Colt Cobra revolver Archives -

Now We Know What Colt Is Releasing (Part 1)

Thanks to Yamil Sued, photographer extraordinaire, we now know just what Colt’s Manufacturing will be releasing for 2017. Yamil teased a post and then delivered with a series of photos and videos soon after 12am EST this morning. I presume that is when the non-disclosure agreement expired.

As somewhat expected, Colt is re-releasing the Colt Cobra double action revolver. The specs are below:

The new Cobra is a six-shot, 2 inch, stainless steel framed revolver with a fiber optic front sight and Hogue grips. Given that the Cobra is steel framed and not an aluminum alloy, the purist in me would suggest that it should have been called the Detective Special (5th Issue) and not the Cobra. In Facebook comments, it was suggested that Colt went with Cobra to keep the snake name alive for further revolver introductions.

Here is a better picture of the Cobra. Notice the difference in the trigger guard and trigger from the older Colts.

Photo by Yamil R. Sued

Yamil gives a review of the Cobra in this short YouTube video.

Elsewhere I heard mention that the pistol will sell for $699 MSRP. If it performs well, that is not a bad price. I really do hope that Colt will have this at the SHOT Show Range Day. I am especially interested in how the trigger performs compared to the old Colt trigger.

Are Colt Double Action Revolvers Coming Back?

I think the perennial question for revolver lovers is when or if will Colt ever resume making their double action revolvers. According to the Blue Book of Gun Values, Colt ceased regular production of double action revolvers in October 1999. The Colt Custom Shop did however have a run of Colt Python Elite and Anaconda revolvers from 2002 to 2006. The problem for Colt is that their old craftsmen who assembled and hand-fit parts on the old double action revolvers are long retired.

With the SHOT Show beginning in little more than two weeks, I’ve been cruising Instagram to get clues about new production introductions. I’m not an industry insider invited to special showings so I have to glean info where I can. While that can be a disadvantage, it also means that I’m not under any sort of non-disclosure agreement prohibiting me from writing about what I find.

Last night I happened across this picture of an ad that Colt reportedly will be running for the Colt Cobra revolver in .38 +P. The revolver will also have a fiber optic front sight and a steel frame.

Ooooooh #colt #snake #revolver #shotshow #cobra

A photo posted by Freedom GunCo (@freedomgunco) on Dec 28, 2016 at 5:03pm PST

The original Cobra introduced in 1950 was an alloy framed revolver similar to the steel framed Detective Special. Only the King Cobra and Combat Cobra revolvers produced from the mid-1980s until the Nineties were steel framed. Looking at the ad for the new model Cobra, it appears that Colt has also changed the cylinder release button from the more traditional version. Otherwise it is very similar to the second issue Cobra.

Colt’s Manufacturing is listed as an exhibitor to Industry Day at the Range so I anticipate that if they are actually releasing the Colt Cobra I will have a chance to try it out. If so, I will report on it then. It will be interesting to see whether they have changed the internals to eliminate the traditional Colt trigger stacking.