Premium Placeholder for the Python.
Hey, doesn't that sound like a good title as would be found in a gun rag?
Got this revolver back at the end of March after incubating the deal for two years or longer. The photo was taken in the middle of the night at the gun show while doing security duty, after giving it a detail strip and scrubbing up. Have not had time to properly introduce it. I've still not shot it enough to suit me but have shot it enough to gain an impression.
Stuck the narrative up on a small private forum on which I participate. Will stick it up here in hopes the real experts will grade and correct it and that 3 5 7s of all kinds will show up.
_______________________________
While the .357 Magnum cartridge was developed by Smith & Wesson and introduced in 1935 on their N-Frame revolver, Colt quickly adopted the potent new revolver cartridge, serving it up in a couple of revolvers found in the Colt catalog. Relatively small quantities of both the famous Single Action Army and the gargantuan New Service revolvers were produced and shipped by Colt during the late 1930s and right up until World War II when all production was given over to critical military contract requirements.
The .357 Magnum cartridge became an instant sensation the moment it hit the market and interest and demand far outstripped the miniscule quantities shipped from both the Smith & Wesson and Colt factories. While the well-deserved interest in the .357 Magnum remained high, the interruption caused by the war years, along with the immediate post-war demand for production of all models for civilian and export needs, impeded production of revolvers chambered for what was then apparently considered only a special-interest cartridge.
Revolvers chambered for the .357 Magnum were still in very short supply into the early 1950s with only the small pre-war production by Smith & Wesson and Colt in circulation and supplemented by the barest trickle of .357 Magnum revolvers being produced by Smith & Wesson on their large N-Frame. A .357 Magnum was a desirable and costly handgun, new or used, in the early 1950s.
Enter Colt, grasping the extent of market demand for a very flexible, useful, and powerful cartridge and wanting to introduce a new revolver of more modern proportions.
Colt did not have either of the pre-war revolver models in production that had housed the .357 Magnum. Production of the wheezy ol' Single Action Army had not been resumed after World War II due to a genuine lack of interest in this model in an era preceding the advent of the television western and the fast-draw craze. The grand New Service (my personal favorite Colt model) was a casualty of World War II and was not returned to production post-war. It is said that the machinery for producing New Service revolvers was actually moved outside to suffer exposure to the weather in the rush to provide space in the Colt factory for increased production of military contract small arms of all kinds. The New Service machinery ruined.
Colt determined that their E-Frame, also known as the ".41 frame"size could be utilized for what they had in mind. Originally introduced with the Army Special model in 1907 and then still being used for the Official Police and several other Colt revolve models, the E-Frame size could be engineered to be amply strong enough for the high-intensity .357 Magnum cartridge. These revolvers were very similar in size to the later Smith & Wesson L-Frame revolvers. Holsters will interchange.
Colt envisioned workhorse revolvers with adjustable sights and chambered for the .38 Special and a gussied-up premium revolver especially designed around the .357 Magnum cartridge for the more discriminating pistolero. The result was the 1953 introduction of the Colt Trooper in .38 Special along with the premium companion model in the Colt line, the 3 5 7. The trooper offered Colt's standard service blue finish but also featured the bonus of adjustable sights. The 3 5 7 Model carried things a bit further. Colt saw fit to equip the upscale 3 5 7 with a frame-mounted firing pin rather than the traditional hammer-mounted firing pin as the Trooper possessed. This change in firing pin design was considered to be important enough by Colt to rename the 3 5 7 frame, the "I-Frame" even though it shared the same size and internals as the tried-and-true E-Frame.
The 3 5 7 was unique, being the only Colt Model using the I-Frame for a couple of years until the introduction of another iconic Colt model, the fabulous Python which also utilized this unique frame variant.
The 3 5 7 initially offered a more finely finished exterior, an expertly polished version of Colt's Duo-Tone finish. Colt had previously produced blue revolvers with this finish for several years but discontinued it after the first year of the 3 5 7 production. The top strap, back strap, bottom of trigger guard and frame, and cylinder flutes were given a soft, matte blue effect, with the balance of the revolver polished to give a bright blue finish. This is not as apparent in most photos but is attractive when actually viewing the guns.
The 3 5 7 came in blue finish only with barrel lengths of four and six inches. Later the Florida Highway Patrol obtained 3 5 7 revolvers with 5-inch barrels and nickel finish on a special contract with Colt. I'm not certain whether nickel was ever offered on regular production 3 5 7 guns. May have seen some on GunBroker but can't verify their authenticity.
The 3 5 7 could be ordered in any combination of standard service stocks and hammer spur, or with newly introduced fully checkered (really fully checkered) target stocks or wide target hammer spur.
The original Colt target stocks as they first appeared on both the 3 5 7 and the Officer's Model Match are very handsome. A hand-filling design, rendered in walnut, these featured cut checkering over their entire surface save for a nicely executed narrow border which frames the broad expanse of checkering work. A silver "Rampant Colt" medallion highlighted these stocks which were also offered as an extra cost option on the other various Colt E-Frame Models. A variation of these stocks with medallions done in gold became standard equipment and unique to the Python upon its introduction. Colt used these stocks with the same dimensions for many years, right up until the discontinuance of the Python. The fully checkered version was gone after 1960 though, the checkering being greatly reduced after that time.
Modern collectors of classic Colt double-action revolvers from the 1950s go nuts for the early Colt target stocks. Decent examples of these stocks with full checkering coverage bring good money. The stocks weren't produced in large quantities and surviving examples are uncommonly found. Quantities of the stocks have been mislaid or discarded over the years. The revolver ruled bulls-eye competition during the era and many competitors exchanged the factory stocks for custom aftermarket designs more to their liking. Colt revolvers featuring these stocks found their way into law enforcement service from the 1950s onward and more stocks were discarded in favor of other designs. Since the total number of Pythons produced in the 1950s was small, these stocks with gold medallions are extremely scarce. Anyone wanting to restore an early Python has a hard time finding needed stocks so the early Colt stocks with silver medallions are sometimes sacrificed and modified by substituting gold medallions for the silver. There's a lot of collecting pressure on 1950s Colt target stocks.
Continued
Hey, doesn't that sound like a good title as would be found in a gun rag?
Got this revolver back at the end of March after incubating the deal for two years or longer. The photo was taken in the middle of the night at the gun show while doing security duty, after giving it a detail strip and scrubbing up. Have not had time to properly introduce it. I've still not shot it enough to suit me but have shot it enough to gain an impression.
Stuck the narrative up on a small private forum on which I participate. Will stick it up here in hopes the real experts will grade and correct it and that 3 5 7s of all kinds will show up.
_______________________________
While the .357 Magnum cartridge was developed by Smith & Wesson and introduced in 1935 on their N-Frame revolver, Colt quickly adopted the potent new revolver cartridge, serving it up in a couple of revolvers found in the Colt catalog. Relatively small quantities of both the famous Single Action Army and the gargantuan New Service revolvers were produced and shipped by Colt during the late 1930s and right up until World War II when all production was given over to critical military contract requirements.
The .357 Magnum cartridge became an instant sensation the moment it hit the market and interest and demand far outstripped the miniscule quantities shipped from both the Smith & Wesson and Colt factories. While the well-deserved interest in the .357 Magnum remained high, the interruption caused by the war years, along with the immediate post-war demand for production of all models for civilian and export needs, impeded production of revolvers chambered for what was then apparently considered only a special-interest cartridge.
Revolvers chambered for the .357 Magnum were still in very short supply into the early 1950s with only the small pre-war production by Smith & Wesson and Colt in circulation and supplemented by the barest trickle of .357 Magnum revolvers being produced by Smith & Wesson on their large N-Frame. A .357 Magnum was a desirable and costly handgun, new or used, in the early 1950s.
Enter Colt, grasping the extent of market demand for a very flexible, useful, and powerful cartridge and wanting to introduce a new revolver of more modern proportions.
Colt did not have either of the pre-war revolver models in production that had housed the .357 Magnum. Production of the wheezy ol' Single Action Army had not been resumed after World War II due to a genuine lack of interest in this model in an era preceding the advent of the television western and the fast-draw craze. The grand New Service (my personal favorite Colt model) was a casualty of World War II and was not returned to production post-war. It is said that the machinery for producing New Service revolvers was actually moved outside to suffer exposure to the weather in the rush to provide space in the Colt factory for increased production of military contract small arms of all kinds. The New Service machinery ruined.
Colt determined that their E-Frame, also known as the ".41 frame"size could be utilized for what they had in mind. Originally introduced with the Army Special model in 1907 and then still being used for the Official Police and several other Colt revolve models, the E-Frame size could be engineered to be amply strong enough for the high-intensity .357 Magnum cartridge. These revolvers were very similar in size to the later Smith & Wesson L-Frame revolvers. Holsters will interchange.
Colt envisioned workhorse revolvers with adjustable sights and chambered for the .38 Special and a gussied-up premium revolver especially designed around the .357 Magnum cartridge for the more discriminating pistolero. The result was the 1953 introduction of the Colt Trooper in .38 Special along with the premium companion model in the Colt line, the 3 5 7. The trooper offered Colt's standard service blue finish but also featured the bonus of adjustable sights. The 3 5 7 Model carried things a bit further. Colt saw fit to equip the upscale 3 5 7 with a frame-mounted firing pin rather than the traditional hammer-mounted firing pin as the Trooper possessed. This change in firing pin design was considered to be important enough by Colt to rename the 3 5 7 frame, the "I-Frame" even though it shared the same size and internals as the tried-and-true E-Frame.
The 3 5 7 was unique, being the only Colt Model using the I-Frame for a couple of years until the introduction of another iconic Colt model, the fabulous Python which also utilized this unique frame variant.
The 3 5 7 initially offered a more finely finished exterior, an expertly polished version of Colt's Duo-Tone finish. Colt had previously produced blue revolvers with this finish for several years but discontinued it after the first year of the 3 5 7 production. The top strap, back strap, bottom of trigger guard and frame, and cylinder flutes were given a soft, matte blue effect, with the balance of the revolver polished to give a bright blue finish. This is not as apparent in most photos but is attractive when actually viewing the guns.
The 3 5 7 came in blue finish only with barrel lengths of four and six inches. Later the Florida Highway Patrol obtained 3 5 7 revolvers with 5-inch barrels and nickel finish on a special contract with Colt. I'm not certain whether nickel was ever offered on regular production 3 5 7 guns. May have seen some on GunBroker but can't verify their authenticity.
The 3 5 7 could be ordered in any combination of standard service stocks and hammer spur, or with newly introduced fully checkered (really fully checkered) target stocks or wide target hammer spur.
The original Colt target stocks as they first appeared on both the 3 5 7 and the Officer's Model Match are very handsome. A hand-filling design, rendered in walnut, these featured cut checkering over their entire surface save for a nicely executed narrow border which frames the broad expanse of checkering work. A silver "Rampant Colt" medallion highlighted these stocks which were also offered as an extra cost option on the other various Colt E-Frame Models. A variation of these stocks with medallions done in gold became standard equipment and unique to the Python upon its introduction. Colt used these stocks with the same dimensions for many years, right up until the discontinuance of the Python. The fully checkered version was gone after 1960 though, the checkering being greatly reduced after that time.
Modern collectors of classic Colt double-action revolvers from the 1950s go nuts for the early Colt target stocks. Decent examples of these stocks with full checkering coverage bring good money. The stocks weren't produced in large quantities and surviving examples are uncommonly found. Quantities of the stocks have been mislaid or discarded over the years. The revolver ruled bulls-eye competition during the era and many competitors exchanged the factory stocks for custom aftermarket designs more to their liking. Colt revolvers featuring these stocks found their way into law enforcement service from the 1950s onward and more stocks were discarded in favor of other designs. Since the total number of Pythons produced in the 1950s was small, these stocks with gold medallions are extremely scarce. Anyone wanting to restore an early Python has a hard time finding needed stocks so the early Colt stocks with silver medallions are sometimes sacrificed and modified by substituting gold medallions for the silver. There's a lot of collecting pressure on 1950s Colt target stocks.
Continued