I don't know what the Ruger LCR sells for, but this Colt @ $699 should be competitive.

 

My LGS just got a Ruger LCR for me in 327 Federal for $499, plus sales tax. Bud's has 'em for a dollar or two more.

 

I had assumed this Cobra was made of stainless steel, but this article verified that. Thanks for posting!

 

Saintclair,
I would have called it a Detective Special since it's steel. Cobra's were a unique special aluminum made for Colt only. Seems to be a marketing ploy.
Sincerely,
elmersglue

 

People shouldn't just do a price comparison. Taurus used to make a stainless, snubbie .38, I had one. They were about $200 in the early 1990s, when a Detective Special was about $500. A S&W was a little lower I'm recalling, maybe $450. Then there were the really cheapies, like Charter Arms and Harrington and Richardson. Look at an old Guns Digest from 1985 or so. Colts and Smith and Wessons were always the best quality American guns, and their prices showed it. Today should be no different. If Colt made a revolver with aluminum alloy frame, or a anodized pink cylinder like another company used to, or "tacticool" allen head screws....and all for 60% of this MSRP.....I'd not be interested.

 

On another review there was a schematic of the internal action.

It appears to BE a Colt "SF" frame as used on the SF-VI, DS-II, and Magnum Carry.
The only apparent difference is the shape of the grip frame has been changed to what appears to be a slightly longer rounded butt, with a back strap more like the Mark III revolvers.
The Mark III back strap shape was more like a S&W and solved the Colt tendency to roll upward in the hand.

The shape of the trigger and trigger guard are different. The trigger guard has an odd shape I don't like, but obviously Colt designed it for a reason.
According to Colt the trigger geometry is different to give an even better trigger then the "SF" frame.

The fiber optic front sight is held in with a set screw, so that means different sights can be installed, including no doubt a night sight someone will offer.

I suspect that Colt has a winner here.

 

On another review there was a schematic of the internal action.

It appears to BE a Colt "SF" frame as used on the SF-VI, DS-II, and Magnum Carry.
The only apparent difference is the shape of the grip frame has been changed to what appears to be a slightly longer rounded butt, with a back strap more like the Mark III revolvers.
The Mark III back strap shape was more like a S&W and solved the Colt tendency to roll upward in the hand.

The shape of the trigger and trigger guard are different. The trigger guard has an odd shape I don't like, but obviously Colt designed it for a reason.
According to Colt the trigger geometry is different to give an even better trigger then the "SF" frame.

The fiber optic front sight is held in with a set screw, so that means different sights can be installed, including no doubt a night sight someone will offer.

I suspect that Colt has a winner here.

If you look at the spec sheet from the Colt website, they have a Related Accessories section that notes a future tritium front sight option.

 

I will be looking for one. Off to the LGS tomorrow.

 

I joined this forum primarily so I could follow the new revolver. I have a 60 year old Dural Cobra in my safe right now. It was my dads when he was a deputy Constable in Dade County Florida (Miami). Even though it was his carry piece and I watched him shoot it probably every week, it still has all of its blue and functions perfectly. When he passed it moved in with me. I have shot it only a few times in his honor. I will enjoy getting one of these to carry in the future, right now, I carry an autoloader from another company as my carry piece.

 

Dear oldfart64, What is a Dural Cobra? Sincerely, elmersglue

 

I will be looking for one also if I can get for msrp or lower from my gun store. I will definitely look at them at the shot show.

 

Already logged on to my local gun shop and have put word out to several stocking dealers I am interested.....I am pretty sure I will never hear from them since the entire batch of however many were or are being made are "allocated" as they say in the gun distributor business......if anyone winds up with one I am looking forward to hearing about it in terms of where, how and for how much.......

 

I doubt that any Colt Stocking Dealer will be able to set a price until after the Shot Show. I would think that after they are available to the public, the OTD price would be about $650.00.

 

How much will this new Cobra weigh?

 

25oz unloaded weight
http://www.colt.com/Portals/0/Specs/2017/COBRA-SM2FO.pdf

 

I assume it doesn't have that nasty lock like the S&W has? That alone will get it some extra sales for those who might be comparing them. Question is if they will come out with a 5-shot hammerless version, that would be a good seller I'll bet.

 

No lock....
Brent

 

No reason for Colt to do a 5-shot hammerless .38 snub.
Smith has that market already.
Colt's major contribution to the .38 snub arena is 6 rounds.
Colt would have to R&D a new package to bring out a 5-banger with smaller frame, smaller cylinder, and internal hammer, and it wouldn't be worth the money that'd require.
Denis

 

Good read. Thanks for posting the link. Looking forward to this revolver.
-Craig

 

If MSRP is $700, street price will be $600 after the new wears off the reintroduction. I don't like fiber optic sights on a short barreled revolver. The trigger guard looks "prebent", what the heck is that? For $600-$700 I'd much prefer an original Colt Cobra. I don't buy anything but carry gun "shooters" any more.

 

The front sight is easily user changeable to a standard blade, it's held in place by a Allen screw.
If the revolver proves popular, I can envision Trijicon making a night sight insert for it in the future.

As far as "looks" go, I agree with you.
for defensive shooting, the fiber optic is a advantage, picking up the front sight a fraction of a second sooner may be the difference in the fight.

The trigger guard shape may have many reasons for it's unique shape, but the one I seen listed was to help with gloved hands.
A lot of people shooting snubs like to wear gloves to protect there hands.

 

Good,

-- That Colt is going to make a revolver again.
-- That the front sight will be user changeable.
-- That the MSRP will be competitive.

Ridiculous.

-- That they call it a Cobra. It's not a Cobra. A Cobra is a lightweight DS. Who doesn't know this? Colt.
-- That they changed the shape of the grip frame so that NOBODY makes stocks for it.
-- That they changed the shape of the trigger guard so that NOBODY makes holsters for it.
-- That they made it in .38 Special instead of .357 Magnum. Did they forget they made the Magnum Carry?

I love Colts, but Colt Mfg. is like some senile uncle that I love, but keep shaking my head at what he does.

 

I think some of your objections have been gone into. But it's the goal here that's important. Colt wanted to make a DA revolver for everybody as has been stated. So they built one based on the Cobra in a general way, not as an exact modern reproduction of a classic.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By the way, Colt could advertise this as "The gun that killed Lee Harvey Oswald", although of course they won't.

A myth about point-shooting arose because of the way Ruby, in the famous photos, looked as if he was using his second finger as the trigger finger. Perhaps there is a way to point-shoot that way. I never heard of it if there was. But that was the myth: what Ruby was doing was using an old form of point shooting.

What actually happened? Ruby did use his second finger as the trigger finger, but not as a style of shooting. In the past, the first part of his forefinger had had to be amputated from an accident he had. Hence he always shot with his second finger. Apparently, it worked quite well with Oswald. So it goes...

 

As far as the grips, Brent has already mentioned that grips for one of their previous models would fit so the aftermarket is already there.

And, regarding 38 special vs 357, hardly anyone shoots 357 out of their snubby on a regular basis. Most shoot 38 special anyways.

 

I have a feeling I'm gonna have to get one of these...hope it doesn't make my "Original" Cobra mad!!!

 

Colt didn't make this for us. They made it to stay in business and SELL to the concealed carry market that is still growing. Colt, the most iconic American gun maker name didn't have a snubbie revolver! What!! They do now. Finally!! The grip frame was changed to better fit prospective buyers hands so they can MAKE THE SALE!. The name was used to help MAKE THE SALE. The trigger guard was changed to help with fitting of most prospective purchasers hands to help...yes, MAKE THE SALE! MR. and Mrs. John and Jane Q Gunbuyingpublic will not shoot 357s in it, if they did we can kiss goodbye potential future gun owners. 38 spl not 357 is the way to go. I think Colt did the right thing to get their foot back in the door of the revolver field. I hope it takes off. If it does frankly the next step is not to add .357 magnum but to add 22 magnum (its the only thing my sister in law can shoot and she is like a lot of previous non gun owning women), then perhaps 32 magnum or 327 mag. 357 in a snubbie is just brutal for most people. We look at guns from a gun fanatic perspective, enough to join and read a forum devoted to our favorite brands. We need to look at the big picture, the business picture from Colts point of view.

 

If it does frankly the next step is not to add .357 magnum but to add 22 magnum (its the only thing my sister in law can shoot and she is like a lot of previous non gun owning women), then perhaps 32 magnum or 327 mag. 357 in a snubbie is just brutal for most people.

I want this new revolver BUT, I don't want it in .38 and I would NEVER buy it in .357. If they ever offer this in a .327 Federal, I will buy one and even pay MSRP.

 

A 3" barred version marketed to Joe and Josie Homeowner for a "bump in the night" gun would sell well if marketed correctly.
Not to mention much easier for the average person to actually hit something with. 2" revolvers, regardless of size or hand fit, are much more demanding of proper sight alignment and trigger manipulation than those with longer barrels, at least in my hands.
A 3" version with service stocks and a Tyler-T would compel me to buy my first new Colt revolver since 1983.

 

It's odd though. On GB I see 3" Detectives that aren't being snapped up, nor are they going for much more than the 2 inchers. At least the few I've seen.
Perhaps people think holsters will be too hard to find? Dunno...

 

1. People complain that colt isn't reissuing any classic old designs, so they release the 1903 Automatic again.
2. People complain that it's parkarized finish isn't very nice (about all they can come up with, since it's an exact copy of their old ones. So Colt has them made with a polished blue finish.
3. People get bored, complain of the price, and move on to something else.
4. Colt releases a new double action revolver, a miracle that was not very likely to occur.
5. People complain that the caliber isn't right, or the angle of the trigger guard, or that the barrel should be 1" longer. This is before even handling the gun or shooting it, just sitting at their computers critiquing the pictures.
6. And so it goes. But thankfully Colt buyers aren't Colt collectors (who, by definition, only like obsolete models). They're shooters wanting a gun to use.

 

Well some things make me want to respond.
First, We chose the name on purpose.
Second, the grip has been reengineered not changed completely. It has been moved back, as well as a couple other tricks, not changed shape.
Third, the trigger guard shape has changed, get over it. It is far more functional and necessary.
The point of the gun is yes it is a small revolver but we want people to go out and shoot the heck out of it and enjoy it. For all those who want a .357 or an alloy frame, or a Diamondback or a different barrel length geez take a breath give us a few and stay tuned.
Brent

 

... For all those who want a .357 or an alloy frame, or a Diamondback or a different barrel length geez take a breath give us a few and stay tuned.
Brent

I only started posting on the Colt forum because of news of this update of the Cobra. I'm excited and plan to buy one. I spend more time at Maryland Shooters, a similar sized forum, where there's also a lot of excitement about this new Colt offering across a cross section of firearm owners (incl S&W fans) that plan buy the new Cobra too. I wouldn't be surprised if the reaction is similar at other gun forums as the pent up demand for a new Colt double action revolver is huge. I, personally, am happy that you guys are starting with a short barreled 38 Special and approaching the design pragmatically.

As per the quoted bit above, I think that it's obvious you all have more up your sleeve and this release won't be a one-off, so am eager to see if any sort of roadmap (or at least second planned DA revolver offering for 2017) will be announced at Shot Show. 👍




Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

^ Exactly!!!! Let's not complain when Colt drops a new DA at our feet. Give it a try before bashing the thing to death.

 

How much does the old Cobra weigh?

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If Colt does another DA, I'd love to see a Detective that looks like the Series II. That is Bogart, Dragnet, and every Detective show on the screen in the '50s and '60s. I have an original, a good looking shooter. It gets a fair number of comments at the Range.
"How Cool!" etc

 

Ah hell.. I don't care if the trigger guard is square or if its "fitzed"- if I can get my paws on one, and its allowed in the ^&*(%!! PRK, I will give up my beer money and buy it!

& If they come out with a 3 incher after a while- hell, I will try to buy that to!