Colt's New Blued Model Python .357 Magnum Revolver: Review

Affiliate Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We earn from qualifying purchases.

The original double-action Colt Python revolver was introduced to the world in 1955. A period advertisement for it I recently came across prominently displayed these words: “A finer gun than you actually need.” I’d say that’s a pretty unusual marketing slogan. Other words used in the ad include “masterwork,” “superbly handsome,” “smooth beyond belief,” and “aristocrat of guns.” It was discontinued almost 50 years later in 2004. (See this month’s installment of “The Shootist” beginning on page 16 for more about the original Python.) Four years ago, Colt brought it back in a modified, updated form in stainless steel. But customers wanted a new Python with a blued finish. They asked, and Colt answered. Here’s a close examination of the brand-new carbon-steel blued Colt Python.

Features & Specifications

The new blued Python is being offered with 6.0-inch and 4.25-inch barrels. Both feature checkered walnut target-style grips, fully adjustable rear sights, and red ramp front sights. Of course, they are chambered for .357 Magnum, which means .38 Special ammunition also can be fired. Shooting Times received the 4.25-inch-barreled revolver for review, so let’s take a good look at it. Like I said, the grips are checkered walnut. They are two pieces that are attached by a slot-head screw, and they have a gold Colt medallion on each side. The grip circumference across from the trigger guard and over the location of the grip screw measures 5.125 inches. Removing the grips reveals the frame’s square butt and the V-type mainspring. It’s similar to the mainspring on my 1995-vintage Python that’s shown in the background of the introductory photograph to this report, but I would say the new Python’s mainspring is more U-shaped than V-shaped.

The new Python’s trigger is blued and grooved (three grooves), and it measures 0.26 inch wide at the top and 0.24 inch at the bottom, according to my calipers. The trigger mechanism is very smooth—as smooth as my vintage revolver’s. The new revolver’s double-action trigger pull averaged 11 pounds over a series of 10 measurements with my RCBS trigger pull scale. The single-action trigger pull averaged 5 pounds, 9 ounces. I use two different RCBS trigger pull scales for measuring a double-action revolver’s trigger pulls. The one I use for measuring single-action mode maxes out at 8 pounds and is graduated in 2-ounce increments. It’s shown in the introductory photograph. The other RCBS trigger pull scale I use to measure double-action mode maxes out at 25 pounds and is graduated in 4-ounce increments. Anyway, the new Python’s single-action trigger pull is a little heavier than I prefer, but its double-action trigger pull is less than what I’m used to. As I said earlier, the mechanism is very smooth.

The new Python’s hammer is blued, and the hammerspur is grooved. It is oval shaped and measures 0.424 inch wide at the widest point. The Python uses a transfer-bar firing mechanism and a frame-mounted firing pin. The cylinder is 1.55 inches in diameter, and it holds six rounds. It is fluted, and the front edge is beveled, but the chambers are not recessed. The chamber throats measure 0.351 inch, 0.349 inch, 0.354 inch, 0.355 inch, 0.353 inch, and 0.353 inch. That’s excellent consistency. The barrel-cylinder gap measures 0.005 inch. And the cylinder rotates clockwise, just like the original. The cylinder release also is shaped just like the original. Pull the release to the rear to allow the cylinder to be swung out to the left side.

The barrel features a full-length underlug and a ventilated rib on top. The rib is 0.251 inch wide, and its top is smooth. Since our sample has the 4.25-inch-long barrel, the rib has three vents. The barrel diameter is 0.738 inch at the muzzle end, and the muzzle is recessed. The left-hand twist rate is one turn in 14 inches. The front sight is a red ramp type, with the blade measuring 0.155 inch thick and 0.176 inch tall. It is held in place by a setscrew that is accessed from the front of the vent rib, and that makes it user-replaceable. The rear sight is recessed into the topstrap. It is adjustable for windage and elevation, and it has a smooth, all-black face and angled corners. The square notch is 0.127 inch wide. Our sample new Python weighs 42 ounces and is 9.75 inches long, 5.5 inches tall, and 1.55 inches thick. “Python .357” and “* .357 Magnum *” are marked on the left side of the barrel, and the left side of the frame has the rampant Colt logo below the cylinder release latch. “Colt’s Mfg. Hartford CT USA” are marked on the right side of the barrel. The serial number is marked on the right side of the frame below the cylinder, and there is a QR code etched into the right side of the frame near the lower front corner. The new Python’s MSRP is $1,599.

Shooting Impressions

Putting the new Python through a thorough shooting session showed me that it was accurate and fun to shoot—very fun to shoot. I fired five .357 Magnum factory loads and five .38 Special factory loads in the new Python from a benchrest at a distance of 25 yards for accuracy and velocity. I fired five, five-shot groups of each load and averaged them for the accuracy results. I fired six rounds of each load for the velocity results and averaged them. I placed my chronograph 12 feet from the revolver’s muzzle. All results are listed in the accompanying chart. As you can see, the .357 Magnum loads had average velocities ranging from 1,193 fps to 1,391 fps and average accuracy ranging from 2.50 inches to 3.25 inches. Overall average accuracy for the .357 Magnum ammo was 2.85 inches. The most accurate loading was the Federal 158-grain Hydra-Shok, and the load with the highest velocity was the SIG SAUER 125-grain JHP. The .38 Special loads had average velocities ranging from 711 fps to 992 fps and average accuracy ranging from 1.50 inches to 2.75 inches. Their overall average accuracy was 2.20 inches.

The most accurate loading was the Black Hills 148-grain WC, and the load with the highest velocity was the Remington Golden Saber 125-grain BJHP +P. The combined overall average accuracy for all 10 loads was 2.53 inches. To put those figures into perspective, as I wrote for an old “The Shootist” column in the June 2014 issue of Shooting Times, my 1995-vintage Python averaged 1.25 inches, 1.48 inches, 1.50 inches, and 2.25 inches for the 125-grain, 140-grain, and 158-grain (two different loadings) factory-loaded .357 Magnum ammo I test-fired in it. One of the 158-grain loadings achieved the 1.25-inch average, and the other 158-grain loading turned in the 2.25-inch average. Averaging all four loads gives an overall average accuracy of 1.62 inches. Full disclosure, my old Python has an 8.0-inch barrel. The 6.0-inch-barreled old Python that Joseph featured in his “The Shootist” column elsewhere in this magazine averaged 2.50 inches at 25 yards for two .357 Magnum loads and two .38 Special loads.

As long as I’m comparing my 1995 Python with the 2024 Python, I’ll say that the new gun’s trigger feels very similar to my old revolver’s trigger. The 1995 Python’s single-action trigger pull averages 4 pounds, 10 ounces, and its double-action trigger pull averages 11 pounds, 2 ounces. As I said earlier, the new Python’s trigger pulls average 5 pounds, 9 ounces and 11 pounds, respectively. After shooting the five-shot groups, just to be thorough, I also fired 12-shot groups with each of the 10 different factory loads in the new Python. That’s two full cylinders of ammo into a single group, and the results were informative. Generally, when you shoot all six charge holes in a revolver’s cylinder, you’ll likely find one or two that aren’t quite as consistent as the others, causing groups to open up, sometimes quite a lot. Not so with this new Python.

With three of the 10 loads fired, the 12-shot groups were essentially the same as the five-shot group average. Five out of the remaining seven loads were just a half-inch larger for the 12 shots. One of the other two loads went up a full inch, and the other one grew by 1.50 inches. Those results indicate how consistent this revolver is. I’ve said it before, but there’s just something about blued steel and wood stocks that appeals to me, and after handling and shooting the new blued Python, I can tell you that it really appeals to me. It looks great. It handles great. And it shoots great. According to sources at Colt, the blued Python has been the number one request ever since the company introduced the new stainless-steel Python in 2020. Based on the sample I got my hands on, I’d say the shooters who want a new blued Python are going to be very happy. 

---