Snake Gun Profile: The Colt King Cobra .357 Magnum

By Chris Eger

The stylized barrel rollmarks, complete with a cobra head, make the Colt King Cobra unmistakable. (Photo: Guns.com)
In honor of the Colt’s 150th Anniversary in 1986 a new revolver hit the market, the .357 Magnum Colt King Cobra, a snake gun now in at least its third generation.
Based on the company’s Mark V system shared by the medium-frame Trooper series of double-action six-shooters, the King Cobra got its name as an ode to smaller Colt Cobra wheelguns which dated back to the 1950s but were only chambered in .22LR, .32 Colt and .38.
Borrowing the solid rib heavy barrel/full underlug profile of Colt’s Python series but coming in at a more affordable $400 smackers at the time, it was half the price of the iconic serpent. This made it appealing to budding target shooters, law enforcement, and personal protection. Likewise, the price point made more competitive with other full-lug magnums of the time, namely Ruger’s then-new GP-100, S&W’s Model 586, and Dan Wesson’s 15HB.
Introduced first in a blued metal finish with black neoprene round butt grips, the King Cobra was only chambered in .38Spl/.357Mag and available in 4- or 6-inch formats. By 1988, stainless versions in both a matte and bright finish

Source: Guns.com