Using a feeler gauge, this revolver came out of the factory with .003″. One note….if comparing 38 special (especially +P) to 357, use a 38 special revolver. I canât tell you how much it pleases me to write that! Spend over $900 dollars and sent the broken gun in for repairs , then sit and wait for over four months to see “IF” the thing will perform any better after Colt “LOOKS” at it . Some better known Smith would put several bends in them to balance light with smooth. Double action revolvers have a lot going on in the trigger. This is no mean feat these days, as Iâm frequently disappointed by sight regulation issues on new guns. Every surface, whether round or square, has an even depth and shine. This spring design is a change from the traditional plunger-type spring you can see in the diagram below. Barrel Length: 3 in. Well, funny thing about that: The original Trooper Mk I had a V-spring and E&I type action, and not the coil-on-a-rod spring and the later internals. Keep up the great work. 2. As I’ve been shooting the gun for almost six months now, I got to shoot the gun in the cold with gloves on. My buddies dad cast some 45 colt and 44 mag silver bullets for Halloween gifts one year, ruined the molds, they had to be very hot or they would wrinkle. Saw a guy decapitated by a contract wound with a 7-08. Lots of companies are making guns with MIM parts. The Night Cobra has a special grip made from G10 thatâs smooth and rounded, to provide a handle that wonât grab clothing and cause the gun to print. The cylinder bolt locks up the cylinder quite late in the firing cycle, in typical Colt fashion. This gun seems to be a good size. One area where the Colt is a clear winner is the MSRP, which is currently about $256 less than the competing Kimber revolver. I gut and butcher a lot of animals. © COPYRIGHT 2021, THETRUTHABOUTGUNS.COM. cgray, I bought my first 1911 circa 1982. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. And I’m pretty sure my BB, I’m too lazy to get in the safe right now and double check, .38 special 110 grain copper hollowpoints are loaded with Barnes bullets as well. 2. I recently purchased the King Cobra Carry and it’s been a great EDC for me, but it was helpful reading a thorough review addressing the good, the bad, and the ugly before making the decision to buy. Complaints run the gamut of crude workmanship, lousy trigger pulls, poor accuracy etc. especially if you’ve got better padding on your fingers than I do! The .357 is usually appreciably faster, by a couple hundred fps, sometimes more. The Ruger shoots better than I could ever hope the COLT would. Only one of my hand loads, a recreation of the Skeeter Skelton .38 Spl +P+++ load, ever had any trouble ejecting from the cylinder, as long as I gave the ejector rod a solid press. A front sight you can actually see, and see quickly, is a must have for a defensive-minded handgun. Sounds like the guy did get it to work, with special tools. Just most of the time. MIM has a high initial setup overhead, but once you get that investment made, the per-part cost drops substantially from machined tool steel parts. Which Colt and S&W do. Other scribes had noted it in their work but Ken wrung it out a little more. Currently, the King Cobra only comes in stainless, with their brushed stainless finish. So I never bought one and made do with a 624 Smith. Colt does indeed use MIM. Most of the .38 Spl rounds are reloads and all of the .357 Magnums were commercial ammunition. I’m glad you hate to correct me, because you didn’t. When the sear releases at the end of the trigger stroke, the bolt has just locked up the cylinder, and the hand is binding on the ratchet in two different locations, pushing the cylinder slightly forward. Itâs this contact between the hand and ratchet which leads to the hand wearing in the older Colts, when the cylinder is slammed to the rear by recoil. Impressive review and writing in general. He agreed , after shooting it , that something was terrible wrong with this gun. The only new Colts you were likely to find in your local gun shop were AR-15 variants and a rare 1911 that dripped out of a faucet that someone had failed to shut off all the way. There was a nasty rumor going around that the Custom Shop was still making Single Action Army models, but I didnât know anyone who actually saw one in the wild. The new Cobra, like the Colts that came before it, has a cylinder that rotates clockwise (or to the right), as viewed from the rear. Just dip the cast silver into holy water, say a prayer, and you’re good to go. I really enjoy shooting them. However, the Queen of the K-frames is, and will always be the Model 19 Combat Magnum. MSRP: $899 (retail about the same). Got one in SS and I love it. So did Bill Jordan, Skeeter Skeleton and many others that I cut my teeth on. On my KC the final lockup does not occur after after the hammer falls/as it falls. Besides the offense to propriety, it makes it awfully laborious to accurately describe what youâre talking about. Many revolvers ( even Smith’s) have a light cut in the top strap from the factory. The advantages for the Rugers right now is the diversity of the line, and how easy they are to work on. I happen to wear a Simply Rugged belt every day and I have a couple of their large frame revolver holsters. Pretty neat. I’d be happy with a 2.5 inch model as long as them ejection stroke was long enough. As for the machine marks on the underside of the top strap: that’s disappointing. Thank you for the solid review. I stopped debating on whether it was worth the trade off and switched to a Glock 19.  I think the wider, target trigger on the Python is the key, here. Well, Colt lists the SAA for $1,800. The U-style (soft-V-style?) I can see no reasons against it, and so far, after six months of shooting, so good. The 3″ revolver seems like a good IWB gun (similar to G19). I hate to correct such a knowledgeable author but you are wrong about the 3 in barrel not being MADE in the original King Cobra’s. I didn’t know that. 1.4″ 5 round groups at 25 yards. I like a drop point, but I definitely prefer a large blade with an upswept point more. Those of you who know your loads will recognize this as a legitimate .357 Magnum load, actually producing higher pressures than many commercial .357 Magnum cartridges. King Cobra ! I’ve seen many guns have a dish cut out for BP fouling, but that’s not what this is. This practice of recycling classic names really stews me, and I wish all the Marketing people in these gun companies would stop this nonsense. I may yet still. Skeeter crimped his 158gr bullet to the bottom groove and ran the bullet up to 1,200 feet per second. And you counted his fingers and toes when he was finished. Colt, S&W, Rock Island Armory, Glock, Taurus… I could go on and on. A major part of this recovery is an improved and expanded catalog. Then again I just use them for fun. can’t tell the difference and I sure as shit couldn’t. Even though Colt should be out of business. A major part of this recovery is an improved and expanded catalog. Endshake in a revolver cannot be reduced to absolutely zero unless the face of the cylinder has been turned to be absolutely normal to the rotational axis – otherwise, the cylinder is apt to drag across some part of the cylinder rotation. I’ll just buy one for each hand. Specialist38, you had to make do with a 624? That “frame mounted firing pin” in the MC is not really serviceable, since it is held in by a pressed in piece. The Colt compares very favorably to the Kimber. Neat. Fuck, now you have me wanting another wheel gun. For example, Colt’s 1911 sear and disconnector are mim, but are so high quality that gunsmiths will use them for action/trigger jobs. The latter two are excellent rounds I strongly recommend for .357 Magnum 2.5" and 3" barrel snub-nose revolvers like the S&W Models 66, 19, 65, 13, the Colt King Cobra, the Ruger GP100 and especially the small-frame Ruger SP101. The author mentioned end shake. I picked up a post WWII Smith M&P revolver in April for only $250 bucks not the outrageous 900 bucks of this new model Colt and yes I know its not a .357 but I know something most people do not know, I do not need a .357 especially when Pistolero Magazine shot pigs with both the .38 special and .357 Magnum and noticed no difference in killing power at all when used at point blank range which is were almost all gun fights take place and if you blast away at someone at long range you had better have a damn good lawyer or your going to be in more legal jeopardy than the person who broke into your house or attacked you on the street. Cody, touch off a few rounds of .357 magnum from a 2-3″ barrel over a chronograph and a few .38 +P Spl. His role in Magnum Force only reinforced it. until 91. Given the 3-inch barrel and relatively short sight radius, this level of precision surprised me. Meant to mention, one of my best friend’s son-in-law is a guide on Ted Turner’s ranch in New Mexico. Shorten the barrel by .5″ and I’d gladly put my marriage at risk for its acquisition. It also featured a replaceable front sight (secured with an Allen screw, and easily removed with a wrenchâthank goodness they didnât use a pin that had to be drifted! Not my taste, but options are good. Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) If Colt is bringing back their revolvers, they should go all out; bring back the Detective pattern revolvers with tapered barrels and exposed ejector rods. I suspect (but this is only suspicion, and not a fact) I would guess this particular Colt mechanism isn’t anywhere near as difficult to work on as the classic DA revolver mechanisms are. With the end shake at what I think the limit should be right out of the box, I’ll keep a special eye on it during the life of the gun. Here is a 15 part essay on trying to make a silver bullet. Handled a complaint for him shortly before I retired. With a .357 Magnum, I would have much preferred a 4-inch gun. Reset isn’t an issue. You have entered an incorrect email address! Living in the south, the stainless guns went like hotcakes even though they ran 50% more than carbon steel Pythons. Lol. Grips: Hogue OverMolded That includes many F.H.P. Unfortunately, it is a little tainted as they used 357 magnum revolvers to test both 38 sp3ciala and 357 loads. Newsletter sign up. I called both of those companies and their reps told me there were no plans to stock a holster for the new King Cobra at that time. I’ve found my black bear/mule deer load for this year. One of the first things to comprehend about the King Cobra is its size. Once the hammer is released from the trigger, it rotates forward striking the transfer bar transferring energy to the firing pin to ignite the cartridge in the chamber. Going from 6 to 5 rounds is pretty significant and I don’t think there’s a huge advantage over other .357 wheelguns that have the extra round. More specifically, its lack thereof. With the easy availability of .357 Magnum brass, there’s absolutely no practical reason for this loading, but I still like it. Lets face facts if you want a more affordable revolver then why not just get the crudely made cast iron Ruger, yes they are crude but you expect that at the lower price and they were engineered to be very durable. Sadly, the best Python & Colt ‘smiths (gentlemen like Looking at your picture of the internals of this revolver, it is nothing like the innards of the E&I’,s Pythons or other classic Colt revolvers. Unless you using “the Load” for 38 special…….and most people wont . The King Cobra has three distinct clicks before the trigger is fully reset and ready to turn the cylinder and cock the hammer again. The cylinder release, like all Colts, operates by pulling it to the rear, instead of pushing it forward, as in the S&W system. Itâs a very natural motion, and if you use a technique like Grant Cunninghamâs Universal Revolver Reload, you donât have to spend any mental energy trying to remember which way it goes. So folks who buy a 357 and load 38s would be better served ( ballistically) with 38 special. If you are patient about it you’re doing better than me! I always look forward to new articles on here. I thought David Soul’s 6″ Python was the coolest revolver I had ever seen. All the small parts, that have those little recessed circles all over them? Gun Review: Cobra CA380 – The Cheapest Handgun in America! (By the way, after shooting 700 rounds, I cleaned the gun and measured the end shake and found no discernible difference than when I pulled it out of the box.). A shooting buddy of mine that passed 11 years ago had a stash of .45 colt rounds in baggies that his widow just found in his workshop. Once again though, your experience may differ. possible resultant timing issue, Averaged over the entire 20-round box, it scored at 1 1/4″. I’m not sure why they aren’t offered on Colt’s website, but Brownells now lists the inserts for sale on their website. This was a particular problem for me for two reasons. It’s not identical, with a V spring on the hammer of the MC, but close. Back in the day some of the pros I read/talked to called a 4″ .357 mag a loud .38. But the piece has to thicker because it not as strong as forged metal. What also surprised me is how much I still like this gun. I fired 125, 130, 148 and 158 grain loads through the Colt at ranges from 5 to 25 yards, and it did a fine job of putting them where they belonged, elevation-wise. Although I didnât do my best work with it, I was impressed with the Night Cobra and consider it to be a very nice gun.  RevolverGuy Dean Caputo once observed that a similar set of grips from another maker made indexing the gun âlike trying to aim a lime,â and these felt the same way to me. When I bought the revolver, there were no other sight options available. Except my 6″ stainless Python is not in play. Your email address will not be published. I too rail at re using the same names… and Hollywood recycling old movies for that matter! I also had to commission Simply Rugged for a holster. What a pain! If your going to make junk then your going to have to be competitive with all the other junk that is currently being made today and the Colt is not competitive. Gotta have one of these as a carry piece! Many target shooter found that maximum (+?) How the rebound lever moved with the hammer cycle controlled how the trigger reset and how the bolt moved… you get the idea. Or, maybe it was the other way around. I hate the way those stinking bastards smell. 3. I’d like to thank RevolverGuys SHBond 357 and Dean Caputo for helping me to unravel the mysteries of Colt actions. Maybe this one is a little better than the old Colts, but it easy to pull straight on through as I would a Smith & Wesson J-frame. rigs for this gun. If youâre in the market for a snubby with upgrades, you should definitely put this one on your list to examine and shoot. ©2016 to 2019 RevolverGuy.com, All Rights Reserved, ©2019 RevolverGuy.com, All Rights Reserved. These cuts are not surface scratches. Thatâs an interesting observation about the firing pinâI donât have my sample Night Cobra any longer to look at that, but Iâd be interested to know. You will lose around 50 fps shooting Most 38 special loads in a 357 cylinder. Ruger and now others have done amazing things with cast metal. It’s in my safe today. I would love to see a destructive test with a 686 and a GP100 to see how proud loads it would take to stretch them or break them. Colt launched the new Python in late 2019 in the form of 6-shot stainless steel, double-action chambered in 38 Special/ 357 Magnum. Marketers: Stop this please! Iâm glad Iâm not alone in my opinion on the recycled names. Former gun slinger, current gun writer. Takes a some of the subjectivity out of what you’re discussing. If that rebound lever’s geometry is tweeked for whatever reason in a classic Colt DA, the timing of the gun falls apart – quickly. The Mk III used a coil mainspring instead of a V-spring); So, whatâs the sum total of all this? Proof testing is those hot loads +30%. All in all, I thought the action on the Night Cobra was pretty darned good for a production gun (in terms of smoothness, weight, and trigger return–which was more robust than the sluggish LCR), but I think Colt could really improve the handling on all of the Cobra family guns by giving us a wider blade, with a gently rounded face and rounded edges. The semi auto is easier because I just say “Shield”. I might wait a bit to see if different barrel lengths come out. Gilroy, Brooklyn and the Deadly Failures of Gun Control, Diamondback DBX57 Video Review: 5.7x28mm Piston-Driven Pistol, Class 3 Machining and My Suppressed Ruger-57 [VIDEO]. But how the bolt tail fell off the rebound lever controlled how the bolt rose/fell in the timing cycle. I know S&W didn’t recommend a steady diet of full power loads in any of their K frames, and that’s why the developed the L frames. It is also not a light cut. Props for referring to Pistolero ( referencing is not really a word). All those little circles on the internal parts are dead giveaways. This has been one of a couple of revolvers that make me seriously reconsider carrying a semi-automatic pistol. Well, if you want parts that are machined out of tool steel and then hand-fit, you’d better bring the cash to pay for it. . One thing about cast metal…it doesnt stretch very well. Now the only time I carry the .357 is when it’s filled with snake shot. The new Cobra action is more robust and less expensive to manufacture than the old Cobra action. It doesnât require hand fitting by experienced craftsmen who understand the complex, Rube Goldberg-type geometry of the old-style Colt action, and the parts are less likely to wear and require frequent tuning or replacement. , rifling 1/14 LH twist Multiple weights, velocities, types of bullets, and two different cartridges. You don’t know that they have the new King Cobra carry? Well also I train a bit with them just so I know how to use them should I ever have to be relying on one. This rounded, almost bulbous, grip will let even the thinnest of cover garments slide right off, and even if the gun does print, it wonât have that blocky, squared shape that screams âgun!â These grips are made by VZ Grips, for those who may want to put them on their own Cobra. As I mentioned above, this looks, superficially, from one picture and no disassembly, very similar to the innards of a Colt Trooper Mk III or V – except for the V-spring. Some are more than other. The Barnes 140 gr VOR-TX .357 Magnum cartridge shot legitimate 1-inch groups from the same set up. Up front, Colt took advantage of their foresight (pun intended) and replaced the front blade of the Cobra with a night sight featuring a green globe for nocturnal use, and a white outline for daytime. Not that I’m always right. Prices are coming down to under $800, and it screams quality. Of course, now that I know they have them, they’re sold out, but Brownells usually re-stocks quickly. mainspring gives the trigger its characteristic Colt âstackingâ feel, in homage to the original D-Frames that the new Cobra traces its roots to. When I heard that Colt was re-introducing the King Cobra earlier this year, I ordered one as fast as I could. I really enjoy butchery and charquterie. I fully cleaned the gun prior to shooting it and lubed it with CLP, which is the lubricant Colt recommends in the manual. Everyone raves about the “old D frames” but I carried D frames as a backup as a LEO for 22 years. Just make sure to leave California in California, and don’t Californicate your new state. The company changed hands a few times, and there were bankruptcies. (2) The bullet in a .357 Magnum cartridge is closer to the cylinder gap and forcing cone than the bullet in a .38 Special cartridge. Question. If the barrel was an inch shorter I would have one on order already, but I get that Colt doesn’t want to cannibalize sales from their .38 line. It’s usually just the 642 or LCP in a pocket holster. Lastly the outrageous price is a complete joke compared to the crude piece of machinery you are getting stuck with. Like to see a back to back shootout with a Ruger SP-101 Gun Review: Colt King Cobra .357 Revolver. There were six 3 in barrel versions made for a Canadian police dept. Nice. You were right to be disappointed, this is an avoidable issue. Did you have a rough childhood, cupcake? It is an interesting read. Made the old Redhawks look lithe and smooth. The finish is certainly much better with the Colt, as is the trigger. Anyone wanting to try the Colt King Cobra had better have over $900 dollars to throw away. That polish is even throughout the gun, from the barrel to the frame to the cylinders. Take A Sneak Peak At The Movies Coming Out This Week (8/12) Soundtrack Sunday: The 2021 Golden Globes Nominees Playlist I am 67 and just bought my first Colt… Python…Feels great…going to shoot it this week. I saw a 2.5 inch stainless NIB a while back for $3200. I owned one of the original .357 Magnum King Cobras for a brief period in the late 80s / early 90s (I sold it after two return trips to a factory warranty station couldnât fix a nagging misfire problem with a few of the chambers), and had shot a few cylinders through  Detective Specials and Police Positives over the years, but thatâs the sum of my shooting experience with Colts beyond the Python. I have heard of holsters being made for this revolver from Simply Rugged as well as Kramer Handgun Leather. I would agree that wood stocks should be mandatory on a beautiful gun like this! Fiddling with the facets while not truly understanding the totality of how Colts time up can (and most likely will) cause endless tail-chasing, trying to put things right. Again its because Colt like most American Companies hire people right off the street for around not much more than minimum wage and usually with little to no training and of course with no benefits. One to start the cylinder turning and one to lock it up tight when you pull the trigger. Kydex, on the other hand, suffers from none of these same shortcomings. S&W, Rugers, etc solve this problem by “cleaving” the revolver function – the mainspring drives the hammer fall, and there is a separate spring for the trigger reset. When I first saw this, after shooting a bit, I though it was extreme flame cutting.