Sidearms & Scatterguns Has the Bloom Come Off Early Pythons

I am reminded of the rush for M1's and 1903's post Saving Private Ryan. I even considered selling my 03A3 for about 2 seconds and maybe for 15 seconds I considered selling the M2 22LR (they were up to $3000!!!) I have never considered selling my Garand. The rifles I have will likely never be worth what people were paying shortly after that movie but I didn't sell them then and I probably won't ever sell them.

Now, if I were to have had several, I might have sold a couple.

The prices on Pythons have likely peaked and are not likely to go back to what they were a couple of years ago. If you are not attached to these Pythons and want to sell for more than you paid, now is probably a good time.

Quarter Horse said:

I've got two Pythons from the 1970s era. A 4" and a 6". The 4" has its' original box but not so for the 6". Neither gun has two hundred rounds through it and they are principally HBWC. Both guns have less than a handful of .357Mag if any.

Of recent I have noticed about a drop of about 10% on a couple similar Pythons. Want to hear your thoughts. Is it time to let them go?

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I’d say they are on the decline too. They went up with the popularity of The Walking Dead, but I’ve noticed the prices steadily going down. Especially with the 2020 python being released (I know it’s not apples-apples)

The geezers, ha I'm one, are dying off, and the youngers don't see the appeal when there are so many other modern cool guns out there nowadays.

I always liked S&W's more as far as action cycle feel but I was never all that much into revolvers anyway.

I bought a 5" blued model back in the 90's only paid 350.00 for it , someone had done a trigger job on it that was borderline dangerous, almost shot my big toe off once , ended up trading it for a kimber custom 2 45cal , I got screwed on the deal but I really like the Kimber so not that bad , the kimber was brand new and has the best trigger I've ever pulled on a semi auto pistol.

All the crap new Pythons/King Cobras did was drop the bottom out of the market.

I sold a bright stainless 6" unturned (hangtag in the plastic) to build an MPA rifle for $4K in 2017? or abouts there. Now that same gun sells for about half. The new ones aren't hand polished and hand fitted and only look like the originals. I still have several in boxes bought in the late '70s/early '80s. I wish I would have bought one of the 8" .38s, but nobody wanted them back then...

It wasn't just Walking Dead. I also heard there was some first person shooter computer game(s) (have no idea which one(s)) where "The Python" was a one shot kill pistol, so all the gamers thought it was all powerful.

They'll always be worth much more than they were new, but that whole Colt craze was tulips there for a while. I'm glad I cashed in a little at least. I guess I should have sold them all and bought them back now for half, but I honestly think they're a superlative pistol, and love taking my shooter to the range. It's lost a lot of blue to the holster, as it sat on the hip of a PA State Trooper for 23 years, but it's a straight shooter. Still has the nail polish and white out on the sights. I've never messed with it.

All good condition Colts will go up and down in price, but stay gold coins. I only shoot the one pistol, but I keep the rest for an off the books rainy day fund. There will always be people who will buy new/old stock iconic pistols.

IMO the old Colts are better than the old S&Ws out of the box, but the smoothest, best shooting pistol I've ever shot was and N frame and the duty pistol of a retired FBI guy that "had some work done to it". I never found out what that meant, but the DA pull was like a longer, but just as pure and glassy break, SA pull. It was a dream to shoot it either way.

I think minty old guns are always a hold. Money is a renewable resource. 1970's Python's not so much.

steve123 said:

The geezers, ha I'm one, are dying off, and the youngers don't see the appeal when there are so many other modern cool guns out there nowadays.

I always liked S&W's more as far as action cycle feel but I was never all that much into revolvers anyway.

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I recently pulled the trigger double action on a real tuned up S&W....smoothest thing I've ever felt. Just incredible. I have a few revolvers and now I'm looking at tuning them up. Maybe find an old S&W in 44 Mag and have my friend tune it up.

Fig said:

All the crap new Pythons/King Cobras did was drop the bottom out of the market.

I sold a bright stainless 6" unturned (hangtag in the plastic) to build an MPA rifle for $4K in 2017? or abouts there. Now that same gun sells for about half. The new ones aren't hand polished and hand fitted and only look like the originals. I still have several in boxes bought in the late '70s/early '80s. I wish I would have bought one of the 8" .38s, but nobody wanted them back then...

It wasn't just Walking Dead. I also heard there was some first person shooter computer game(s) (have no idea which one(s)) where "The Python" was a one shot kill pistol, so all the gamers thought it was all powerful.

They'll always be worth much more than they were new, but that whole Colt craze was tulips there for a while. I'm glad I cashed in a little at least. I guess I should have sold them all and bought them back now for half, but I honestly think they're a superlative pistol, and love taking my shooter to the range. It's lost a lot of blue to the holster, as it sat on the hip of a PA State Trooper for 23 years, but it's a straight shooter. Still has the nail polish and white out on the sights. I've never messed with it.

All good condition Colts will go up and down in price, but stay gold coins. I only shoot the one pistol, but I keep the rest for an off the books rainy day fund. There will always be people who will buy new/old stock iconic pistols.

IMO the old Colts are better than the old S&Ws out of the box, but the smoothest, best shooting pistol I've ever shot was and N frame and the duty pistol of a retired FBI guy that "had some work done to it". I never found out what that meant, but the DA pull was like a longer, but just as pure and glassy break, SA pull. It was a dream to shoot it either way.

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I agree with just about everything you posted, but man... shoot those pistols!. The same goes for leaving your sports car in the garage. As the saving (sort of) goes... would you save your girl so the next dude can bang her! There are much better investments out there. And, a unfired pistol won't have that much more incremental value over one that has been used but well cared for and not abused.

Ric O'shay said:

I think minty old guns are always a hold. Money is a renewable resource. 1970's Python's not so much.

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Except that Colt did renew them and most causals probably cannot tell the difference between a 2025 and a 1970 version if not for the cardboard box

As a collector of old wheelguns, I definitely think that the market segment that enjoys them the most (old dudes) are dying off.

The next generations of shooters are much less into them. Most of the guns too aren't rare or expensive enough to be true investment items...those are still going to rise (like the limited original Pythons in short barrels etc...).

*Edited to add an old photo of my Python. I put some Culina's on it, but kept the original grips for collector value.

Aftermath said:

I recently pulled the trigger double action on a real tuned up S&W....smoothest thing I've ever felt. Just incredible. I have a few revolvers and now I'm looking at tuning them up. Maybe find an old S&W in 44 Mag and have my friend tune it up.

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A worked over S&W is sure a pleasure to shoot. I had a side hustle for several years working on them. I learned the hard way - bought a couple of falsely advertised junkers on GB. By the time I sourced the correct parts and got them to fit right, I had learned a ton.

It isn't hard to do man, just takes time. Probably some decent videos on YouTube where you can kind of teach yourself. Go slow, stay away from power tools, and enjoy it.

I think I have 27 or 28 older S&W revolvers in the safes now. Wish I had as many old Colts.

NIB old stock will always have value, as will Gen 1 SAAs. They're just made better than anything out today. They will always be collected and coveted even if only because they are hand made, like a $25K original Hawken Rifle. Almost no utility at all, and of the few people I know who have them (or a few of them) they would never even consider shooting them.

FriscoKid said:

I agree with just about everything you posted, but man... shoot those pistols!. The same goes for leaving your sports car in the garage. As the saving (sort of) goes... would you save your girl so the next dude can bang her! There are much better investments out there. And, a unfired pistol won't have that much more incremental value over one that has been used but well cared for and not abused.

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They're gold coins. It's not interesting for me to shoot most of them anyway, and the ones I like shooting I have non-investment examples that aren't in pristine condition that I do shoot. They're the same pistols in different colors, grips, etc. I bought a new/old stock, Colt, full rebuild kit (all the wear parts) and a new cylinder (the original one is getting a little worn) in case my shooter Python ever goes down.

Say you have five '69 mustangs. Four are Pebble Beach perfect, and one your drive the hell out of. My kids can do what they want with them when I'm gone, and maybe they decide to shoot all of them. I could care less, I just want them to have them. If they sell them for a down payment on a house or something I'd be just as happy as if they decided to shoot them.

NIB collectors items are always going to fetch a premium. I did that with some of the more rare (1of 100) items from Colt's custom shop when Colt was still an American-owned company.

Commemorate guns are almost always a poor investment. Not always though.

Most of my other "collectable handguns" (collectable to me only probably) are items that are "as new", but have seen a few rounds. I really take pleasure in shooting a few magazines/cylinders through them each year, and they don't plummet in value 25% or more if you fire them. Most still actually increase in value a little...at least enough usually to keep up with inflation.

True, but they're not "unturned", NIB. It's not THAT big a difference in price, but why if I have the same thing that is worn and has a ton of bluing off from years in a cop's holster but shoots the same.

If I only had a single Python I'd shoot it for sure. But when you have several it makes no sense.
All the old Winchesters I have don't get shot, just because I'm not that interested.

Fig said:

True, but they're not "unturned", NIB. It's not THAT big a difference in price, but why if I have the same thing that is worn and has a ton of bluing off from years in a cop's holster but shoots the same.

If I only had a single Python I'd shoot it for sure. But when you have several it makes no sense.
All the old Winchesters I have don't get shot, just because I'm not that interested.

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Yep. I have an unturned Colt SAA, and one that I know has been turned at least once (couldn't help myself). Both are ca 2007, but one is a "Z" suffix model out of the custom shop.

I'd bet the unturned one would fetch a good 10% more, even though it is a production line revolver.

I need to get off my butt and shoot the other one.

If Colt made the new guns to the old standards it would be a much better revolver, the lockwork on the old ones kind of sucks. They updated the bolt stop to a S&W-ish configuration and got rid of a lot of small parts in the lockwork. They lock up better and aren't nearly as prone to stacking thru the trigger pull.

So, there is a lot of potential. They did a custom 3" round-butt for Ken Hackathorn and it was outstanding, but it was also hand built. As for the rest, "they don't build 'em like they used to."

A lot of people wanted them and paid a ton of money because they had been out of production. You three camps:

1. Kids that wanted one from playing Resident Evil or whatever that were born to late to get one. They'd pay money for old ones before, but a new one for ~$1200 scratches that itch.

2. Old dudes who wouldn't afford one back then and have enough money to buy one now. They might still want an old one, but some of them will be just fine with a new one also.

3. Collectors that are already invested and want them old ones.

TL;DR supply went up, price went down.

There's no question the S&W designs are way more robust. The Colts are much more delicate and go out of time/break much easier. The whole stacking thing only lives in the minds of production Smith "just as gud" owners. The PPs, PSs, DSs, Cobras, Officers, etc. stack so little it's hard to even notice unless side by side. The Snake guns you're imagining it. The pull on a Python or Anaconda is buttery smooth, and you would need some machinist instruments to detect stacking.

That said, the S&Ws can be made just as smooth (maybe smoother) with some ju-ju I know nothing about, but I've felt DA pulls on custom S&W that will beat a production Python...just my opionion.

Honestly, if they made them today like they did in the '60s and '70s they probably would cost more than $10k. I can't find it online (maybe in one of my dad's many $200 coffee table books) but I remember a series of pictures of them making pistols in the Colt factory. The first series were of a wall of like 30 polishing wheels with thirty guys sitting in front of them, and each one a little finer grit. When the first guy was done he'd pass it to the next, and the last guy would pass off a frame with a mirror finish to the guy who started the bluing process. The next series was the guys putting the guts of the pistols together (also with polishing wheels and tiny files), hand fitting all the parts together. It was insanely labor intensive. Would make any LEAN Mfg. guy puke.

They gone, and they gona stay gone. All my Dad's collection will maybe go up and down like stocks, but the trajectory will be up, because no one would manufacture like that again. You would go broke.

I have a couple of Korths too (Kombat, Klassic, Sport) used but boxes and paperwork. Think Snake Gun beauty with S&W robustness. They're stupid expensive for a new one, and the new ones are fugly, but they're still making them one at a time by hand like that.

Honestly, the '60s and '70s were a golden age of firearms production in America, and I doubt we'll ever see the like. I do think that the better and cheaper CNC we get we will see quality go up, but we're still gona pay for it...