Even after Colt's takes it in for service, side plate still misaligned
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BofvVqbGlg
I was really contemplating a Colt Cobra or King Cobra but it looks like it's gonna be a used K frame or a new GP100.
Even after Colt's takes it in for service, side plate still misaligned
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BofvVqbGlg
I was really contemplating a Colt Cobra or King Cobra but it looks like it's gonna be a used K frame or a new GP100.
Originally Posted by AlwaysLearning
Not good.
Wow.
He came out of YouTube retirement because he was so upset.
Must be serious.
Working diligently to enlarge my group size.
As I've mentioned before, I've got some residual concerns and questions about this (and other new Colts, both revolvers and semi-autos); this video is detailed, and not reassuring.
Best, Jon
Colt's new slogan: "We never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity."
I was into 10mm Auto before it sold out and went mainstream, but these days I'm here for the revolver and epidemiology information.
When first shooting mine several months ago, at first it wasn't that impressive. Had it back out last night, much better this time. Maybe it just needed some break in time, more likely this S&W shooter needed some time to adjust to a different trigger feel. In any case last night the KC shot slightly tighter offhand groups than a GP100 Match Champion shooting the same two types of reloads (148 HBWC and 125 FP).
Last night was about 100 rounds, total I have several hundred through it with no problems. My side plate is slightly out of alignment too, not enough to really bother me since this is not intended to be a safe queen, although it's disappointing to see that sort of sloppiness.
I do wish the sights were a little taller, these probably would have worked great for me a decade or two ago; there are more than a few mature eyes behind revolvers, so I really don't understand why sights being big enough to see is such a difficult concept for the design guys. They're OK in good light but they do slow me down a little.
With wadcutters it's hitting a couple inches above POA, much closer to center with the 125 gr load. I didn't run any magnums this time but don't recall any problem with them last trip. I'll have it back out there soon with a couple of additional loads to try.
Overall... not perfect, but not many significant complaints so far with my example.
May as well post an update, had hoped to put more rounds through the King Cobra first but that's going to need to wait; both of the ranges I belong to are temporarily closed, one really is too cramped and crowded for right now and the other has tons of space but is on timber company land and there's work happening downrange for a bit. So this is based on about 100 rounds beyond the previous post.
First, I put a thin line of white paint around the edges of the rear sight and that plus some 400-grit sandpaper on the brass bead front helps quite a bit.
What I like:
- Near perfect carry size, really easy to conceal. It's in a belt holster tonight, a little smaller and 10 ounces lighter than the K-frame I wore last night makes a difference although neither is bad.
- Heavy enough to shoot light magnum loads, light enough to carry
- Much better trigger than the new manufacture alternatives
- Six rounds
- No lock
- I can carry it out of the box with just some testing and no mods. No need to plug a lock hole, no need to work on the trigger, no potential liability real or imaginary associated with either of those things, no essential major post purchase expenses. I may get a tritium front sight at some point but no hurry and it's a fast and easy swap.
- Stainless, good in winter-humid places like this
What could be better:
- If those sights were just a little taller...
- Trigger could be a touch wider, although it only matters in lengthy range sessions
- Not a whole lot of aftermarket support
What I can't decide about:
- Factory rubber grips are OK, they work better for me than many other factory grips, not sure if I want to chase after something maybe better and maybe not. Grips are a personal thing anyway
I bought a 3" King Cobra back in February. I had some concerns about buying it, mostly due to potential quality issues & Colt being constantly teetering on the edge of bankruptcy - I didn't want to get stuck with a gun that was a paperweight. I bought it mostly because I do like that Colt is making a traditional looking six shot revolver in a "just right" sized package with a 3" barrel, fixed sights, and no internal lock (looking at you, S&W). Before everything shut down due to COVID19, I was able to put 300 rounds through it.
I'll start with the bad: I had ~15 out of 300 rounds fail to fire. The firing pin indentation in the primer looked pretty good, but those rounds didn't go off until a second strike. To be fair these were my reloads, and it did seem to correlate with one set of brass in particular, but I didn't have any issues with the same batch of ammo out of my GP100 so I do suspect that the gun is not quite sprung strongly enough. I'll send it back in to Colt if I can verify that the issue also exists with factory ammo.
The okay: I agree with Salamander that the sights could be taller. When the top of the post is aligned with the top of the notch, the bottom half of the brass bead gets cut off. I tried one shot in single action just to see if it worked. It's serviceable but it's not as clean/light of a pull as you'd get on a Smith, but I don't intend to shoot it single action so that doesn't matter to me.
The good: It does shoot quite well. Point of impact is about 2" below point of aim at 15 yards with a .38+P 158gr SWC load, so I'm guessing it would be close to POA with a .357 load. In the horizontal direction POA/POI is perfect. The action is light and very smooth, and I was able to easily shoot tighter groups with it double action than with my GP100. The action stacks very slightly towards the end of the trigger pull, but it's still easy to pull completely through the trigger stroke without disturbing the sight alignment. It also helps that the trigger reach matches my medium-small sized hands better than the GP100 or any K/L/N frame Smith that I've tried, so I'm able to get my trigger finger in the right spot to shoot double action without having to rotate my hand around the grip too far. Mine is nicely finished. The barrel is on straight and the crane/yoke fit is much nicer than anything I've seen on a new production Ruger or Smith.
Ultimately, I think I'll end up really liking mine assuming (a) I get the misfire issue figured out and (b) nothing breaks and it stays in time for a decent round count. In terms of the overall package and how it shoots, IMO it's easily superior to anything that Ruger or Smith is putting out... I'm just not that confident in its long term durability yet.
After handling one, dry fire, waiting for the QC issues to be worked out, and deciding I NEED a 3" .357 without any sort of ILS (ie: S&W) ....I will be purchasing a KC as soon as I can find one locally that I can inspect for overall fit and finish.
Anyone else have any longer term results with theirs?
If I like the KC Ill throw down for a 4.25" Python to celebrate my divorce...
I've got a King Cobra waiting in gun jail at my local store. Should be able to bring it home next week. Anybody got any leads on holsters? I'm interested in OWB as well as AIWB. Also speed loaders. What works in the new KC?
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