a revolver line that was made exactly the same way youre early guns were. To make the guns royal blue and perfect is not a hard thing to do its simply tumbling the parts until you get the finished you need to apply the bluing. Whaaa, they named it something that was better OK, well get this, probably 90% of the firearm crowd has never seen an original or if they did they didnt know what it was. By signing up you agree to Guns.com's Shroud the hammer to be nearly snag-free. The Colt Cobra is a snubnose revolver, and is a lighter version of the Colt Detective Special. Although we expected no less than perfection, the Cobra fired all ammo with 100 percent reliability. So I get it. I did some 12-round drills that required a reload, which was easy enough, with no difficulty with the controls. Some of the new features introduced with the new breed of snake revolvers from Colt include user replaceable front sights, a thicker top strap that is drilled and tapped for mounting a scope rail, and new adjustable rear sights. A. Sort of, I suffer from MD and am slowly loosing the use of my hands (legs, arms, ect.) Im what you would call a Colt fan boy. In any case, Im optimistic for Colt. We all have a story to tell about or involving a Colt revolver. EDC, The revolver features a generous ejector rod despite its short barrel as well as a full underlug. Im more interested on how this compares to Ruger, S&W and maybe now Kimber than anything else since that is more of where its priced at. I believe that if Colt can get their act straightened up this would be a good run for them. 20 ounces loaded with 158s, a scant three ounces heavier than a loaded 642. The New Cobra seems like an updated Detective Special. Ive carried a Taurus 605 as my everyday carry gun for several years and have never had a problem with it. And they still turn out excellent Gold Cup 1911s. You really shouldnt have built these pistols if you actually hope to stay in the gun industry without total failure. Photos by Kenda Lenseigne. The good news is that the trigger is great. I was encouraged by the pull experience you had but yours must have been worked on to get the pull weights you claim. Give us a grip option with more meat in the web area just behind the hammer (like my K.Cobra). I had a Colt King Cobra in 357 Magnum a Colt Anaconda in 45 Long Colt and a couple of Colt pythons 1 in 4 inch 1 in 6 inch. I remember that story as well. The cylinder release is still old-school original; it is pulled rearward to unlock the cylinder. Why cant the mfgs. Firstly, go to the "Colt" site and select "Customer Service.". I hope to take it to my favorite dealer, and or call Colt to see if it needs to be sent for a check and repair, which I need to learn is an OK thing to do and more than worth the investment of time, work, and possible be free repair, if it even warrants the need for repair. But I suppose there would be a much bigger market for .38 (and .357). Not meant to disparage, but to point out that the downgrade Troopr looks a lot nicer than the new Cobra. After steel, I will never go back to aluminum, as I like the weight. Very very smooth revolver. My father got that iconic revolver back in the estate, and it has naturally become a family heirloom. The aqua blast finish isnt my favorite, but looks pretty nice in person. The new Cobra (l.) sports a stainless steel frame whereas the original was aluminum. Just my $0.10 worth. *After 7 months of ownership the new Colt Cobra was in my hand and operational for only 4 of those months. 4 Anaconda. Perhaps Batman as well. The stainless steel finish of the Colt Cobra ensures durability and ruggedness. And beautiful. A few days to grind down and re-polish hammer, trigger, cylinder release. Ill probably be investing my money in a kimber k6s. There was a huge difference. The new Colt Cobra is in that same vein, and while it bears the same name and specs as the original it falls short on a few key features. I think one would fit nicely between my S&W 638 Airweight Bodyguard and my old school S&W M-13, 3 RB, .357. This would never happen if they would have followed the original blueprints of hand fitting the action and the parts that cause the cylinder to rotate such as the Paul and everything else that goes into making a revolver revolve. I have gone to carrying the S&W J-Frames. (Photo: Kristin Alberts/Guns.com). The front red fiber optic sight is an insert that can be changed, as it is set into a recess in the barrel shroud and then secured by an Allen screw through the front. Its just a drag when a company comes out with something new, particularly an icon, and its nothing but complaining for the most part. I dont care for j-frames because of capacity and weight there arent enough bullets and the j is just 15 oz. The problem here is that many of the writers at TTAG havent been around enough guns that arent made from injection-molded cheez-whiz in their lives. That's on purpose, as it is not proofed for the higher .357 Magnum pressures. Stroking the side of the revolver feels less like stroking the slick scales of a cobra and more like a cat licking your hand. Not so great for my ex-large hand. I think they missed the boat. Not sure that anyone is beating on them for releasing a revolver but to place it in the same genus and species as their renowned snake series, instead of giving it a more generic name is the issue. Firearms dont get much more iconic than John Moses Brownings legendary Auto-5 semi-auto shotgun, affectionately called the Humpback for its distinctive drop at the rear of the receiver. I wish Colt would come back with their snake guns but lets bring them back the way they were originally created instead of this mass-produced mumbo-jumbo garbage crap. They are awesome. And this one froze so bad it was rendered a paperweight on one of the brands most important days of the year? Remington's Nylon 66 semi-automatic .22 LR rifles have grown from 1950s bargain buys to 21st century collectors darlings. To be fair, you'll get the same wear from opening/closing the cylinder on any revolver. Colt's 357 Magnum Concealed Carry Revolver Returns. Just like if youve been in a car crash, you dont go run a marathon the day after you get out of the hospital. To gunsmith came over started messing with it and then started taking it apart at that point they couldnt figure out why the gun locked up so they put it in a lock box and put it back with the rest of their gear. I have been a Colt fan all my life. Just last week, Colt announced that they are finally reviving their double action revolvers, starting with a new Colt Cobra. This is Colts first time wading into DA/SA revolver market in over a decade. The grips do not stick to clothes. However, it showed my lack of skill with revolver reloads using speed loaders or strips. If a gun that was specially prepped and pampered by Colt failed, how many of the ones shipped to their distributors that did *not* get that special love and care are likely to fail? (Photo: Kristin Alberts/Guns.com). This describes what I believe to be the perfect concealed carry revolver. Colt also offers a tritium front sight as an upgrade. Will you give an in-depth review of the Nighthawk, please? I dont expect Master Blue but still, this Cobras finish is pretty dreary. A target load of a 148-grain wadcutter at 700 fps offers excellent accuracy. The polished stainless finishes were nice, as were the nickels. It is the perfect frontal fanny pack gun. With an MSRP of $699, the Colt Cobrais a capable, concealable, and smooth shooting snub-nosed snake gun. Id love to see the Diamondback in a nice 3-gun set of 4 or 6 models in .38, 22LR and .22WMR, hopefully to be followed by the Python. And the price is WAY Too much for me to consider. I stopped buying 38s years ago and Ill tell you why. The grouping opened up only slightly in double-action. In single-action our test model's trigger broke consistently at 4 lbs., 1 oz., with no grittiness or take-up. There is minimal recoil on this Colt. It is June 27, 2017 and it is still not available anywhere. No need to change the grips, but you could if you wanted and the same can be said of the front sight. I dont believe all the Colt revolvers were great. Thanks for the article. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The trigger pull needed some work. And this was refinished and repaired in 2007 so its been 10 years but I had sent another Colt back just recently and had the same bluing done they call it royal blue finish and it looks just as good as my 6 inch python thats never even been shot. The Cobra name is actually a little misleading here this will be a steel framed gun, not aluminum like the original Cobra. How about split the difference at 20 ounces? The trigger action in DA and SA is incredible. Also, what is with the take off on Pachmyer grips? Mine too! Yea, we need it! My experience with other Colt revolvers like the Anaconda is that they were NOT premium handguns. Stroking the side of the revolver feels less like stroking the slick scales of a cobra and more like a cat licking your hand. A Little History According to our friends at Revolvy, the first model of Cobra was made from 1950 to 1971 with a 2-inch barrel. An astute study of the new Cobras internals reveals several Metal Injection Molded (MIM) parts, including the hammer and trigger. That changed this year when Colt reintroduced a newly redesigned Cobra. the blued versions werent especially great. HORSESHIT Colt mislead you with their verbage. That would be the bomb. New Colt King Cobra Target Doesn't Work. Concealed Carry, The new Colt Cobra is in that same vein, and while it bears the same name and specs as the original it falls short on a few key features. Probably get the interest of soldiers, police and home defense and doesnt recoil as strongly as the .357 Magnum and a little more than a .38 Special but they are a hard hitter with ball or JHP bullets. My 1974 Cobra is my usual carry. 3 Revolvers are Pure Sex. But the best news inside this article is the trigger pull. Bean counters were the reason why you went bankrupt the first time dont you think you might want to listen to the people who purchase your products? The new Colt Cobras are a little more affordable for people who just need a new Pony. The King Cobrawas re-released in 2019, and the Pythonin 2020. Nightwood Guns 9.57K subscribers Subscribe 60K views 2 years ago Keep the content flowing on Patreon!. The problem was that she used jacketed round nose, because that was all she had at the moment. Im just confused about one thing. Its gone now and I dont miss it at all. owned by my Uncle Pete, a small- town deputy sheriff in the 1940s. For more information, visit https://www.colt.com/Catalog/Revolvers/Cobra. The Detective Special here is the older, pencil barrel one and goes 25 ounces loaded (who cares what an empty gun weighs.. you dont put it in your holster or belt empty, do you?) And they had the gall to actually come out with a faux Cobra version of it, too. Im thankful to see something not made out of plastic. I waited almost an hour to shoot it and when it was my turn to shoot I got handed the revolver and I loaded it went to take my first shot and the cylinder stuck in between Chambers and locked up and even the cult Smiths that were there couldnt figure out what happened so they just put it away. Colt 1911 Series 70 A full review of the GI model here. A vintage Colt Cobra 2nd model located in the Guns.com Vault. Thanks , Bob. I think I got quite a bit more for it than I paid. I wish I could take apart a trio of S&W, Ruger, Colt DA revolvers side-by-side and show people whats really going on inside a DA revolver, and what is required to get the timing right. Many other guns in the same size category hold only five rounds. Leather, nylon, or Kydex holsters, it doest matter; youre going to get finish wear. Aside from that, very satisfied with the weight balance, look, feel, functionality and fit. The little Colt Cobra arrived in an innocuous brown cardboard box. I fired the gun double action first shot cylinder started to rotate probably 15 degrees or so and the trigger stopped wouldnt let me press any further and the cylinder stopped as well. A big part of the DA revolver market is small frame, and that market is full of high-powered, lightweight models. The Pythons were always desirable, the King Cobras and Anacondas were scorned for having transfer bar triggers. The trigger guard of the new Colt King Cobra, like those of the new Cobra and Night Cobra, looks as though the gun was dropped on it. Thats far more than what most average income gun owners can afford. GOOD ARTICLE!I have the 3.8Det. I would have brought out a King Cobra, just to show the market that they could do the finishing correctly again. Colt was not happy with their original CNC shop and switched after finding a machine shop with state of the art machines and equipment that could fit their needs better. He said it was a fluke that I got this NRA model, it has not been officially released but a batch accidentally shipped out. I like revolvers as they have personality HOWEVER, most of my handguns are pistols (14 total). Also, 2 of her 5 shots were in non-lethal areas. This is a natural change in climate sort of speak. We are building all Cobras right here in our factory in West Hartford, Connecticut. Many times, small-frame revolvers are suggested for new shooters because theyre easy to handle and dependable. A. Dont make them generally available. Mine is Nickel though, which I prefer! My wife gave me a new King Cobra Target this morning for Christmas, and it's a dud out if the box. I wish you could show them too, I dont understand revolver timing at all nor the colt difference. The trigger on this sample was perfect; I checked the pull on my Wheeler Digital Trigger Gauge, and the single-action breaks at just over 2 pounds, while the double-action is a consistent 7 pounds. Q. Accuracy was impressive. Rather than a smoothly swept oval, the trigger guard has a noticeable stutter, appearing right below the tip of the trigger. The all-stainless steel Colt Cobra revolver is built for concealability. While the gun world seems to be all about the automatic pistol these days and I have some nice shooting autosI do love me some revolver. I would like to have seen it in the original aluminum. But what were seeing today is that when a new shooter goes to a gun shop and selects a small-frame revolver thats lightweight and chambered in .357, they might buy a box of ammo and take it to the range once and lose their taste for it after just a few rounds. I personally Believe The Colt 1851 is the most beautiful firearm ever produced. Are you guys at GUNSAMERICA interested in pictures of a Colt Cobra NRA special edition that has not been released to public?? Think they wasted a lot of effort on a gun that probably wont sell good. I may even carry it with some Underwood slugs. A year before I saw one and the next day it was gone. Sporting a heavy-duty frame, and brushed stainless steel construction, the King Cobra secures a new place in the legendary heritage that makes Colt double-action revolvers some of the hottest collectible firearms today. If you're worried about problems with the new Colt Python, be like the rest of us and wait for the bugs to get worked out before you go out and buy one. The new Kimber revolver at least looks great for the money. (Photo: Kristin Alberts/Guns.com), Classic Browning Light Twelve Auto-5 Review: Busting Clays With the Old Humpback Shotgun. That .357 Magnum, 4-inch barreled gun served as my introduction into shooting IPSC in the late 1970s. And to the .357 issue: yeah, well, I had the Magnum Carry but after shooting it with .357 Gold Dots in a darkhouse shoothouse I never loaded it with .357s again for defensive purposes: the flash and concussion alone was self-defeating. So I carry a Charter Arms Police Undercover because its over 20 oz and holds SIX rounds. The design work began where the last generation of Detective Special, the SF-VI, left off. I also prefer a .38+P to a .357 for a carry gun this size, and dont fault Colt for the caliber. EVEN BETTER THAN THE COLT COBRA is the original DETECTIVE SPECIAL with a 3 barrel Better balance and longer sight radius. They started with compact revolvers because concealed carry revolvers are the biggest sellers Just thinking! And with 7 shots? Those 12 and 16 ounce revolvers are too light. I predict we will see lots of variations soon from Colt and I am excited for where Colt is finally going. I would love to see a stainless king cobra high polish gloss stainless steel with a two and a half two and three quarter inch barrel offer with original Pachmayr grips. Keep them coming Colt! I own a Taurus 605 and the Colt is head and shoulders above it. I just read that S&W is coming out with some new 7-shot 686s including one with a 3 barrel AND its chambered in .357 Mag / .38 Spl+P Why oh why did Colt not chamber this roadkill snake gun the same? Lets hope Colt ups the finish quality a bit, too. The Colt Cobra holds six rounds of .38 Special ammunition, despite its compact dimensions. Havent seen any in my area yet! Hell, TAURUSs stainless looks better than that. Would it have killed them to polish the thing? Looks like a charter arms for a whole lot more money and who wants heavy, big, bulky, outdated, .38spcl caliber either yawn waste of time reporting on this dead out of the gate no one wants revolver . The other snake revolvers had OK-to-nice finishes, but they were not the Royal Blue of the Python. Im no exception; in fact, the very first handgun I purchased with my own money was a Colt Lawman. All this negativity 38s a weak caliber, why isnt it aluminum, a Python, an Anaconda, a 3, a 4, a 5, a 357, blah, blah, blah. So, why would anyone choose this revolver over other offerings? The only chambering currently offered is .38 Special +P. grip helps. If you look at the cost to produce a hand fitted finished American made shotgun your upwards of 3 to 4K. Yet in this new small Cobra frame. There are a number of Colt small-frame .38s in the house here, but in the end, the one that goes for a ride in the big world most often is the Agent, the dull-finish version of the real Cobra. In comparison a competitor in the Taurus 38, the Taurus grips resulted in no hand pain at all. I hope the Cobra fares better. Re-design Phase? The trigger is absolutely horrible. Items you may find in this auction include 500 firearms to include modern & collectible rifles, shotguns, muzzle loaders, revolvers and pistols. This Area is for Discussions on All Breeds of Colt Made Revolvers. They hold their value better than 38s and are heavier, plus the heavier gun creates a lesser kick. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); I do like the Colt 38 spcl Night Cobra, 6r. How Much does it weights empty.Is recoil the same than the Glock 17/19? Colt didn't stray far from the original King Cobra design with its first new .357 Mag. I have not seen the new Cobra. Model 487T Rifle, 1917 Eddystone Enfield Mfg 4/18 Cal 30-06, Terni 1940XVIII 6.5 Cal, Mauser Spanish . Springfield XP-9 Cal 9MMX19 in Case, Colt Python 357 Magnum Revolver, Winchester Model 12 12 Ga., Winchester Model 70, 30Gov't06 Cal., Browning Over/Under Citori, 12 Ga., 1871 Remington Rolling Block Rifle, Eclipse Double Barrel 12 Ga., Marlin 30-30 Cal. Dont jump right in and try to replicate the Python, just come out with the King in an excellent polish/blue 6 barrel configuration. The U-style (soft-V-style?) Definitely worth checking out. Interchangeable red-ramp front sights are a departure from the original pinned style, smartly derived from the Cobra series. How dare you disparage the trooper mkiii its the poor mans python and I love mine 6 in barrel and adjustable sights its a tac driver. Wow too bad you cant read and comprehend. I am about the same age as Mr. Hodoway and I too remember the 60s / 70s when the Colt D frame and their Smith & Wesson brethren K frames were the Glocks of their time. I am very interested in the Cobra for these very same reasons. Colt is the Premiere Firearm maker in the History. The original Cobra wasnt this type of gun it had an aluminum frame and was a five-shot cylinder. Forums exist so that people may enhance their knowledge with that of others. The coroner testified that EITHER shot would have been fatal. As a wheelgun fan, Im also very interested in an indepth hands on review of the Korth offerings from Nighthawk. At least the current vapor blasted finish (or whatever theyre using) doesnt look nearly as rough as the Parkerized Agent and Commando Special guns of the 1980s strike-era when the few craftsmen capable of creating that Royal Blue finish were not available in enough numbers to handle the lower profit margin D-Frame revolvers (Python and Gold Cup models took priority). So who will see it? The Cobra was made infamous when Jack Ruby used a Colt Cobra .38 to kill Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963. Thats not necessarily a bad thing for a concealed carry styled handgun, but the better option for this specific line would be something similar to the deep blueing that came on the original guns. The new Colt Cobra is actually an updated Detective Special with a fiber optic front sight. And 25 ounces sounds too heavy. No ones making any false claims here brother. Should he have kept it a secret? It was sent/sold to me from large online dealer unaware of the specially designed NRA wood grip with etched picture of cobra snake. The success of the Cobra saw Colt bring two more of its iconic revolvers out of retirement. Barrel not too short nor too long. In 2017 the costs are totally reversed, and hand-fitting would make the new Cobra a $2,000.00+ gun instead of a $699.00 gun.
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