Colt Python Barrel Taper

[birch]

I just got a beautiful 8" Python and wonder how Colt was able to taper the barrel from the chamber to the crown. I have read that there is a .0002 taper. It seems that it is generally agreed that the barrel was tapered, although some claim that it is a wisetail. I have yet to find a way to slug the barrel to find out.

Does anyone know for sure that Colt indeed tapered the barrels on all Pythons? If so, how did they machine such a thing and still maintain the same land and groove tolerances from the throat to the muzzle? The only thing I could think of is they rifled the barrel with extra height on the lands only to somehow lap the barrel to make a uniform bore.

[Bzcraig]

Could you slug it from the muzzle the first inch or so then slug from the breech and compare the two?

[Clay M]

All I remember is the ones I owned slugged .354

[felix]

They generally go from 360 (cylinder holes) to 354 (6 inch barrels). They do have a slight variance between guns. I cannot detect accuracy differences between the two I have using wadcutters at circa 750 fps. One will shoot better the 358477 at 1100 or so. Pythons, in general, are NOT high performance guns and will get out of sync easily when asked to shoot ammo meant for Rugers. ... felix

[Clay M]

I liked my Pythons,and wish I still had them. Mine shot great with the RCBS 162 gr GC bullet and about 13 grs of 2400

[scattershot]

I've heard all my life that the Python has a tapered barrel. No idea how Colt did it, though.

[felix]

You heard correctly as indicated! Hammer forging prolly is/was the best way for cost/effectiveness, preceded by drilling and reaming separately. ... felix

[birch]

I know they are a very sensitive revolver. I only shoot .38's so far, but did put a few .357 down it just to see. I let a friend of the family shoot it the other day and it will more than likely be the last time a guy shoots it without realizing that it is more than just gun. He was thumbing the hammer back so hard it was locking with a smack. I had to tell him to pull it back gently because the lockwork is very delicate. His response--"If that is one of the finest firearms ever made, why is it so wimpy?" In all reality, he is correct. My brother has a gp100 Ruger that is probably the toughest gun I have ever shot, and it is accurate. However, it just doesnt have the feel that Colt does and there is a big difference. I guess a feller needs to know his way around a revolver/pistol to realize the difference between the two.

I thought about slugging both ends, but there is no way to pound a slug in the chamber end--just not enough space.

[Clay M]

The Python is a smooth as glass. Like a Swiss watch.I had an 8" nickel, and a 6" blue.I sold them over twenty years ago. Had no idea that they would be discontinued and be worth so much.

[Tatume]

Tapering of rifled bores is usually done by hand lapping. One starts lapping the full length of the barrel, then shorten the strokes so that there is less lapping of the muzzle end than the breech end. It takes a lot of skill to do the job right, and is expensive.

[Groo]

Groo here
Where did the Idea that the Python was weak come from???
I carried mine for6 years as an LE ,shot it every weekend at college , never shot anything but keith +p type loads [before I got a supply of 357 brass]
And full bore 357 for many thousands [ over 10k] of rounds and only had one part[ the cylinder lease] that needed attention.
They are much stronger than a k frame and led to the l frame.
The trick was if you tuned them, you needed a smith who knew them.
Once tuned they stayed, as tuned involved the angles of the parts, not springs, meaning set it and until it wears down [I couldn't] forget it.

[ironhead7544]

I heard that the barrel was the reason the Python was so expensive. Mine was very accurate and I never had a problem with it. I did hear that extensive fast double action shooting would wear it out. I almost always shot it single action.

This is some years ago as I remember paying about $250.00 for it used.

[rintinglen]

I have two now, a 4 inch blued gun that I got in 76 and a 3 digit serial number 6 inch. I concur with the notion that they are not the hot house flowers they are sometimes compared to. I ran 32,000+ rounds through my old 6 inch python. I had to have it tuned up once. Nowadays, I do treat them with a little more respect, simply because there are darned few gunsmiths left who know how to work on them, and because Colt turned its back on the american private citizen. I have no intention of ever buying another new Colt product--I'll stick with my friends S&W and Ruger, who did not feel the need to throw us under the bus because Clinton was in the Whitehouse.

[km101]

I owned and shot several Pythons in BE and PPC competition for more than a decade. I never found them to be to be sensitive or fragile. I put anywhere from 2K to 5K rounds of wadcutters per month through my Pythons and carried one as a duty weapon for a couple of years. While using it as a duty weapon I shot a lot of full house .357 loads in it and never had a problem with it or noted any signs of wear.

I wish that I had kept the one that had the trigger job by Reeves Jungkind , but a man with more money than sense came along! I really miss that gun!

[felix]

You were lucky! ... felix