The re-issues frame is quite stoutheavy-duty in company parlanceincluding a 0.60-wide topstrap beveled to meet the solid barrel rib, plus a full-length underlug with a cutout for the ejector rod. This relatively light and incredibly smooth trigger no doubt contributed to the accuracy I was able to squeeze out of the Colt King Cobra. And the Magnum Carry. 2023 Rock Island Auction Company. In short, BOAs, for Colt revolver fans especially, are the missing piece to many collections, which makes them, for many, the most charming of the snake guns. We caught up with the new 3-inch King Cobra at the time and checked it out. With Colts re-entrance into the revolver market, wheelguns bearing the Rampant Colt Pony are once again on dealer shelves. In recent years, owing to its limited production run, the Viper has become quite collectable. The problem is, theyre hard to find at a reasonable price. By comparison, Smith & Wessons Model 60 stainless 2-inch in the same caliber has a retail of $729 but only has a five-shot capacity. The sight picture is fine for close-in work (of, say 15 yards and under) but difficult to refine at distance. Incorporates a full length, snag free, ejector shroud and interchangeable front sight on the barrel. On the Colt King Cobra, where nary another unintended sharp edge exists, it is almost glaring. Then the Colt Python is the Rolex. The revolver was never adopted and the six samples were returned to the distributor. typically have the serial number stamped on the flat area in front of the trigger guard. Click here for more information. Fast-forward to February 1991, and I returned to Santa Anita Firing Range, this time with a year-and-a-half of shooting experience under my belt and my shooting techniques grip, stance, etc. Standard Cobras were blued with round-butt grip frames. Mike allowed that he had experienced this, but believed it to be caused by a surfeit of work with short-triggered semi-automatics. Excluding fliers that were almost certainly not the fault of the gun, the worst of the .357 Magnum groups were tighter than the best of the .38 Specials. The gun was offered in blued and stainless finish options, with most versions sharing black, finger-grooved, neoprene stocks, and solid barrel ribs; these latter features both help to absorb the recoil of the harder-kicking Magnum loads, and the solid barrel rib in particular shows the influence of the Python. Manufacturer: Colt Model: King Cobra Serial Number: C4945K Caliber Info: 357 Magnum Finish: Stainless . Having no opportunity to shoot the King Cobra while wearing gloves, I found this made no difference for me. (Photo: Guns.com). Forget the F-35: Was the IAI Kfir Israels Best Fighter Ever? This time I went with 50 rounds of ammo (jacketed semiwadcutter range reloads), with head shots at seven yards and torso shots at the 15- and 25-yard lines. Colt King Cobra. All exposed surfaces, minus the cylinder release, hammer, trigger, and front sight, are a mildly polished stainless steel. Colt King Cobra Specs Type: Double action, revolver Cartridge: .357 Mag./.38 Spl. Likewise, the price point made more competitive with other full-lug magnums of the time, namely Rugers then-new GP-100, S&Ws Model 586, and Dan Wessons 15HB. It does not store any personal data. Archived video footage of the Colt Cobra Revolver. Original Reporting. Colt Cobra: Nickel plated alloy (15 oz. I foresee few issues with carrying the King Cobra, but well test it just the same. The frame and action are that of a Trooper while the distinctive full-lug barrel is a Python trait. For exact location of these items, please see the King Cobra owners manual, page 36 [opens to .pdf]. in Las Vegas that Colt announced the resurrection of this particular species of Snake Gun. The interplay of these two components is one that is easy to overlook, but on the King Cobra it is a thing of beauty. circa 1990. The left side of the barrel bears Colts serpentine logo along with the city, state, and country of manufacture. The Colt BOA was only made in limited numbers for a single year, then sold through a single distributor, making it probably the most elusive and desirable of the company's double-action revolvers. National Security. Colt Viper The Viper was essentially a 4 barrel version of the alloy-framed Colt Cobra in.38 Special. Borrowing the solid rib heavy barrel/full underlug profile of Colts Python series but coming in at a more affordable $400 smackers at the time, it was half the price of the iconic serpent. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING VETERAN JOURNALISM - JOIN SOFREP+ , The Colt Python A Legend in Service Weapons, PO Box 1077 MURFREESBORO, Tennessee 37133 United States, P.O. [3], Colt also produced a total of six King Cobra's with three-inch barrels and fixed sights. Drat! Its difficult to quantify that but it was on par with the smoothest revolvers Ive ever shot, and is the first time the word buttery has made any sense to me in regards to a trigger. She is far from being a seasoned shooter, but at least 95% of her lifetime shooting has been done with double-action revolvers. The Cobra was chambered in .38 Special, .38 Colt New Police, .32 Colt New Police, and .22 LR. It holds six shots of ammunition and was sold by Colt from 1950 until 1981. Your email address will not be published. Accuracy was a breeze, thanks to the smooth trigger in double-action and single-action trigger modes alike not as smooth as the Python, mind you, but still plenty smooth an easily acquirable sight picture, and those recoil-taming rubber grips. SEE GREAT DEALS ON CLASSIC & NEW KING COBRAS, Stoeger Cougar 8000 9mm: Newer Isn't Always Better. Top to bottom: 2020 Python 6, 4.25, New Colt King Cobra (image courtesy JWT for thetruthaboutguns.com) I got on the order train as fast as I could, asking for both a 6 and 4.25 gun from my distributor. The single action trigger consistently and cleanly broke at an even 5 pounds. The second serial number of the colt model code is the weapon caliber. %%EOF Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC Colt Speaks Justin Baldini,. The second minor problem is that the trigger is a bit too narrow. soaking wet and with corresponding hand size, I found the guns recoil, muzzle rise, and muzzle blast and flash to be exhilarating rather than punishing or intimidating. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, which supports our community. A slightly revised version of the Agent was released in 1973 with a shrouded ejector rod, with a weight of 16 ounces. Still chambered in .357 Magnum, the reboot came standard with a full-lug 3-inch barrel and was announced just in time for last years National Shooting Sports Foundations SHOT Show in Las Vegas. The gun was offered in blued and stainless finish options, with most versions sharing black, finger-grooved, neoprene stocks, and solid barrel ribs; these latter features both help to absorb the recoil of the harder-kicking Magnum loads, and the solid barrel rib in particular shows the influence of the Python. For me the Cobra derringer points and fires naturally. Need Help?service@guns.comCall (866)582-4867, PO Box 1131 13800 Nicollet Blvd Burnsville, MN 55337 2023Guns.com. typically have the serial number stamped on the flat area in front of the trigger guard. I believe, due to the slightly larger frame, the Colts revolver would edge out the Kimber in a head-to-head comparison for best middleweight round gun. Chris has been an NRA Certified Basic Pistol Instructor since 2011. Following the successful introduction of the Colt Cobra revolver in 2017, and marking Colt's re-entry into the category they once dominated, snake number two has arrived. Recoil was a bit more spirited with .357 Magnum ammunition. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Starting off with a Colt .380 ACP auto, followed by a Beretta .25 ACP, a Chipmunk single-shot bolt-action rifle in .22LR and then topping off with that Snake Gun a 4-incher with the full-powered Magnum loads and a dozen rounds of leftover ammo that the range attendants were nice enough to gift to me. This was never an issue if I exerted an appropriate amount of force on the ejector rod. JHP, 8 rounds Sig .38 Special +P V-Crown 125-grain JHP, 6 rounds SuperVel .38 Special +P 90-grain JHP, 6 rounds Remington HTP .357 Magnum 110-grain SJHP, 50 rounds Prvi Partisan.38 Special 130-grain FMJ. Approximately 3,000 were produced in the two years. I have run across two reports, one firsthand and one secondhand, of the Colts ejector rod tip becoming lodged in the channel when depressed vigorously enough. in .44 Mag. considerably refined thanks to the positive influence of Massad F. Ayoobs books. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. This hampered efforts at precision at distances exceeding fifteen yards. Serial Number - KV7623 mfg. Support Veteran Journalism . Only Colt knows what the production numbers are after that. The six-shooter has a replaceable brass front bead front and an MSRP of $899. To paraphrase myself, revolvers will work if youre willing to make them work. Single-action Colts (models Frontier Scout, Peacemaker, etc.) The ejector rods tip is only scantly larger in diameter than the rod itself (and I believe what our friend Greyson would call a cigar cutter format). The Cobra was made in three models: the First Model, made from 19501971 and weighing 15 ounces unloaded with 2-inch barrel, and an improved Second Model, made from 19721981, recognizable by its shrouded ejector rod and Baughman-style ramp front sight, with an unloaded weight of 16 ounces. But it is a 6" Colt Cobra Stainless . The stylized barrel rollmarks, complete with a cobra head, make the Colt King Cobra unmistakable. First introduced in 1986, the Colt King Cobra is a medium frame double-action revolver featuring a six round cylinder which was . was introduced in 1986 and produced until 1992 and again from 1994 to 1998. It was a mid-size wheelgun built upon Colts so-called V-frame, the companys answer to. True to Colt form (and somewhat confusingly to a Ruger/S&W guy) it rotates clockwise. j/ Despite these shortcomings, the Colt King Cobra is one of the best revolvers Ive ever shot. The original Colt King Cobra was introduced in 1986 and produced until 1992 and again from 1994 to 1998. Mike later confirmed that two older Colts revolvers exhibited this same trait. Christian D. Orr has 33 years of shooting experience, starting at the tender age of 14. The Colt Cobra is a lightweight, aluminum-framed, double-action short-barrelled revolver, not to be confused with the Colt King Cobra.The Cobra was chambered in .38 Special, .38 Colt New Police, .32 Colt New Police, and .22 LR.It holds six shots of ammunition and was sold by Colt from 1950 until 1981. It is capable of using either .38 Special or .357 Magnum loads. The King Cobra was introduced in 1986, discontinued in 1992, and returned to Colt's product line in 1994. Christian D. Orr is a former Air Force officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). The odds of finding an L88 for sale in good condition are incredibly low. After concluding the Field Test results I will offer my personal conclusions. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. This revolver is in great condition and comes with the original case, manual, and cable lock. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The Cobra was chambered in.38 Special,.38 New police,.32 Colt New Police, and.22 LR. . As expected, there were no major issues with extraction and ejection but I do have two minor notes. The overall quality is one that is seldom seen these days. Having never fired a Colts revolver, I was naturally curious about the storied Colts trigger. 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