King Cobra

[Lyonsgrid]

Background on this one goes like this…

About once a year my father summons me to his place to help clean out his junk barn. He’s a bit of a collector. Inside a plastic bin I spy a blue Colt pistol case. A quick shake confirms it’s empty. Figured he acquired the case cleaning out some left over property from one of his real estate sales. I just put the case aside and kept digging…

Later on, I ask what the story was with the pistol case. He says “what case.” I show it to him and he says, “oh yeah, I have that pistol stashed somewhere…you can have it.”

I was very surprised and thankful for sure. He’s never been a pistol man and I had no idea he had the Colt. Said he bought it new in the late 90’s after a ugly divorce left him living in a bad neighborhood. Reminded him of a bad time and he was more than happy to pass it on.

I’m not a collector and don’t own any pistols that I can’t carry AIWB. This one is a bit out of my wheel house for sure. I’d love to hear some stories from you old school cops who toted 6” wheel guns on the job. Also, give me the run down on the King Cobra. I have very little Colt knowledge. I know Python’s are all the rage, but poking around the net today reveals this newer revolver has a pretty good rep also.

Attachment 4133

[Dagga Boy]

I ll be the first to offer you a good trade on that. I have a 6" Stainless Python and a 6" Stainless Anaconda from the same time frame....I can't afford to collect the super desirable Colt revolvers.

My agency had a ton of guys carrying 6" N frames. I was looked at as kind of a wussy because I carried a 4" 25-5 instead of the 6". The SWAT guys used the 4" on SWAT missions (most carried a 6" in patrol"), plus I was the first using a Safariland triple retention holster, which they only made in a 4". Most 6" guns were carried in Hoyt or Nelson break fronts, with a few Shoemaker or Davis holsters in the mix. At the time the hot gun game for cops was PPC, and most agencies had 25 and 50 yard phases on their qualification courses, so the 6" guns were popular due to sight radius. Also, with full house .357 or big bore rounds, the size and weight were an advantage. The cop cars were bigger and far less cluttered and seat belts rarely used because they were believed to "get you killed" (I never bought into this, but I was a distinct minority on this). You could get away with a 6" in the car, I remember an interesting conversation with one of the firearms "experts" of the day in my agency. He was a watch commander and really disliked me (we are friends in retirement and laugh about all the crap we did to each other) as the new kid with all the new gear and ideas. He maintained that the butt of the revolver should be below the belt, so you can imagine the length that the holsters of the day were compared to today's auto's.
The muzzle length was also a plus with some ammunition like full house .357 Magnum, .41 Magnum and .44 Magnum.

In the case of the King Cobra specifically, it was typical of Colt being a couple decades late. It was essentially the a colt high end k frame. Essentially, an upgraded Model 66 in a time when the Smith L frame was all the rage. It was sort of the junior Python. They are neat guns, but never quite filled the intended niche. A little gaudy for a duty gun for LE, and the guys that would carry one were likely a Python user. The cheaper guys had a better choice in the 66 or 686. If you wanted totally bulletproof for a shooter of high round count Magnum shooters...the GP100 was the answer. The King Cobra ended up being more of a sportsman gun. One very cool variant I kick myself for never getting was the "Combat Cobra" that had a short barrel, no snake picture on the barrel and special grips. Really a neat snub with a cool look.

Let me know if you are not horribly attached as it would fill a real hole for me.

[Lyonsgrid]

Thanks, I really like the insight on what gear real “gun guys” carried in those days. Never thought about the cars having more room back then. Great point. I’ll buy your memoir when you get around to finishing it.

I’m not attached…let me think on it and maybe we can work something out.

[Dagga Boy]

Thanks, I really like the insight on what gear real “gun guys” carried in those days. Never thought about the cars having more room back then. Great point. I’ll buy your memoir when you get around to finishing it.

I’m not attached…let me think on it and maybe we can work something out.

I have often thought about writing a book with a couple of other folks along the lines of a Peter Capstick book, but geared to hunting of predatory humans in the urban US. The timing is not good, and may never really be.

I am cash poor and gun rich, let me know.

[LHS]

I have often thought about writing a book with a couple of other folks along the lines of a Peter Capstick book, but geared to hunting of predatory humans in the urban US. The timing is not good, and may never really be.

I would buy this book in a heartbeat.

[45dotACP]

ditto

[BN]

I would buy this book in a heartbeat.

Me too.

[Bigghoss]

My dad was a cop in the 80's and 90's but he carried a 4" S&W 19, I think it was a -3. He had to sell it when my folks got divorced, when I bought one just like it at a gun show he kept bugging me to sell it to him. Eventually I came into a 4" GP100 which was better for my purposes so I let him hold onto the Smith for me.

Forgotten Weapons just did a video with Gabe Suarez talking about police guns through the years. It's not super in depth but interesting none-the-less.

[Hambo]

In the case of the King Cobra specifically, it was typical of Colt being a couple decades late.

This. I handled enough King Cobras back in the day, but A) it was easier to get a sweet S&W trigger job and B) it wasn't a Python so who cared anyway?

[TCinVA]

Towards the end of the life of the Anaconda and the King Cobra as production guns (the Anaconda came back as a custom gun at some point) the quality on them was not very good. I owned an Anaconda and it spent more time at Colt being fixed than it did with me. Hopefully your heirloom there is significantly better than the guns I interacted with.