Colt Python .357, 6" - What's It Worth?

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

I'm sorry, but the whole "collector firearm" thing just really bothers me. As does the whole "collector car" thing, and for all of the same reasons...

I agree. If I was Don I'd sell the Python soonest, no worries, no muss, no fuss. The gun is, sorry to say, worth more idle now than in the traces.

Tomorrow is our shoot the guns day...in the morning we get out every firearm we own, neighbors, friends, family, and toss lead or shot at something.

I, of course, shoot some firearms more than others, nature of the beast. With my son away at college I shoot less than I did previously. I also have some of my fathers old weapons and, while I revere them, they still can be safely fired, so we do.

It is so interesting taking an old gun out of the case, remembering days fifty years ago when I hunted that gun with my father, when the Grouse hit between loads, the look on his face.

Dove Hunt after dinner.

[Don Ro]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

I agree. If I was Don I'd sell the Python

.
My guess is that's where I'll settle.
I'm also selling $$$$ in moto parts & ~ $25k worth of motos.
Lifestyle change, I guess.
Plus, the financial future of this country worries me.
I'm cleaning out & minimizing.

[Jeff Higgins]

I know a lot of guys would advise that if you wanted a shooter, to sell this one to a collector, buy a shooter, and make some money. I guess you could do that...

If it were me (and it has been in the past), I would take it out and shoot it tomorrow. I've bought a number of "NIB" firearms over the years, paying a premium for them, and have gone out and shot every last one of them. I just don't think these "collectors" deserve to own such fine examples of mankind's works, especially if such trivial things are important to them. I won't feed their habit or enable them in any way.

One such NIB gun that I brought to the range one day many years ago attracted quite a crowd (old Colt boxes will do that). 2nd generation 4 3/4" Peacemaker. All the regulars thought I just brought it to show it off. The look of horror on their faces when I thumbed the hammer back a couple of clicks and started dropping cartridges in it was priceless. "Yo..you..you're not gonna sh...shoo... shoot it, are ya??!!" Goddamn right I am...

One of them offered to double what I paid, without even asking what I paid. I just smiled, walked up to the firing line, and started shooting. That, to me, was worth the price of admission.

[Don Ro]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

One of them offered to double what I paid, without even asking what I paid.

You got more $$$$$$$ than me.

[MMiller]

Originally Posted by Don Ro

.
My guess is that's where I'll settle.
I'm also selling $$$$ in moto parts & ~ $25k worth of motos.
Lifestyle change, I guess.
Plus, the financial future of this country worries me.
I'm cleaning out & minimizing.

Collector Guns.....That's mainly the reason I sold my Python and other guns (some NIB).
Less is more these days for me.....I just kept the utilitarian guns I "need" and let the rest go.. For what ever reason I minimized on a lot of toys.

The problem for me with the Python is like other finely made things (super cars, high end watches) the need up keep. When a Python is shot a lot parts wear and timing can become an issue. That's where my Python was headed and I did not want to have to put the money into it for expensive repair plus having to find someone qualified to work on it. It lied in the safe for a # of years, finally decided to let someone else enjoy it and assume the necessary up keep.

Some reading Is the Colt Python "delicate"? | Revolvers, Personal opinions, Gunsmithing | GrantCunningham.com

[Don Ro]

Read that same article a few months ago.

[JTO]

I shoot minor power factor (4.4 grains Trailboss under a 158 gr swc) which is not hard on the gun but plenty powerful enough to knock over steel. Shoots very accurately.

A Python may suffer some ill-effects from hot .357 Mag loads but not from "hot" 38 Special loads.
Troy

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by Don Ro

You got more $$$$$$$ than me.

Oh, I bet I don't. And with an attitude like mine, I bet I never will...

A wise man once said there are more ways to be wealthy than just monetarily. Since I'll likely never achieve that, I'm all about exploring the other ways.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by jeff higgins

oh, i bet i don't. And with an attitude like mine, i bet i never will...

a wise man once said there are more ways to be wealthy than just monetarily. Since i'll likely never achieve that, i'm all about exploring the other ways. :d

+1

[flatbutt]

BTW on a hijack note...how do you like this little cowboy?

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Taz's Master

... Firing that weapon would likely cost $800. I'm not interested in owning a firearm I can't shoot. But if I owned that Python, I sure wouldn't shoot it now, and I likely would have great difficulty parting with it. .....

I wouldn't sell it, and I'd always have a mint example of one that I purchased new for $350 (or whatever back in the day). I wouldn't hesitate to shoot it on occasion either but I'm not talking heavy loads or significant wear and tear. How many times have y'all driven a new vehicle off the lot (losing thousands on the spot)? I can still remember the day all of mine followed me home....didn't shoot 'em on the way home, but it didn't take long either

[Don Ro]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

BTW on a hijack note...how do you like this little cowboy?

Colt New Frontier, 22, 22 Mag?

[on2wheels52]

High Sierra perhaps?
Jim

[enzo1]

Colt Python 6" Blue NIB Stored in Safe 33 Years* : Revolvers at GunBroker.com

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Keep the Python. Fill the pool with concrete.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by on2wheels52

High Sierra perhaps?
Jim

Bingo

[jyl]

Can you tell if a gun has been fired once or ten times? What are the tell tales? I assume they are (should be) test fired at the factory?

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by jyl

Can you tell if a gun has been fired once or ten times? What are the tell tales? I assume they are (should be) test fired at the factory?

They can be cleaned up well enough from a cursory test firing to appear as unfired. Eventually, though, the finish on the front of the cylinder and bottom of the top strap at the barrel/cylinder gap will get permanently stained. On revolvers, it actually kind of burns it to a flat black, with a very telltale ring around each chamber. This is true for blued or stainless guns.

As I mentioned in another thread, I put 42 rounds (seven cylinder's worth) through a brand new Peacemaker the other day. It cleaned up well enough that I could easily pass it off as "unfired". My next newest one, going on a year old and several hundred rounds, will not clean up that well anymore. So, somewhere between these two gun's use is the "magic number".

I remember in the early '90s going to look at a couple of Colts at a local guns store. It's unusual for them to just be "in stock" - most are sold before they arrive. The guy had two 4 3/4" .45 Colts. Fit and finish were a wash - nothing to choose between the two there. Picking up the first one, I went to thumb the hammer back to check and see if it were loaded. The guy barked at me like I'll never forget - he claimed just thumbing back the hammer would hurt their value. Not just "unfired", but "unturned" was what he was looking to sell. So I couldn't even check to see which had the nicer action. That's how bad it has gotten, this whole "collector" b.s.

I rather suspect a lot of "unfired" guns have just been fired little enough to where they clean up well enough to appear unfired. That, and many are simply stripped completely down and refinished to appear "unfired". On the other end of the spectrum, many guns have faked patina, serial numbers, inspector's cartouches, and proof marks. Nothing will drive up the value of a run-of-the-mill Colt or Trapdoor faster than finding out it's a Custer battlefield survivor, or the gun that Pat Garret used to kill Billy the Kid, or one Bat Masterson carried, or whatever. Lots and lots of "collector" guns are counterfeits, simply because all the stuff that really doesn't matter does to collectors. In a way, they kind of deserve the mess they have made...

[christiandk]

Nice thread.

I have a very nice 4" Python in ultimate stainless. Bought it new in box and have probably fired 18 to 30 rounds through it. It is a little black in the end of the cylinder.

Obviously I am pretty bummed about taking it in use when I now only shoot my other guns.

Any tricks to remove the residue from the end of the cylinder?

Cheers,

Christian

[JavaBrewer]

Do a full normal clean on the revolver. With it disassembled I go over the parts that have burn residue with a lead away cleaning cloth. For the end of the cylinder I wipe heavily with the cleaning cloth and then lightly hit it with a soft dremel polishing wheel. Takes about 5 minutes and all the burn residue is gone.

Frankly though the cylinder end gets residue with every use so I don't really go to a full polish job like that very often - maybe 2x a year.