Anyone get a new Python?

I'm curious if anyone has ponied up the cash for a new Python yet to test out. The prices are dropping to where you can almost get one for MSRP. I thought of getting one polished by Patriot Polishing as a bit of a show piece but would shoot it occasionally.

What specifically are you interested in?  I got both versions more than a year and a half ago. 

AP

Accuracy. Trigger. Sights. Reliability. How bad is the 6" with one hand. For sure getting a 6" for looks if nothing else but would be a bonus if I could balance it well lol. I do like heavy pistols but like them to balance ok.

zanemoseley wrote:Accuracy. Trigger. Sights. Reliability. How bad is the 6" with one hand. For sure getting a 6" for looks if nothing else but would be a bonus if I could balance it well lol. I do like heavy pistols but like them to balance ok.

My early production 6” is a bit nose-heavy.  But then it is a revolver and most revolvers are nose-heavy.  But it shoots very well.

One to one comparison with 14-5 Full Lug (actually with two of them), Python shines in DA.  SA is better on 14-5s.  Accuracy is comparable.  Sights - red insert in Python's front provides good reference point in comparison with black blade of 14s.  However if you paint front on 14s in white that negates advantage.  Colt feels a little bit heavier.  Both balance quite similarly, although Colt, as Ashley mentioned about, feels more tippy.  One should not forget that Python's native caliber is 357M, while it is 38 SPL for 14s.  So I'd think, that Colt needs some work done by revolversmith to make sure it shoot 38 at its best.  Same would be applicable to 14s, but once again, 38 SPL is its native caliber.

Aesthetics wise - Python is a stand out!  It is classic revolver, and new generation doesn't undermine established standing.

Than is IMO.

AP

My Python is no slouch when shooting factory 38 Spc. Wadcutters.   It’s at least as accurate as my 14.   IIRC, I tested HBWC in 357 cases and found no increase in accuracy, so I shoot 38s in mine.

Rear sight windage adjustment does not have clicks. Instead it has a typical windage screw but with a friction allen set screw to hold it. Huge let down. Other than that nicely done. Not a 50-60s Python and not a Korth, but decent. I like S&W 686 better.

The SA trigger is quite heavy, mine was about 5.5 lbs. You can see the hammer cam back before it releases. I heard they did this to pass the drop test.  The rear sight tang is pinned to the top strap. I could wobble the sight back and forth.  You need a tiny allen wrench for the sight lock screw. Colt doesn't provide it.  It's a beautiful revolver and shoots really well, but a bullseye gun it ain't.  My opinion anyway...
Kurt

Dang 5.5# SA. That's pretty crazy.

5-1/2 pound single action trigger?

WTFO.

AP, is the SA pull on both yours this heavy?

zanemoseley wrote:AP, is the SA pull on both yours this heavy?

 5# 8 Oz on 4.25" SA, 10# 4 Oz DA
4# 9 Oz on 6" SA, 8# 4 Oz DA

This is out of the box.  I'm sure they can be tuned.

AP

I'll have to measure the single-action trigger weights on my old-skool Pythons. That's not going to happen any time soon, but I should do it at some point.

john bickar wrote:I'll have to measure the single-action trigger weights on my old-skool Pythons. That's not going to happen any time soon, but I should do it at some point.

Too late; I lost them in a tragic boating accident.

Really? Pythons lost on the Titanic?

Was that on the Hissstory Channel?

We need to see some 50 yd Ransom Rest groups and also need the dirt on how many rounds you can get through before leading starts to spray bullets. This info is slow coming.

Maybe the Oak Island folks will find them, they can't seem to find any other treasure

Can't remember what the SA pull was on my old pinned and recessed S&W 19 was, one gun I shouldn't have sold. Sold to my boss so could get back if I really wanted it.

IP you may want to read as many reviews as you can concerning the current production Pythons.  There are alot of unhappy buyers.

My brother bought the new 4" model, but before I could even check it out, a fellow at my range sold me his 6" nickel original Python.

My brother does not like the trigger pull at all - do any of you know a shop that does a trigger job, so the gun shoots more like a S.A. S&W ?  (I was going to post the question on the Colt forum, but haven't had time to get there yet.  What are some of the things people are complaining about on the new Pythons?)

Been doing some reading about the new pythons. The first batch so to speak came with a lighter mainspring which had a nicer SA pull but resulted in complaints regarding light strikes and some other issues, they've since gone to a heavier spring which is part of the issue with the crappy SA pull but fixed the strike issues. They also put a very conservative sear geometry on these pistols to pass CA drop tests, people report the hammer cams backward very noticeably before releasing so damn near almost like half a DA pull. There were also issues with the side plates getting a bit loose which would have them jam up, easy fix with loctite.

Sounds like Mike from Hefron Precision has the best action job going. If I bought one it would go straight there as well as possibly a professional polish job. Everything else sounds pretty on point with them but you can get $2+ in one in a hurry if you tune them. Here's some info from Mike off another board.


When I execute our PRECISION ACTION & TRIGGER TUNING on any revolver, we have fixtures to keep the honing and polishing square. The single-action sear does require a change of geometry to acquire a crisp 3lb pull. A jig is used to arrive at the starting point, but the finishing touches are more or less done by feel. While these revolvers are certainly more simple than the old ones, they still are not "Ruger-Easy" or "Smith & Wesson-Easy". They still offer a certain set of complexities due to the V mainspring, the rebound lever, and the "Bank Vault Lockup". Incorrect sear profiling will result in the revolver being out of time.

Our tuned NEW Pythons have a crisp SA pull of 2.75-3.25 lbs, a slick-cycle 8.75-9.0 lbs DA pull, and a very quick trigger return. Rapid DA firing is much easier once the tuning is complete. During cocking the action or during DA firing OR during the trigger return cycle you will not encounter a single "rough spot". The revolver's function in its entirety is slippery-smooth. Even though Colt does polish key parts within the action, our tuning reduces the mechanism's overall friction by a significant extent.

We did not arrive at this point by accident. When the NEW Python was introduced we acquired one and went to work creating a specific set of tuning techniques for it. I personally tune the revolvers. I have tuned and repaired Colt Double-Action revolvers for over 30 years. I will be honest here, when it comes to that work I have a specific way that I want it done. I am a control freak/micro-manager so it's best if I do it. My guys do the machine-work. I stay at the bench. No gun will leave here until it's something I would own myself. That's the best response I can provide.

I have developed a specific method of profiling the mainspring. I built tooling to do so. When a Python is tuned here, it will have the trigger pulls I mentioned AND it will smack the crap out of a magnum primer! Lightening springs is NOT an option as I see it. We are approaching 200 tuned NEW Pythons. I am happy to say that we have the best NEW Python Action and Trigger Tuning on the market.

inthebeech wrote:We need to see some 50 yd Ransom Rest groups and also need the dirt on how many rounds you can get through before leading starts to spray bullets. This info is slow coming.

Have you read the American Rifleman review?

They have Ransom rest 25 yard comparisons on the new 4" and 6" compared to a 1979 4" and a 1968 6" Python.

Colt Python Review posted on March 23, 2020

Thanks for the information, checked out the website, and sent all the information to my brother.

If I ever need a repair done, this is good to know.

[quote="shanneba"][quote="inthebeech"]We need to see some 50 yd Ransom Rest groups and also need the dirt on how many rounds you can get through before leading starts to spray bullets. This info is slow coming.[/quote]

Have you read the American Rifleman review?

They have Ransom rest 25 yard comparisons on the new 4" and 6" compared to a 1979 4" and a 1968 6" Python.

[url=https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/colt-python-review/]Colt Python Review posted on March 23, 2020[/url][/quote]
That's a good start.  No fifty yard testing but you do get a good look at the internals in that article.  Very useful.  And very un-Python (a good thing).  No hand fitted bolt.  No rebound lever that must be fitted "just right" to reset the trigger.  These new internals do indeed look to be very robust.  FWIW Heffron told me that the Pythons are very accurate (one inch at 25 yds according to him); that the OMM are perhaps slightly more so but then you are taking on some risk with an older model with so many fitted components that will some day no longer be available.

Well I won one off GB for $10 over MSRP, much better that before when they were going for hundreds over. Will be going straight to Mike at Hefron Precision, been emailing him and he's seeing real good results from 148hbwc in the new Pythons and if you're not worried about magnum primers it lets him go even lighter on the pull, down to 2.25#SA.

Also thinking of getting it polished, I love a shiny Python. Won't make keeping clean as much fun but will make for some sweet gun safe bling.