Snake Bit

OK, my camera isn't very good but here's a close up of a regular medallion:



and a 150 Anniversary medallion, which is on your gun:



1986 was Colt's 150th anniversary so that year they put the special medallions in the stocks. Typical of Colt however, they continued to put stocks with these medallions on guns past 1986 as they had extra inventory to use up.

HTH

I don't really have much to add that hasn't already been said except to give a bit more detail. I have observed that the 150 Anniversary medallions were definitely used between the years 1986 through 1988.

I can say this empirically as I have a number of guns that were purchased by me brand new as the original owner covering those years. Everyone of them has the 150 Anniversary medallion. This is not limited to just revolvers. The semi autos in my collection covering those years all came with the Anniversary.

I do not own a gun manufactured in 1989 so I can't say if they were used that year. But I do own a number guns from 1990 and onward that do not have the Anniversary medallions.

Blokey rightly pointed out that Colt was in the habit of using up stock, so anything is possible. I base my findings on direct observations of guns in my collection and not on theory. It is more than possible that guns produced in these years may not have come with the Anniversary medallion, and that later guns may indeed have come with the Anniversary.

I would be very interested in knowing if anyone has a 1990 and newer Colt, purchased brand new and still in the hands of the original owner, that came with the Anniversary medallions. Likewise, I'd be interested in knowing if any guns purchased brand new that have dates of manufacture between 1986 through 1988 and came with the regular medallions. Model and S/N range would be helpful for my database.

I've got plenty of chores to get done around the house today, but I managed to slip away for some quick casual shooting.

What I brought for ammo was a box of 240gr JHP and some Arctic Ammo Company 300gr JSP's.

It was already pretty much sighted in, so I set up some apples on sticks to shoot at. Nothing too far at first. The Anaconda was easy to hit with. Recoil with the 240's was typical 44 Magnum recoil, and the rubber grips soften the "snap" pretty well. The 300 grainers had considerably more SMACK to them, but nothing to run home cryin' to mama about. As I write this, I have NO sore or red spots on my hands, and I did not use a glove.

Leaning over my vehicle, I shot about 12 rounds at a range of 60 yards, and hit 10 out of 12 times. Offhand, at ranges between 15 and 25 yards, I only missed a couple, and I did the majority of my shooting double action. As with my King Cobra, I knew to "pull straight through" and not "stage" the trigger. It seems to work much better with the action on the Colt V frame guns.

I consider myself a decent shot. I've been using fruit and vegetables as targets for many years. It's not as easy as it sounds.

No cleanup afterwards, and the critters get lunch.

Seems to me it is aleady sighted in for 240 grainers, and for Deer hunting range.

I lit off a couple rounds at a 55 gallon barrel that was probably a bit over 200 yards away, using a little "Kentucky elevation" and just as the boom from the Colt was subsiding, I heard a clank from the barrel.

I like this gun a lot. It has lived up to the hype I've had in my head for one of these for quite some time.