New Snake Guns from Colt

[Guerrero]

The Viper’s namesake:

https://www.oldcolt.com/collections/colt-viper

[RevolverRob]

I find it sad that in 2024 both Kimber and Taurus appear to understand the defensive revolver market, what to make, how to make it, much better than Colt or S&W, but I believe it is true at this moment in time.

That's because Taurus has Caleb Giddings, when Kimber designed the K6 they consulted Grant Cunningham and Mas Ayoob, and the Ultimate Carry J-Frames came directly from discussions here on P-F.

Ruger and Colt haven't consulted anyone with knowledge about concealed carry revolvers. Because both companies think Wiley Clapp is the smartest guy about carry guns. Don't get me wrong Clapp had good ideas, but nothing clean sheet in the designs.

[Stephanie B]

I find it sad that in 2024 both Kimber and Taurus appear to understand the defensive revolver market, what to make, how to make it, much better than Colt or S&W, but I believe it is true at this moment in time.

That's because Taurus has Caleb Giddings, when Kimber designed the K6 they consulted Grant Cunningham and Mas Ayoob, and the Ultimate Carry J-Frames came directly from discussions here on P-F.

And the UC guns are basically Lipsey's guns with the manufacturing subcontracted to S&W. I have no knowledge about it, but one might suppose that if S&W had said "nah", that Lipsey's could have gone to Ruger and commissioned a special run of LCRs.

[snubasaurus]

And the UC guns are basically Lipsey's guns with the manufacturing subcontracted to S&W. I have no knowledge about it, but one might suppose that if S&W had said "nah", that Lipsey's could have gone to Ruger and commissioned a special run of LCRs.

Persuaded by all the hype (and considerable logic) around the Lipseys UC earlier this year I decided to jump on the .32 train a few months ago. But when I was at the LGS my gut told me to order the LCR .327 over the S&W. Ive owned a .38 and .22 LR LCR for over a decade with no problems whatsoever. The 327 has been equally reliable so far. With .32 S&W Long wadcutters its as much fun as the .22.

[03RN]

I find it sad that in 2024 both Kimber and Taurus appear to understand the defensive revolver market, what to make, how to make it, much better than Colt or S&W, but I believe it is true at this moment in time.

To bad Smith peaked in 08 with the nightguards

[Zeke38]

The three inch Viper in 357 will have a place in the den at my house. Does the viper have the replacable front sight like the King Cobra? Haven't seen the muzzle view of this model.

[gtmtnbiker98]

That's because Taurus has Caleb Giddings, when Kimber designed the K6 they consulted Grant Cunningham and Mas Ayoob, and the Ultimate Carry J-Frames came directly from discussions here on P-F.

Ruger and Colt haven't consulted anyone with knowledge about concealed carry revolvers. Because both companies think Wiley Clapp is the smartest guy about carry guns. Don't get me wrong Clapp had good ideas, but nothing clean sheet in the designs.

Ruger did the LCR right, all they need to do is expand to some 6-shot “K” or “L” size variants.

[FrankB]

The three inch Viper in 357 will have a place in the den at my house. Does the viper have the replacable front sight like the King Cobra? Haven't seen the muzzle view of this model.

They use the same front sight system on all of the other revolvers, so this one shouldn’t be different.

[perlslacker]

That's because you are under the impression Colt is making these for the defensive market. They aren't.
They are making them for the revolver market.
It's inherently a backwards & unserious market segment.
I mean, folks further up the thread were complaining about them not increasing 1873 production.
It's a 150 year old gun, with over 50 years of reproductions littering the market, that was obsolete the day it was adopted in 1873.
These new DA Colts are THE EXACT SAME THING, reproductions of iconic items that only exist to look nice in someone's safe for a generation that grew up with Pythons and the like on TV, movies and in games but have been priced out of the 'real deal' by absurd collectors pricing.
Practical 'defensive revolvers' are such a small niche it takes specific people interested in the idea in key positions to force the idea through. Caleb at Taurus & the UC revolver prove it, and I would bet those specific style of guns sell less than 1 out 10 compared to long barreled Taurus Raging Judges in .454 Casull.

Building on the above:

The original Viper was an aluminum-framed duty revolver. That made sense when armed professionals still carried revolvers. If you carry a gun on your belt for your job, making the gun lighter has real practical benefits. But now, most revolver-buyers are collectors. A small minority are serious shooters. Making the King Cobra lighter in any meaningful way would require a lot of re-engineering and I don't think there's much of a payoff.

So sure, let's just release a half-lug version and call it a lightweight carry version of the King Cobra. I'd bet it was a relatively minor change in production, and it's just different enough to get some people to buy it.