4”-ish .357s: King Cobra Target, K6s Target and more

[awp_101]

Thanks for responses and info so far. I don't have a use case beyond having fun shooting .38s at the range and a desire to add more quality 4", adj sight .357s to the safe.

Halfway through that Revolver Guy review I realized I'd read it sometime in the past year but it was a good to read it again.

I've been following the Python rear sight issues and the need for thread locker on on front sight as well. Not a problem, I've got blue and green on hand and I'm not afraid to use them.

I did get to briefly handle a new Python Saturday (store was busy and I didn't want to waste the counter guy's time beyond a minute or two). Felt slightly larger than an L frame but that could have been the stocks as much as the revolver itself. I'm intrigued enough to consider looking for one later in the year. Price wise it's right at the edge of where I start getting the heebie-jeebies so I'll probably hold out for a used one.

I'll say I really want to like the 3" KC but I do not like the squared top strap or fixed rear sight. The couple I've seen in person I could almost shave with the top strap edges. Maybe D&L Sports will offer sight conversions like they do for J/K/L Frames.

[awp_101]

Stopped by a slightly out of the way shop on the way home yesterday and lo and behold, they had a brandy-new K6s Target in the case.

TL;DR: I like it and it’s now on layawake.

Slightly longer version:
I was pleasantly surprised when the counter guy handed it over, I was expecting something that felt more like my Trooper III or an L/N frame. It's more svelte in the hand than it appears in pictures and feels very much like a K frame to me. It certainly feels lighter than my 4" GP or the Trooper. I paid sticker price which proves my patience and cheap ass-ness frugality only goes so far. The fact this is the first one I've seen in person since they were released was a driving factor as well.

[awp_101]

It's here! Played hooky from work Friday to get other stuff done so I could have time for a range trip today and decided I needed to splurge and pay it out.

My beauty pics didn't turn out quite as well as usual. I chalk it up to lack of focus (errr, so to speak) after dealing with a day of extended family drama...





Yes we have a white dog. How did you know?

I took comparison pictures with a 4" GP and Trooper MKIII because it was hard for me to get an idea of size based on the ads and articles. I don't recall any K6 review or article showing the physical difference between common revolvers to give an idea of scale. I was truly surprised when I handled this one at the shop. I was really expecting something bigger and heftier.





Comparison of empty weights







I guess the closest comparison I can make to "feel" is a round butt K Frame. The grip feels good but would feel better to me if they were a little bigger. The smaller grip probably works great on the CC versions but on a target/field revolver I want something a little more substantial. Probably not GP rubber size stocks but maybe something between K and L Frame magnas.

Out of the box with nothing but a wipe down, the DA ran between 9 and 10lbs. SA was between 4 and 5lbs. I can't be more exact because I'm pretty sure my technique using the Lyman pull gauge is as consistent as a street corner Rolex. I certainly never felt a difference in pulls at the range. Trigger pull is smooth, consistent and perfectly usable for me as it came from the box.

Next up, range report!

[awp_101]

First 6 rounds, SA only, center hold, ~10 yards offhand. First shot was high (as I suspected it would be looking at the rear sight before loading the cylinder), second was almost on the money, don't know if the third was a result of a lack of concentration or the flinchies but I pulled it back together for the fourth through sixth shots.



I only fired 38 rounds through it today (finishing off an open box). I had another box with me but I had other stuff to test, sight in, etc so I moved on. This was the last 14. I was playing with hand placement and grip technique.



Am I happy with it? Overall, yes I am. Changing the grip to something a little larger would be helpful for me and because my only plans for it are as a range toy I'd like those larger grips to be some kind of fancy wood. If it was using it as a field piece, something rubber and grippy would be the order of the day.

Do I think it's worth the price of admission? Maybe bordering on probably. The same $1100-ish OTD would get me a King Cobra Target and some ammo. Or a pair of GPs. Or I could take a chance on a new S&W (and the odds of that happening are slim and none ). But this is something different from all of those. A clean sheet design from a company that's not a legacy revolver manufacturer. There's a place in my collection for something like that. My handgun "needs" have been met several times over so this was a straight up "want" and so far it's not a flaming piece of crap.

[JWintergreen]

OP did the short ejector rod give you any problems?

[awp_101]

OP did the short ejector rod give you any problems?

Not that I noticed but I was only shooting .38 Special and not trying to unload at speed.

[42Willys]

Nice shooting @awp_101

Love that Kimber and her wood stocks.

[HeavyDuty]

OP did the short ejector rod give you any problems?

Not that I noticed but I was only shooting .38 Special and not trying to unload at speed.

I have a 3” K6s, and (somewhat surprisingly) the pixie sized ejector rod has never caused issues - even with magnums.

[mmc45414]

Slightly more accurate comparison would be the KCT is Detective Special size rather than K-frame, while the Python is indeed more like a L-frame Smith. At least that has been my understanding. I'm willing to be corrected.

Not really a correction, but maybe the way to think about it is really the L-frame is like the Python, in historical order. 357 was a N-frame cartridge that got adapted into the K-frame, that was awesome but probably too small for what is really a pretty brutal cartridge. The Python was big enough to handle it, so Smith pretty much mimicked the size with the L-frame (ETA: and the full lug barrel, but omitted the "vents" above the bore), at least that is the sequence of events as I recollect them (and not trying to be some butthead worrying about semantics... ).

[awp_101]

No updates since my last trip with the K6 other than ordering a set of LOK Veloce palm swell grips this morning. Hopefully they’ll solve one of the few issues I have with the Kimber.

Looking forward to paying out the KCT this week and doing some comparisons.