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I wanted to get away from politics, and back to firearms.
I think we are all familiar with Colts 7 Serpents, The Python, Diamondback, Cobra, Anaconda, King Cobra, Boa and Viper.
Do you own or have you experience with any of these cult classics.
What would be your choice if you could only own one and why?
Are they over rated?
What are your thoughts?

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If I were to own one it would be the python hands down! I have shot a friends many times and it is an accurate sweet shooter. My budget is more like a ruger gp100 with a spruced up trigger so that is what I have and it shoots great also but it is no python.
 
One of the "Shop Guns"* at a pawn shop that I worked at was a nickled 4 inch barreled Python from the '70s
It handled and shot real well for me.

The action was smooth both double and single action...I really liked it.
*Shop gun as in the store owned it and it was for self defense...

A friend of mine once owned King Cobra , also with a 4 inch barrel.
This revolver shot well and handled nicely...it wasn't as smooth as the Python...but then he bought it new and didn't shoot it much.
I wish he told me he was "getting out of guns" , when he sold all of his off...I would have bought it.

I like the "Snake Guns"...but they are out of my budget....
I think that they are , as a general rule fine quality...but you are paying for a name.
Please note that I am not bashing Colt here....dealers and buyers drive the market...and they set the pricing...
Andy
 
Kris Ford "Sons of Guns"
July 29, 2015 ·
COLT BOA
These guns are especially rare, because the ones that were sold split open or cracked. The .357 load was way to much for it's dainty frame. Basically they took a python barrel and put it on a diamondback frame. Upon release they quickly stopped production because of their weaknesses.
This is The MOST Collectable Colt Revolver in my opinion. It was made by Colt as a special run, with the entire run bought by Lew Horton Distributing, a big gun distributor. Unlike many special distributor guns, the Boa is considered to be a FACTORY model.
These were Colt Mark V revolvers fitted with a Python barrel and given the Royal Blue Colt finish.
There were 600 each made with a 4" barrel and 600 with a 6" barrel.
There was also a Boa set of one 4" and one 6" gun with consecutive serial numbers in cases supplied by Lew Horton. There were 100 of these two gun sets made.
The individual gun retail price from Horton was $525.
Retail on the two gun sets was $1,200.
Pricing a Boa today is very difficult due to the skyrocketing prices of all Colt pistols, and especially rare guns like these.
We at Ford's Firearms are lucky enough to have a CONSECUTIVE Number Set, 4" & 6" (NIB with papers) on it's way to the shop for consignment.
If you are interested please let me know. Consignment prices have not been discussed yet; But I am excited to see, not one but two of, these rare machines in person.
 
Never heard of the BOA before....

From the description above it doesn't sound very appealing to me, but I am sure it is coveted by collectors due to it's rarity.
 
I've owed or shot all but the BOA, way too rare for any of my buddies to loan out.

Have managed to hang on to a couple of the 4" versions and treat them very carefully.
Python for a safe queen and a Diamondback for carry.
is pretty close to my own theory of estate management.
Wore my Python in the field a few seasons, & did a little range work with it.
Really is such a fine piece of workmanship I grew cautious about too much casual exposure. It became what I measured any other DA revolver against.

Gradually I grew fond enough of S&W revolvers due to their excellent lock work, their relative abundance & ease of doing some of my own maintenance to use them more frequently.

I had one of the first 6" Diamondback 22 Colt revolvers in the state decades ago. It had the best factory trigger on any revolver I've ever encountered. Still, as a novice bullseye fan, it became obvious my personal style was better served with a target quality bottom feeder. I couldn't afford to support both, so the Colt got away at a really good price. Years later I came across a guy whose wife bought that very 22 so long before. He loved it and would not hear of any offers to part with it.

I never cared for the handling qualities of the 44 Anaconda and just never developed interest in them, as other IHMSA arms served well. And the couple Cobra models didn't fit me well enough, so they passed on, along with an otherwise pristine Trooper II and a few other DA Colts. Never had a King Cobra, and not looking for one.

I don't think the Python & Diamondback are overrated. Overpriced perhaps, yet compared to the competition, this IS a capitalist economy, so it really depends on "who's buying?"

Smith N frames serve me well, and I'm comfortable taking the side plate off if needed. :cool:
 
The only one I have any interest in is the Anaconda in .44 Magnum. If they ever made them again, or I could find a used one at a sane price, I'd go for it.

I was lucky enough to inherit a Colt Anaconda .44 Mag when my grandfather passed. Had no idea what it was at the time but it held a special place in my heart because of the memories of him shooting it (I was too young). I consider myself extremely lucky both that I have it and that I shoot it as often as I can because I couldn't care less about "devaluing" it (though it's still in perfect shape, maybe 300 rounds through it total). Sentimentally, I value it above all the other guns I own.
 
I've only owned two colt revolvers. The first was a used 4-inch parkerized "Colt .357 magnum", the first of Colt's .357s, before they started with the snake names. Very smooth SA and DA. It became my woods gun of the era. Went handgun hunting with it twice and got a deer each time, though they were just forked horns. Shot one in the head from 12 feet, so it wasn't much of a test of performance of the 158 gr Winchester Silvertip HP I was using, which had been part of the point. More a test of my instinctive desire to not waste meat unnecessarily. But the other was a broadside shot at 60 yards. Deer leapt once and folded in its tracks.

My other Colt revolver was a 6-inch Colt Anaconda .44 mag. This was the gun that taught me that I really prefer a muzzle heavy balance in revolvers. It had a nice smooth action, but no better than Smiths. I had it magnaported, which taught me that I don't like magnaported guns. So after that I sold it. No particular regrets, as it turned out I like the 629s better.
 
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I've only owned two colt revolvers. The first was a used 4-inch parkerized "Colt .357 magnum", the first of Colt's .357s, before they started with the snake names. Very smooth SA and DA. It became my woods gun of the era. Went handgun hunting with it twice and got a deer each time, though they were just forked horns. Shot one in the head from 12 feet, so it wasn't much of a test of performance of the 158 gr Winchester Silvertip HP I was using, which had been part of the point. More a test of my instinctive desire to not waste meat unnecessarily. But the other was a broadside shot at 60 yards. Deer leapt once and folded in its tracks.

My other Colt revolver was a 6-inch Colt Anaconda .44 mag. This was the gun that taught me that I really prefer a muzzle heavy balance in revolvers. It had a nice smooth action, but no better than Smiths. I had it magnaported, which taught me that I don't like magnaported guns. So after that I sold it. No particular regrets, as it turned out I like the 629s better.

I can barely read words in that color!!! No enough contrast for me on the white background...
 
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Well I'm a bit of a downer here. my family had 2 pythons that we (by "we" I mean mainly my granddad and my uncle with the help of some others of us here and there) eventually shot out of time. They used the hell out of them and were saddened by the issue. They were fixed but it's kinda stuck with me. FWIW My grandad also ruined a smith K frame by shooting hot loads too often. If they were the same price of a smith I would still take a smith as I like doing my own trigger work on my revolvers.
As far as looks I think a blued python with ivory grips is the purdiest gun I've ever seen.
 

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