Night Cobra

[Petrol & Powder]

As I thumbed through the recent edition of American Rifleman I noticed they had a "New Guns & Gear" article. The item that caught my attention the most was the Colt Night Cobra.

Colt's financial health seems to be constantly on life support but they are apparently trying to capture a portion of the self-defense market. The new Night Cobra has several features that would be welcomed by most disciples of the DA snubnose revolver.
The hammer is bobbed and the action is DAO
It has a front night sight
The finish is a black DLC coating on top of the stainless steel (talk about weather proof!)
New slightly larger, rounded G10 grips

All of that in a 6 shot, +P capable package.

I'm not about to pony up the asking price but I'm glad to see Colt is putting forth the effort to make a serious Self-Defense Snubnose 38.

[brassrat]

I shot a new Cobra and it was really nice

[Petrol & Powder]

Back when Colt was struggling in the 1980's (a reoccurring problem with Colt) they stopped production of the "D" frame Detective Special. Then in the 1990's Colt introduced the SF-VI followed by the DS-II and finally the Magnum Carry; I was a little sad to see the Detective Special go away but I thought Colt was back on a good track. Of course, the DS-II didn't last long and the Magnum Carry only made it about a year before that line was discontinued as well.

I don't know if the Night Cobra will catch on but at least they're trying.

[dubber123]

I am not a Colt fan, but appreciate an iconic company trying to stay alive. I'm not sold on a snub nose revolver doing that for them though, but only time will tell.

[imashooter2]

I bid one up to $700 at a Friends of NRA dinner before stepping aside. No need for another carry revolver, but a Colt in the safe wouldn’t be the worst thing that ever happened to me.

[Gunslinger1911]

Nice looking ! I still prefer to have the option of a SA shot, but, nice revo !

[Petrol & Powder]

Gunslinger 1911, I've ruffled a lot of feathers over the years with my position, but I will not have a hammer spur on a snubnose.
It's a fighting tool and I can shoot it DA just fine. I cannot envision a scenario in which I would want to put a snubnose into single action mode. People frequently refer to not wanting to "give up" the SA capability; as if SA mode is somehow a desired bonus on a snubnose.
I look at it from the other direction, I don't want a hammer spur that can snag on something nor do I ever want the gun in SA mode. I see the hammer spur as a liability not a bonus. I'm not "giving up" something with DAO, I'm gaining something.

A snubnose DA revolver isn't a target gun. That doesn't meant the guns are inaccurate, quite the contrary, they are capable of fine accuracy. They are fighting tools and there is no need for SA mode or hammer spurs on those tools. That of course is personal opinion but there you have it.

[Thumbcocker]

Skeeter did an article on bobbing hammers on pocket revolvers but keeping the SA sear. His theory was that for deliberate shooting you could pull the trigger enough to get your thumb on the front of the hammer and cock it.

[Petrol & Powder]

If I need to take a slow, deliberate shot with a snubnose revolver, chances are I don't need to be taking that shot at all.

[Texas by God]

A double action only snub nose is limited to half its potential. I have collected supper twice with a snubby. It wouldn't have happened without aimed single action fire. Country boy opinion.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Petrol & Powder]

A snubnose isn't a hunting tool for me and if I need game that badly, I'll bring the correct tool.

And, I'm a pretty good shot with a DA. If I can't hit it with a DA shot, I probably can't hit it in SA.

[FergusonTO35]

And, another thread succumbs to the impasse of hammer spur vs. DAO.:killingpc

[reddog81]

I'm glad Colt is expanding their lineup. Hopefully it'll be less than a year before they introduce the next model and maybe the next model can be something other than a blacked out DAO version of the 1 revolver in their line-up.

[Petrol & Powder]

I'm glad Colt is expanding their lineup. Hopefully it'll be less than a year before they introduce the next model and maybe the next model can be something other than a blacked out DAO version of the 1 revolver in their line-up.


Yep, I'm not convinced Colt is going to come out of this bankruptcy any better than their previous bankruptcies but at least they're trying.
I think they were very wise to focus on a segment of the market that Colt has some experience in (small 38 Special DA revolvers) and I think it was wise that they avoid the extremely crowded segments of the firearms market. Colt needs to crawl before they walk.
Colt needs to find a niche in market where they can be competitive. I think the new Cobra revolvers are up against the Kimber K6S in terms of price point and end user. The Colt name may help to sell the new Cobra.
We'll see.