Colt Python

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The Colt Python was first introduced in 1955 as Colt's top-of-the-line model, originally intended to be a large-frame .38 Special target revolver. It was essentially created by gunsmiths on the production floor using mostly existing pieces and parts, resulting in what Keefe called one of the 'finest-looking handguns ever made.' Al De John, who started with Colt in 1946 as a gunsmith, worked with factory superintendent Al Gunther to tinker with the .38 Special Officer's Model Match, beefing up the cylinder, frame, and top-strap due to problems with blowback and firing pins from the excessive pressure of the .357 Magnum. The iconic vent rib across the barrel was first suggested by Al Gunther. The Python name followed Colt's reptilian revolver naming, coming after the 1950 .38 Special 'Cobra.' Only one Python was built in 1955, a little over 300 by the end of 1956, and more than 100,000 by 1969. From the 1970s, each Python revolver was boresighted at the factory with a laser, the first mass-produced revolver for which this was done.

In Their Own Story

The Colt Python has been extremely popular with both target shooters and law enforcement. It immediately made inroads into the law enforcement market when introduced, with the 6-inch barrel being popular with uniformed officers and the 4-inch barrel considered optimal for plainclothes use. The Colorado State Patrol issued 4-inch blue Pythons until their switch to the S&W .40 caliber autoloader. Georgia State Patrol issued Pythons in the 1980s until their transition to Glock semiautomatic pistols in the 1990s. Florida Highway Patrol issued Pythons to their officers in the 1980s until their transition to the Beretta 92FS in the late 1980s. The Python has since fallen out of common use, along with all revolvers, due to changing law enforcement needs that favor semi-automatic pistols. A Python, loaded with semiwadcutter bullets, was used to murder Irish crime reporter Veronica Guerin in 1996, an act which resulted in the creation of the Criminal Assets Bureau.

Reader's Guide

The Colt Python features a fully adjustable white-outline Accro rear sight and a 1/8-inch front ramp with red inset. It has a wide spur, checkered hammer, and grooved, curved trigger. Initially only a blued finish was offered—the first time Colt produced the Royal Blue finish—and soon after a nickel finish was added. Initially made only with a 6-inch barrel, a compact 4-inch barrel came afterward. Between 1955 and 1994, a downsized 2.5-inch barrel version was introduced which still sported full-sized grips. Colt also produced a few short runs of revolvers with a 3-inch barrel known to collectors as 'Combat Pythons.' In 1980, an 8-inch barrel Python was introduced chambered for the .38 Special. The Python is powered by a V-spring versus the Smith & Wesson's leaf spring. Since the 2020 update, the V-spring has been redesigned into a 'U' shape, simplifying and subtracting parts from the lockwork to prevent 'stacking,' a phenomenon where the weight of pull sharply increases at the end of the trigger's travel.

Did You Know?

• The Colt Python was the first mass-produced revolver to be boresighted at the factory with a laser, starting in the 1970s.
• Only one Python was built in 1955, and a little over 300 were built by the end of 1956.
• The Python's iconic vent rib was first suggested by factory superintendent Al Gunther.
• Colt revolver cylinders rotate clockwise, opposite to the counter-clockwise rotation of Smith & Wesson or Ruger revolvers.
• The Python was initially priced at $125 when introduced in 1955, the same as the reintroduced Single Action Army.