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Back when GM was busy motoring into bankruptcy, car enthusiasts pestered the General to import their Australian division’s brawny V8 sedans. That they did. Awesome car, the Pontiac GT. A bit small and thirsty, mind you. With styling that said nothing so much as nothing. On top of all that, the Pontiac badge didn’t mean squat by then. Enthusiasts welcomed the car — but didn’t buy it in droves. I mention all this because gun enthusiasts continue to clamor for a new Colt Python revolver.

The thing of it is, a Colt Python restart would cost a LOT of money. Machining and manpower. You can’t just stamp out a revolver. And even if you could forgo dozens of man hours of careful craftsmanship per piece, the superb finish on those old Pythons wasn’t cheap then, and wouldn’t be cheap now.

Of course Colt could do it, but who would buy it? A Nighthawk Korth revolver retails for $3499. A Smith & Wesson Performance Center 686 will run you a grand or so. A Colt Python would probably have to fit somewhere between those two price points; I suspect the number of snakes they could sell above the $1k mark wouldn’t fill up even that much warehouse space.

The question is: what will? My money’s on a striker-fired handgun. What new product do you think the resurrected Colt brand will unveil at the January SHOT Show?

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118 COMMENTS

  1. Single stack ccw pistols. Like the Shield. The bandwagons been filled, but wouldn’t put it past them to try their hand. Unless they invent something totally new. An American made bull pup 5.56 rifle that isn’t keltec would be cool to.

    • Perhaps a aluminum-framed Series 90-type gun with a striker mechanism or an LDA-like trigger, ramped or linkless barrel (because hollowpoints eat aluminum 1911 feed ramps) that takes common (or cheap) metal doublestack mags (Beretta 92, P226, or CZ75, etc)?

      They could at least try building Pythons from the ground up, along Troopers with adjustable sights (for competition shooting, including .357, 9mm, and .45ACP variants), .357 Detective Specials (in stainless with a black oxide finish or something), and Anacondas. The reason they quit the DA revolver game in the first place was because all the guys who made or worked on the Pythons got really old and didn’t really pass on their knowledge, but they still make SAAs, and they still charge out the wazoo for them even though they still asplode if you put hot boolits in them.

    • The last time Colt tried a polymer- framed striker fired nine was the All American 2000 , go look it up -you could probably use a laugh.
      I’ll wager they’ll trot out some all-metal single stack semi-auto in an amazing new big bore cartridge falling roughly between a .40s&w and a .50 caliber. Just to go off the beaten path, their new design will feature a hammer-fired single action and use BOTH a grip safety and thumb safety.
      Think it’ll sell?

    • I don’t and would like one but I want a real one, not something with “Python” stamped on it (legally) that isn’t made to the same standards.

  2. A magazine fed (semi-)automatic shotgun. There are a few on the market (Saiga-12, Vepr 12, FR-99 and DDI-12) and they seem popular with multi-gun shooters a new one might sell. The current models all have their shortcomings (Saiga and DDI lack on optics rails, FR-99 is Turkish and largely untested right now. Vepr uses unique mags and is expensive among other things). An American made one (DDI imports from China IIRC) could do well if the next administration tries to claim competing designs aren’t “sporting purpose”.

    • Maybe they could make an LE901 upper in 12ga or 20ga 2 3/4″? Even without 3″ capability most people are only going to shoot 2 3/4″ anyway (3″ is too much for 3-gun, defense, and most hunting).

    • I would love to see one from a real manufacturer. Someone like beretta/benelli who has some serious shotgun experience is what I would like to see. I recently picked up a MKA1919 Match, for some open division 3 gun, that i am pretty happy with considering the origins. Thing is they wouldnt be cheap from beretta/benelli.

  3. I’ve always been a pretty die hard revolver fan- bombproof reliability, good shootability, no brass to chase for reloading… (though I also own and enjoy autos) but even I doubt that they’d sell all that many Pythons at the price that they’d be likely to require to cover costs of production (especially at the low volume level, which becomes a self-enforcing loop of high overhead per unit). I’m just glad that S&W keeps plugging along, and that Ruger not only keeps introducing revolvers, but has now actually succeeded in making their revolvers consistently accurate (which was not a given in their earlier production)

    • Pythons aren’t exactly “bombproof”- they go out of time pretty easily with hard use, unlike 686s. However, when Brownells and Numrich’s had Colt Anaconda barrels in stock a few years ago, Hamilton Bowen would chop and rethread them onto Ruger Redhawk bodies for a really bombproof and sexy-looking gun. I assume if you found a stock of Python barrels you might be able to have them chopped and fitted to GP100s or 686s, too…

      • I vaguely remember gunsmiths fitting Python barrels onto S&W frames: they were “Smolts” or “Smythons.” Definitely cool looking, but I don’t know if the benefits were anything beyond cosmetic.

  4. I think it will, thanks to the popular of The Walking Dead. People will pay thousands to own the same gun used by Rick Grimes.

  5. Colt making a new gun?

    I’d wager a polymer, striker fired, magazine fed, roller locked, gas delayed hand fit tactical revolver.

  6. Striker fired revolver is about the stupidest idea that I have ever heard!

    Personally, I NEVER plan on buying another striker!
    I do wish CZ would build a pocket size 9mm though!
    With an approiate hammer spur of course. (Little or none)

    I would of course, go for one of Colts already built Pythons in .41 mag though!

  7. I honestly don’t know if they would sell any Pythons or not. I would love to have one. But what would I do with it? I wouldn’t shoot it. It would lose value. I have a 6″ GP100. I can shoot that all day long.

  8. “What new product do you think the resurrected Colt brand will unveil at the January SHOT Show?”

    Probably Colt’s next bankruptcy.

  9. Striker fired revolver is about the stupidest idea that I have ever heard!

    Personally, I NEVER plan on buying another striker!
    I do wish CZ would build a pocket size 9mm though!
    With an approiate hammer spur of course. (Little or none)

    I would of course go for one of Colts already built .41 mag Pythons!

      • The RAMI is too think over all and the back strap right below the beaver tail is too thick and sucks. Anyone who likes CZ, make sure you handle one before you buy.

        • Exactly right!
          Too thick!

          Shrink the width, shave the frame and grip a bit, even drop it to single stack and it could be a hell of a pocket pistol. (As I said before, with a prudently bobbed hammer.)

  10. Colt already has a polymer design in the archives someplace – just crank up production of the Model 2000 again! Inaccurate, unreliable and ugly as a Pontiac Aztec. Makes perfect sense.

    I agree that everybody “wants” a Python, but not many people are willing to plunk down two grand for a six shot wheel gun, no matter how beautiful it is, when the same amount of money will buy them three decent semi-auto pistols or two pretty good AR’s. Should the political climate change and limit us to wheel guns or single stack semi autos, a new old style Python might have more of a chance. I’d like to see a 1903 .380 auto. That design might be interesting in a polymer frame if Colt could keep something close to the classic 1903 look.

    • If the Republicans don’t hold at least one house come November I will be in the market for a revolver. Something with a 3″ barrel that I might be able to conceal. Nothing says sucks like a Nano packaged in a Commander sized body.

    • Try pricing a new Colt 1873 SAA. They START at $1400, and it doesn’t seem that Colt has any difficulty selling them. There are only two things that make them worth that price (which I should add is more than I can afford): the finish (which from what I’ve seen is superior to anything the clones produce) and the Colt medallions on the grips.

  11. I am sure they will come out with a “new” 1911. Perhaps a model with 28.45 lines per inch on the slide. Throw in some black grips and we’ll call it the captain.

  12. If they did lots of people on here would bitch about how much it would cost just like with anything that’s over a grand.

  13. I certainly wouldn’t buy a Colt Python, as awesome as they may have been. S&W makes higher end revolvers, Ruger makes affordable, decent quality revolvers, and Taurus makes cheap-but-they-work revolvers. Really no point to bringing the Python back. So, they will bring out something that will sell…but how can they wedge in a product, such as a striker-fired semi-auto, into an already over-crowded market? On name recognition and hype alone? It better be darned good, even with those things in their favor.

  14. I don’t see the folly in simply churning out affordable production revolvers that perfectly match the aesthetics of the serpent line without the Python’s Swiss-watch handfitting that adds a fourth digit onto the price tag. Who doesn’t want a Colt that looks identical to a Python, works as well as any other decent workhorse revolver on the market, and you wouldn’t be afraid to actually take out and shoot?

    Of course, that would be a sensible idea, and since Colt seems to be allergic to those, it’ll never happen.

    • Kind of what I was thinking except the appropriate name for that would be the Colt Trooper. I don’t wee why they couldn’t crank out a .357 Trooper that would compete with the S,R&Co. GP 100 or the S&W 686 in both price and quality (other than a potential lack of investment capital). Then a year or two later they could restart making the custom shop Pythons. Keep production of the Pythons low and the price (along with spit and polish) high. Probably do more for the Colt brand’s prestige than for Colt’s bottom line. It would take a while for Colt to put a serious dent into the big three’s sales.

      • Oh, I know about the Trooper. It was Colt’s low-cost alternative to the Python, but put them both side-by-side and it’s fairly easy to tell them apart. Stick a full ejector shroud and a ribbed barrel on the Trooper, though, and that’d be a good starting point for everyone who could give a crap less about authenticity or collector’s value and just wants a functional and affordable reproduction of arguably the coolest-looking revolver ever made.

        And then, yeah, do custom jobs for those who are interested in the original gun’s superb fit and finish and don’t see cost as much of an obstacle.

      • The Mark V Trooper and later King Cobra were supposedly designed for production economies that would make them price competitive with Smiths while keeping a distinctly Colt look and feel. Maybe resurrecting this series as the basis for reintroducing wheelguns could be a good approach.

  15. I’m surprised nobody guessed it…1903 pocket hammerless of course. US Armament developed the tooling and made the first batch of about 3500 in 2015, then sent the tooling to Colt. Great choice BTW, I’d love to buy several myself.

    • Yeah, I think we’d all love to own a select fire, very high velocity, high round count machine pistol.

      There might be a few challenges besides manufacturing…

      • If you build them they will come. . . and knock on your door in the middle of the night?

        Same thing with suppressors, when everybody has one (and they grow more prolific [at least where I live] each day) regulations will seem even more stupid, and expensive.

        If I said “everyone has full auto firearms” as opposed to just “everyone has firearms”, would you feel more safe? You might not agree with my premise; “everyone has full auto firearms”, but does having the opinion that it’s wrong make you any more safe?

        • I should have left that as an either/or question [sic].

          If I said “everyone has full auto firearms” as opposed to just “everyone has firearms”, would you feel more OR LESS safe? You might not agree with my premise; “everyone has full auto firearms”, but does having the opinion that it’s wrong make you any more safe?

  16. My LGS was claiming that he had heard that Colt was bring back the python. Except it wasn’t going to be the fitted by hand version, but rather a precision manufactured version utilizing all German made machinery and tooling. Said machinery and tooling is supposedly on order and being delivered presently. With ramp up to production beginning ASAP. I personally don’t believe it.

    • Even though that’s precisely what I’m hoping they’ll do, I don’t buy it either. Colt has their head so far up their own ass these days that the company business strategy is just a drawing of a Klein bottle.

  17. I hope it is not a sub 3K Python. I already ordered one of them kraut revolvers. It’d kinda suck to find that I could have got such quality without paying an import tax.

  18. Colt’s adding machines to make something. If they’re smart they’re going to be trying to get into whatever the highest selling guns are today that they aren’t currently making and that’s likely a polymer frame, single stack, semi auto pistol that’s either a .380 or 9mm.

    Didn’t Colt file for bankruptcy last year? I don’t see how they found the money or convinced somebody to give them money to expand their product offerings unless there was a specific instruction to try and grab a slice of the largest section of the gun pie that they can, and that’s small CCW polymer framed pistols.

    For me personally, there’s nothing that Colt will ever make that will make me ever want to buy a gun of theirs other than maybe percussion revolvers, which is such a small market, they’re never going to bother running production for again.

      • OK. A metal loading lever under the barrel with a polymer picatinny rail above the barrel and a set of hogue laser grips and a smart chip so the gun won’t fire for just anybody. 🙂

  19. Colt squatted and took a big dump on non-gov consumers. Doesn’t matter to me what they make; I’m not part of their market. I would like to see them get their act together, though. Maybe they will, there are just too many other options for me to be part of it. I think Lucas D’s comment a couple of posts up would be a good move.

  20. When Colt turned to CNC machining to improve the quality of its 1911s (or reduce costs, or something) every single full size model fell off the California Roster (because they were now “new” models and had to comply with the microstamping law). There were only two exceptions: the 4″ Colt Commander and….the Python.

    Now let me expand on that. To add a gun to the Roster, a manufacturer is required to submit three of each model, along with a specified amount of ammo rounds per gun to the accredited testing agency for testing for drop safety and reliability. Now it is possible that Colt has kept the Python on the Roster all these years–but I don’t think so. Which means that they must h ave produced some new guns to submit for testing.

  21. I think you are rright about that, unfortunately, as I would absolutely buy one if they did. Pythons are such amazing guns, but part of that is because of their scarcity/ legend status, it will have to be price competitive with the S&W performance center models because most people who don’t already own one probably couldnt tell the difference, beyond the name, and most collectors probably wouldn’t be caught dead with what is basically a replica. If they re-launch it, it just won’t be as special I think. People who can’t afford what used ones are going for will buy them and the purists will most likely just talk shit about how they aren’t as good as the original. That’s not exactly a great business decision for Colt.

    • As the success of Apple products demonstrates, enough people think that way to support a very large consumer base.

      As the success of Android products demonstrates, enough people don’t think that way to support a much, much larger one.

  22. They still have the old tooling, I believe. All they need is one good polisher and fitter to get started. Make 500 and then ship them for market testing. If they move too slow, don’t make any more. Geez, the gun is NOT that tedious to fit after you’ve played with a dozen or more. $1,500 ought to be profitable.

    • For the level of polishing and finishing alone in the Python, $1500 out the door is still an “underwater” price.

      Skilled labor costs money.

        • I disagree I think $1,500 to $2,000 per Gun would work very nicely for them a lot of the finishing on the actual metal surfaces is done by tumbling the parts in Cork and other material I talk to the gunsmith that colt still employed since the mid-90s who does all the repair and refinishing work on the Python King Cobra Anaconda line snake guns and basically I had to call because I had a customer that brought in Two Pistols that he inherited from his father and they were actually pitted rust on the sides of them where they were in cases and left in there too long and moisture got trapped against them. So I called Cole and wanting to make sure that they could restore it and fix one of the guns that was broken too original Quality Inn original luster of the royal blue finish before I sent them that back in for repair and refinishing. They are shirred me that the bluing and the parts and everything would be hand fit in the gun by one of their performance center gunsmith and the finishing would be done by the guy that has been doing it for the last 30 years so I sent them both in and the bill was very expensive it was over $1,000 for the repair the retiming of the one gun and the refinishing of both guns and royal blue. But they were absolutely gorgeous he let me fire them at our shop and it a shot holes inside of holes smooth as glass perfect. And they updated both guns with an approved cylinder Locking System actually just the parts that were involved in the actual locking of the cylinder that causes the guns to go out of timing so that problem was fixed. They shot absolutely beautiful. And looked just like any other new out-of-the-box Colt Python that I used to sell back in the eighties absolutely gorgeous. Just a heads up for all you guys that are into snake guns like I am.

    • “All they need is one good polisher and fitter to get started. ” – as someone who has paid for those services, I have found they do not come cheap. At all.

    • Except it isn’t.

      The street price of Colt 1911s are in line with their competitors with similar quality. Same with their AR-15s.

      Sure you can get cheaper 1911s and AR-15s but the quality is often lower.

        • BCM to name one company. There are a number of companies that make rifles that meet or exceed TDP.

          In fact these days the major companies even among the ones that don’t strictly meet TDP, most have stopped pumping out junk rifles by doing the most important stuff like staking, ensure that the gas ports are properly sized, and using proper buffers. I would say that only one company’s rifles (which are made under 3 brand names) are on the avoid at all costs list.

        • Key part is the shelf bit. That extra hole and weight in your lower is something that sends the quality straight to the bottom.

          Any company that adds holes and weight to your gun for no actual reason but despising non-government buyers isn’t worth buying from.

      • Everyone says this, but, few people are still buying Colt products. It’s a yesterday company that made bad business choices in the 90’s and suffers from it today. Its product line up is pretty shallow and limited. The ATF has some great data that shows the quantity that manufacturers are making.

        • In the markets I’m in that is less to do with the quality, and more to do with the availability. Even BCM is more common than Colt these days.

          And lets not forget customization. I prefer mid-length for 16″ AR-15s, I think Colt makes maybe one mid-length AR-15. Same with 1911s, my next 1911 will be a 6″ 9mm with an aristocrat rear, Colt doesn’t make that.

  23. Not going to happen. I know a few people at Colt and this came up at a dinner one day here are the cliff notes:

    1. All the knowledge, tooling, and dedicated machinery is long gone.

    2. So the new Pythons would be a whole new design suited for CNC machining, which means they won’t be Pythons to enthusiasts.

    3. And even with the above if they built them to the same fit and finish of the surviving examples it would likely cost as much as a good quality used Python.

  24. New line of DASA blasters that street for less than 5 bills and have rock star triggers out of the box.

    Like the CZ P series but better triggers.

    OR colt could get into the production 2011 arena, and fight with STI. Since a big chunk of colts are 1911s, they could bring costs down further ordering parts in bigger QTYs.

    • New line of DASA blasters that street for less than 5 bills and have rock star triggers out of the box.

      Like the CZ P series but better triggers.

      THIS!

  25. Detective Special, Cobra, Agent

    Maybe a police positive in stainless with a slender 4 inch barrel. Lighter than a model 10.

  26. If i were them i would make a foldable 9mm carbine. Keltec still don’t seem to be able to make enough sub2000s to meet the robust demand.

    But I doubt colt are that savvy.

  27. What I think they could produce and turn a profit is a modern version of the 1903/1908 Hammerless pistol. Chambered in either .380 or 9×19, it would be an entirely credible CCW piece.

    • This is my bet, as they would only have to restart their aborted attempt at just that from a couple of years ago. The production is possible, the market exists, and it would provide a steady line of business to the custom shop.

  28. The car the Pontiac GT was based on, the Holden Commodore in 4-door form and Holden Monaro in 2-door form, is scheduled to have its production permanently ended in about a year.

    The production of the Ford Falcon ended barely noticed a few weeks ago.

  29. Colt needs to somehow build a new Sam Colt, John Browning or Eugene Stoner before all else.

    They also need to get the hell out of Hartford, retire those old clock watchers, and totally reinvent themselves.

    Also, a new 686 can be had for $735 or less (Davidson’s price). A new GP100 for $600. Is Colt really going to compete with that?

    • If Colt wants to compete with those revolvers, then they need to forego the classic Colt revolver design and adopt many of the ideas of S&W and Ruger (eg, put in a rebound spring group, use coil springs instead of leaf springs). Colt could continue to rotate the cylinder into the window to increase lockup, but leave the rebound lever and single spring design behind.

      Then they could put money into the fit and finish.

  30. Colt needs to invest in INNOVATION. Trying to compete in the over-crowded 1911 and AR-rifle market is a recipe for another bankruptcy. They should take a look at what innovators like Kel-Tec are doing. A manufacturer who can be first-to-market with innovative designs like Kel-Tec’s, -except with the reliability of current conventional designs will dominate the future gun market.

  31. All I want colt to do is make available the CK901 (7.62×39 that uses AK mags) to be sold in usa since they are already to middle east governments.

  32. Revolver people in general are used to spending a hell of a lot more money for their firearms then the Normal public that once Striker Fired polymer pistol hybrids. Totally different group of people. On the one side you have people who wish to have a reliable handgun that is moderately priced relatively on the cheaper end and they want high capacity magazine or what I call normal capacity magazine for that style of weapon. The revolver Market is totally different you can’t even compare revolver purchasers to Striker Fired polymer handgun purchases two separate styles of people and mindset. If Colt decided to bring back the king cobra series and the python series they would sell like hotcakes no problems no questions asked as many as they built it as many they would sell. And yes at a price of around $1,500 per unit. If I had the chance to purchase a brand new python or king cobra or anaconda I would definitely do so I would purchase one or two of each. For the mere fact of the matter that I used to own quite a few snake guns. I believe the people of the United States and the gun people have had enough of plain Jane polymer striker-fired pistols. I would love to see a high-quality revolver made once again by Colt firearms hit the market. It would be a huge hit for Colt and make them lots of cash. Revolver sales in this country are picking back up everything goes in Cycles and I’ve been selling more revolvers that are gun store here in Florida then I did in the eighties. I would love to see Colt make the snake series guns again and a lot of people would. Just a side note I have sent to pythons back to Colt 4 problems that we were unable to repair and to get both guns refinished. They came back to the shop perfect I called Colt and setup the arrangements to send the to Firearms back just to make sure that they still had parts and that they could still read blue them. They explained to me that the man that does the bluing on the Colt pythons is the same man that did the bluing on the pythons in the mid-to-late 90s. The royal blue finish that originally came on the guns was duplicated perfectly I was told by Colt manufacturing that it is a dying art to be able to do the royal blue finishes and it wasn’t cheap for the repairs or the refinishing but I tell you the guns were as good as the day they came off the factory production line. Just a little side note to let you know that they still can build these guns and they still have the gunsmith not going to text that can put these weapons together correctly and make them look absolutely gorgeous. Colt needs to get a handle on this and start bringing back these revolvers that everybody’s wanted for so long.

  33. Colt cannot afford to retool for a new Python. However their 1911’s are good values–high quality and priced competitively. What is wrong with them is the same as most 1911’s–limited mag capacity. 7 or 8 rounds in a 2.7 lb pistol limits its appeal. A slightly fatter grip and staggered mag with 10 or 11 rounds, a la STI’s 2011 series should have a reasonable tooling cost, especially if they could just license STI’s mag design. Another brand selling double stack 1911’s could help both Colt and STI.

    • Para-Ordnance was the first company to do it with the p12 it had a double-stack magazine that was 12 rounds Plus One in the Chamber. And you could use the the lower frame of the Para Ordnance with any upper 1911 slide of your choosing so if you were just looking for a high-capacity you could take the sub compact P 12 or compact rather be 12 and threw a 5 inch main slide on it and have an awesome competition gun. And they weren’t a mortgage payment and a half possibly two mortgage payments just for the pistol like STI is.

  34. I’d like to see an ambidextrous bullpup that uses AR-15 magazines or a 9mm SBR ready pistol. But to be competitive either firearm would need to come to market for not more then a thousand dollars. If Colt could crank either out and get them into stores in decent numbers they’d have a money maker.

    There are days when it still feels like the early 2000’s when the only way to see a Colt in person meant finding a dealer and having him order it for you (and there were plenty of local dealers who refused to order Colt products on principle). If they can ramp up production to the point that I can walk into a big box store and walk out with a Colt bullpup for less then a grand then they would have a winner.

    • Steyr augs make a Bullpup that take AR-15 magazines and it’s been out for years decent weapon in my opinion just too many parts to the bolt carrier group. No one is going to be putting any money into design of any type of so-called and I use this term retardedly assault weapon looking firearm until after the election is over with. It would be stupid for a company like Colt is struggling to stay above the drain right now to invest any money designing a civilian type of weapon that Hillary would most definitely ban.

  35. Colt’s reputation was built on high quality, and somewhat pricey guns. I carried a Colt M4 on my last contract in Iraq and it was a beautiful, reliable piece of equipment. The smoothest handgun I’ve ever shot, bar none, was a Python many years ago. If Colt brought the Python back today I would buy one even if it cost a lot of hard earned money. It’s what they did right and need to do again.

  36. Colt should bring the Python style back from the grave. They would sell like hot cakes for sure, y’all!!!!!!!!

  37. Phew!

    Good question. All I know is it would take a lot (and time) for me to give a crap about anything Colt makes. I do like old Pythons, just not willing to spend a lot of money on it.

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