The Colt Python : Cadillac of .357 Magnum Revolvers

By Chris Eger

SEE THESE AMAZING PYTHONS IN STOCK
The Colt Python was perhaps a high-water mark of sorts when it came to 20th Century combat wheelguns and is wildly popular with collectors today.
First introduced in 1955– and to this day one of the few hand-fitted modern revolvers to be factory produced for the commercial market– the beefy .357 Magnum-caliber six-shooter was described by Colt as, “A finer gun than you actually need,” and its list of standard features set it apart from many of its pencil-barrel contemporaries.
Featuring a full underlug with a shrouded ejector rod, ventilated rib barrel, and adjustable sights, Pythons are distinctive and quickly identified at even a quick glance. The first catalog price on the revolver was $125 — about three weeks pay at a time when the price of a gallon of gasoline was 23 cents. However, if you picked up one back then at that price, it was money well spent!
You can’t mistake a Python for anything else. (Photos: Richard Taylor/Guns.com)
Over its 50-year run, the “I-frame” Python saw several variants with 2.5-, 3-, 4-, 6- and 8-inch barrel lengths, a few caliber experiments, and some specialty guns. The revolvers were produced in a range of finishes including

Source: Guns.com