Gotta poke fun at the Python craze
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Niner4Tango
New member
Maybe they'll have enough usable parts to build a Smython
https://thefiringline.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3322802&postcount=3
https://thefiringline.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3322802&postcount=3
Irish Jack
New member
Colt was a traditional suppliers of revolvers to police departments. Colt put tail fins on a 100 year old action and it sold for awhile. Problem was the PD departments had to retime the Python every 6 mos.
It was the failing old snake that allowed S&W to own the police market for years.
It was the failing old snake that allowed S&W to own the police market for years.
Irish Jack said:
Tough to believe. AFAIK, the Python's lockwork wasn't/isn't quite as delicate as the interweb seems to believe, and many LEO guns weren't/aren't actually shot very much anyway.
Irish Jack said:
Cost was likely the bigger reason why Pythons didn't have a bigger LEO presence - many PDs didn't use Pythons because they couldn't afford Pythons.
Looking at "Guns Illustrated" from 1973 and talking MSRP:
A fella could get a S&W M27 for less than $168.
A Model 28 Highway Patrolman for $118.
A Model 19 for under $145. (A model 19 was a leo favorite)
A Model 10 was $102. and was the most widely used leo handgun.
And the Python? Listed in the annual as a "Target Revolver".
Royal Blue was $199.95 and the nickel plated $224.95
A Colt Trooper Mark III which was aimed at the leo market was $142 if blued and $159.99 in nickel
Draw your own conclusions.
tipoc
A fella could get a S&W M27 for less than $168.
A Model 28 Highway Patrolman for $118.
A Model 19 for under $145. (A model 19 was a leo favorite)
A Model 10 was $102. and was the most widely used leo handgun.
And the Python? Listed in the annual as a "Target Revolver".
Royal Blue was $199.95 and the nickel plated $224.95
A Colt Trooper Mark III which was aimed at the leo market was $142 if blued and $159.99 in nickel
Draw your own conclusions.
tipoc
He can list his Colt Python for $3,300 all week long. The question is will he get $3,300 for it? Any gun on any given day is worth what someone can sell it for, no more and no less. I can offer a like new six inch Colt Python for $2,500 and if I still have the gun a month later apparently it was not worth $2,500 as it never sold.
Ron
spacecoast
New member
High end Python prices have actually shown definite signs of cooling off lately, but that doesn't mean they will ever come back down to S&W levels. I feel fortunate to have obtained mine, a 4" Nickel 1972 gun in very nice shape with shaved (ruined) stocks, for $1400 a couple of years ago.
Prices have been rising steadily on Pythons over a number of years, more than a decade so more than just a few years. Keep in mind always that what someone begins the auction at is different at what it ends at. But Pythons aren't the only handgun.
They are good strong guns. But it isn't the value of the guns as shooters that drives the price.
Have you looked at the prices for S&W Registered Magnum's lately. Here Rock Island Auction had a RM up for bid in maybe 80-90% condition. Used, filed on some with painted on rear sights, some wear, etc. The original grips were missing and the replacement stocks from some years later. No box or papers.
They estimated it would go for $4,500. to $7,000
Sold for $6325.
https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/63/3480
Or this one from 2011 owned by Rex Applegate...
http://www.gunauction.com/buy/10501565
You can also look at the prices for Triple Locks in 90% plus condition. The price of GI Garands has also risen.
What drives it are first of all collectors. As the price of everything else has increased so has this. I respect collectors, from them we know a good deal about the history of the guns and guncraft.
Secondly, there is a layer of people who have been making alot of money over the last couple of decades (unlike most of us) tech folks for one. Young, they have disposable incomes that are large and they often lack taste or discretion in what they spend it on--artwork, $1,000 bottles of hooch, shiny fast cars, etc. But it's their money so...
Some of this has also been driving the market for high end 1911s. I wouldn't get a brand new $3,000 1911 or a $5,000 one. I have no need nor desire. But some folks do.
http://cabotgun.com/
That approach flows into the market for vintage Pythons.
Man how much do some folks pay for a jacket Elvis wore? Or a cheeto in the shape of a gorilla?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...d-100-000.html
So some of it what can you say?
On the other hand I think Colt 38s like the Officers Model and the Police Positive, etc are sleepers.
At some point the price of these guns may decrease some.
tipoc
They are good strong guns. But it isn't the value of the guns as shooters that drives the price.
Have you looked at the prices for S&W Registered Magnum's lately. Here Rock Island Auction had a RM up for bid in maybe 80-90% condition. Used, filed on some with painted on rear sights, some wear, etc. The original grips were missing and the replacement stocks from some years later. No box or papers.
They estimated it would go for $4,500. to $7,000
Sold for $6325.
https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/63/3480
Or this one from 2011 owned by Rex Applegate...
http://www.gunauction.com/buy/10501565
You can also look at the prices for Triple Locks in 90% plus condition. The price of GI Garands has also risen.
What drives it are first of all collectors. As the price of everything else has increased so has this. I respect collectors, from them we know a good deal about the history of the guns and guncraft.
Secondly, there is a layer of people who have been making alot of money over the last couple of decades (unlike most of us) tech folks for one. Young, they have disposable incomes that are large and they often lack taste or discretion in what they spend it on--artwork, $1,000 bottles of hooch, shiny fast cars, etc. But it's their money so...
Some of this has also been driving the market for high end 1911s. I wouldn't get a brand new $3,000 1911 or a $5,000 one. I have no need nor desire. But some folks do.
http://cabotgun.com/
That approach flows into the market for vintage Pythons.
Man how much do some folks pay for a jacket Elvis wore? Or a cheeto in the shape of a gorilla?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...d-100-000.html
So some of it what can you say?
On the other hand I think Colt 38s like the Officers Model and the Police Positive, etc are sleepers.
At some point the price of these guns may decrease some.
tipoc
Yeah, never have understood the "Python mania" myself.
There is actually a Python posted on a certain free firearm sales website right now (the name begins with an "A")..... for $4500, if I remember correctly.
When I saw the listing, I had a good chuckle.
Oh well, if someone will pay that much....then I guess a Python is "worth" that much. Not me, though.
There is actually a Python posted on a certain free firearm sales website right now (the name begins with an "A")..... for $4500, if I remember correctly.
When I saw the listing, I had a good chuckle.
Oh well, if someone will pay that much....then I guess a Python is "worth" that much. Not me, though.
spacecoast
New member
A first year Python or a snub-nosed Python with the right finish, box and papers could easily be worth that much. Correct, early Python grips are bringing well in excess of $500. Correct, certifiable 3" Pythons go for over $10K, and I saw a Python Stalker go for $12K a couple of weeks ago (down from $17K in 2014).
They may not be worth that much to you or me, but the right guns from time to time do sell for that much and more.
I understand "iconic guns" and I also understand very small volume examples of rare factory original features, these are two main reasons why Pythons go high and some Pythons go REALLY high but the one fact that seems to apparently get ignored in the Python market (craze) is that these iconic guns are, generally speaking, not rare.
Rare variations are rare, but this was in regular production for more than 40 years with more than half a million made, and these figures are published by reliable sources.
Let me just throw this out there...
Not comparing actual guns (as they are NOTHING alike) but simply comparing numbers because I happen to know the numbers.
S&W 39/39-2 pistols... 347,000 made and shipped. S&W 10mm chambered semiauto pistols... just over 50,000 made.
I'm not a fan of the Python but I do consider myself a student and active, interested party in the collectible handgun market. The subject intrigues me and often it seems like a lot of opinion is spewed about collectible gun prices by many folks who don't care to dig in to the actual trade market. It's just far easier to say "bah, that's stupid, my Glock was $485 and it's a better gun anyway...!"
Rare variations are rare, but this was in regular production for more than 40 years with more than half a million made, and these figures are published by reliable sources.
Let me just throw this out there...
Not comparing actual guns (as they are NOTHING alike) but simply comparing numbers because I happen to know the numbers.
S&W 39/39-2 pistols... 347,000 made and shipped. S&W 10mm chambered semiauto pistols... just over 50,000 made.
I'm not a fan of the Python but I do consider myself a student and active, interested party in the collectible handgun market. The subject intrigues me and often it seems like a lot of opinion is spewed about collectible gun prices by many folks who don't care to dig in to the actual trade market. It's just far easier to say "bah, that's stupid, my Glock was $485 and it's a better gun anyway...!"
I got a new 6" blue Python after a buddy shot his new Ruger 6" 44 mag and I could not shoot mine as well as he shot his 44.
The Pythons balance is too barrel heavy for me. Then the forcing cone spit open (cracked) on it's forcing cone.
Colt put on a new barrel free for me while I watched them in their plant in Hartford.
I sold it and got a Ruger 45 Colt and load it up. The Colt Woodsman and that Ruger are much better guns for me to shoot.
The Pythons balance is too barrel heavy for me. Then the forcing cone spit open (cracked) on it's forcing cone.
Colt put on a new barrel free for me while I watched them in their plant in Hartford.
I sold it and got a Ruger 45 Colt and load it up. The Colt Woodsman and that Ruger are much better guns for me to shoot.
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