Email from Cabelas New Colt revolver now on sale $799 .

[OldMarksman]

Maybe S&W will look at this and decide they could make a 6 shot 38 with a frame size between the J and K frames and sell the snot out of them. Especially if they kept the same construction model as used on the 5 shot 442-642 guns.

A new frame size would represent a major investment.

Capacity is not the only issue with the 442-642 series. The geometry of the mechanism results in a long and heavy double action trigger pull.

The trigger pull of the new Cobra is more than forty percent lighter than that of the 642. The Kimber trigger is lighter also.

 

[dgludwig]

Thinking about this at some length soured me on the idea of a five shot firearm for primary carry.

Which is why I carry an "original" Cobra and am considering the purchase of an LCR chambered in .327 Federal Magnum.

 

[dgludwig]

If you feel more secure with 6+ shots then by all means carry what ever works best for YOU.

What does this even mean? I don't carry a gun to feel "secure"; I carry it to be as secure as practical. Having 20% more ammunition in virtually the same size snub-nose platform is "more secure".

 

[Lohman446]

Wait. How are we going to make an argument that 5 shots surely is not enough but 6 is? I know this is the revolver forum but if you start on that line why not 10? Or 14? or 15?

I find the argument that 5 is not enough but 6 is to be suspect at very best.

 

[peggysue]

My old well worn Colt cobra light weight

 

[dgludwig]

Wait. How are we going to make an argument that 5 shots surely is not enough but 6 is? I know this is the revolver forum but if you start on that line why not 10? Or 14? or 15?

I find the argument that 5 is not enough but 6 is to be suspect at very best.

Nobody is saying that five shots "surely is not enough but 6 is"; what's being said is that none of us have that crystal ball that will predict when a sixth shot might be necessary. And if you ever do need an additional round, you really need it.

And because we're talking about EDC here, the size and weight of any handgun is relevant, so having 10, 14 or 15 shots becomes problematic in terms of practicality. On the other hand, you can have a six-shot revolver of virtually the same size and weight as one that carries five rounds (the old Colt Cobra-as evidenced by peggysue's fine specimen depicted above, when compared to a Smith J-frame Airweight, is probably the best example).

 

[Aguila Blanca]

Again, lot's of luck selling them. Now I have no doubt a few Colt collectors would grab some, but not enough to make it a serious choice.

Word is that the entire first year's production is already sold.

I saw it at the SHOT Show, and I was impressed by the trigger. Dunno how they did it, but even in DA it's VERY smooth and "nice." That's not just me -- I was hanging around for my turn to talk to a couple of people I know at Colt, and pretty much everyone at the Colt display was there to see this new revolver. And every comment on the trigger echoed my perception.

That said, I don't like the new gun because I don't like the rubber grips, and because it won't fit holsters molded for the Detective Special. But that's nit-picking, which I can do because I own a Detective Special so I don't "need" a new Cobra.

And I'm very unhappy about the news from DPris about Brent Turchi. I was seriously considering taking a project to the Colt Custom Shop. Obviously, that's not going to happen. Laying off a valued employee who has a loyal customer following is not just "dumb," it's idiotic.

 

[OldMarksman]

Wait. How are we going to make an argument that 5 shots surely is not enough but 6 is? I know this is the revolver forum but if you start on that line why not 10? Or 14? or 15?

I find the argument that 5 is not enough but 6 is to be suspect at very best.

Has anyone made such an argument.

Look: Six is better than five. Seven is better yet. And so on up to some asymptotic maximum that will very according to circumstance.

Read Post #30 and study the link therein.

 

[smee78]

Cabelas is just price gouging and I will choose not to support places that do that. $100 over msrp is just BS.

 

[Pezo]

I carry a five banger. Sometimes two of them if in a rougher area. I pay in capicity for shot certaintity. I won't get ftf jams and limp wristing. Also safer and simpler manual of arms. I've dropped my lcr twice (bathroom floor). No bang. Pull trigger guaranteed bang. And in the event I'm carrying two them I have a back up gun if one goes down. I need deep concealment most of the time. Heavy six shooters arnt as easy as an lcr to do this. Small autos lose reliability and I'd have to deal with mags. Big autos arnt concealable enough. This is what works for me in reality.

 

[rock185]

I may have missed it, but does Colt actually manufacture that? I don't know, just something about it makes me wonder if it's actually manufactured by Colt. Or possibly someone like U.S. Armament, Taurus, Charter Arms, etc?

 

[shootbrownelk]

My latest issue of Guns & Ammo has a feature article on the Cobra. The Colt representative said that the old Cobra wood grips will fit the new Cobra. Grip makers are supposedly dusting-off their Cobra grip patterns for this new example. The wait to buy a new Cobra might indeed be a long one. The trigger is a most impressive feature, much lighter & smoother than a S&W, they say. The gun is quite a bit heavier than an airweight however. I'll take a look when they become more available.

 

[dgludwig]

The gun is quite a bit heavier than an airweight however.

Given the popularity of the ccw market in America today, I think Colt missed the boat when they opted to make the "new Cobra" out of steel (for this reason, why didn't they call it the Detective Special?) instead of an aluminum alloy like the original Cobra.

 

[OldMarksman]

Given the popularity of the ccw market in America today, I think Colt missed the boat when they opted to make the "new Cobra" out of steel...instead of an aluminum alloy like the original Cobra.

Probably comfort, longevity, and durability. The Cobra required periodic trips to the factory.

.... (for this reason, why didn't they call it the Detective Special?)

Marketing. Most detectives who carried revolvers are in old folks homes or are dead and gone.

 

[dgludwig]

Most detectives who carried Cobras are there too. Last time I looked, the term "Chiefs Special" is still a marketable name.

 

[dgludwig]

Quote:
Given the popularity of the ccw market in America today, I think Colt missed the boat when they opted to make the "new Cobra" out of steel...instead of an aluminum alloy like the original Cobra

.
Probably comfort, longevity, and durability. The Cobra required periodic trips to the factory.

My guess is that most of the people buying snub-nosed revolvers today are buying them for EDC and that a large percentage of them want the revolver as light and compact as practical. The new Cobra is not the same internally as the original and there's no reason that I can see that prevents Colt from making a revolver every bit as durable and as long-lived as Smith Airweight J-frame and alloy-framed Ruger LCR revolvers are.

 

[ThomasT]

dgludwig that was my whole point in post #39 when I mused on the possibility of S&W seeing the market potential and making a lightweight 38 with a frame that would take a 6 shot cylinder but be slightly smaller than the K-frame guns.

It was stated it would be too expensive to design a whole new gun. S&W has over the last couple of decades designed several new autos. So I don't think a slightly enlarged J-frame would be too expensive, not if the market is there and it seems to be the market would support just such a gun.

Do I think it will happen? Nope. I think S&W has all on their plate they can handle now making small 5 shot guns.

It was mentioned that the trigger geometry was all wrong on the S&W guns and the trigger pull was too heavy. I don't have a problem with the 6 J-frames I own. But a slightly larger frame may allow the use of a flat main spring as opposed to a coil spring. That one change would provide a much better trigger pull.

I guess I can just dream on. I am happy with the 5 and 6 shot J-frames I own now. I did own a Colt detective special for a short time. I got it in a trade. I didn't like the way the trigger felt. It felt like a toy gun trigger. I dumped it pretty fast. I made a good profit on it too.

 

[snubbyfan]

$800 for the Cobra...no thanks.
I paid less than half the price for a lighter, just as concealable Smith 638

 

[kyguy1]

I like that Colt's getting back in the revolver game, but the price for that Cobra is ridiculously high. For that price, it should at least have a nice classic looking wood grip (with the option of adding hogue of course). I don't see it resembling the classic Colts that I've seen in gun shops and pawn shops. I'd say it'd be worth less than half of that, based on the pictures.

 

[OldMarksman]

I no longer have the J-frame, but I would readily pay twice as much for something with six shots and with a five pound lighter trigger pull.

That said, it would still serve as back-up.