Guns International #: 103120848
Seller's Inventory #: 41

Category - Colt Revolvers - Cobra - Colt Revolvers - Double Action Post-War

Category
Colt Revolvers - Cobra
Colt Revolvers - Double Action Post-War

Colt King Cobra 3" 357" Custon Ivory Composite Grips - NIB

Description:
Description
This is a NIB never-fired King Cobra 357 Mag in polished stainless steel with a 3" barrel and custom Ivory composite full siize grips. The original stock grips are included.

Overview
One of the first things to comprehend about the King Cobra is its size. More specifically, its lack thereof. If you just saw photos of the revolver, with its shrouded ejector rod and full under lug, you might think this is the first step toward a new Python. Or maybe you read “heavy duty frame” and thought of something along the lines of the Ruger GP100. This gun is neither of those.  On the ever-popular Smith & Wesson frame scale, the King Cobra sits right in the middle between the J-frame and the K-frame guns.  For those of you more familiar with Ruger double-action revolvers, the six-shot Colt King Cobra revolver weighs in at a grand total of 1 oz more than the five-shot SP-101.  At 28 oz, it’s much lighter than the GP100, or the S&W Model 10, Model 19, or the “Combat Magnum” 66.  The Colt King Cobra with a 3-inch full lug barrel. With its 3-inch barrel, Colt has released the King Cobra as an everyday concealed carry revolver. Carry guns are certainly the most popular market segment these days. I’m not sure carry revolvers are, but it would be no surprise if they demand the same attention as the smaller semi-auto pistols.

After all, going back more than 150 years, the only model that was more popular in America than the Colt Navy was the smaller and more easily concealed Colt Pocket models. As a carry magnum revolver, the King Cobra is about perfect in size. Like the GLOCK 19, the King Cobra strikes a Goldilocks-like balance of a gun that’s easy to carry, easy to handle, and easy to shoot. The original King Cobras were offered in multiple barrel lengths. None of them, however, was 3 inches. The contemporary King Cobra only comes in a 3-inch barrel. This is, once again, due to the market segment Colt is going after. With a .357 Magnum, I would have much preferred a 4-inch gun. With most rounds, the .357 Magnum takes a pretty steep dive in the velocity and corresponding energy department in short barrels. There’s a significant difference in energy levels, 10-15%, between 3″-4″. That extra inch wouldn’t give up much of anything in carryability, especially in an already light revolver, but it would gain in accuracy, power, and controllability.  

The heart of any double-action revolver is its trigger, and the King Cobra ships straight from Hartford, Connecticut, with a great trigger. Like every double-action Colt, it has just a bit of stack right at the back of the trigger pull (and I do mean right at the very back). Some folks are good at staging this trigger, but I’m not one of them.  Maybe this one is a little better than the old Colts, but it easy to pull straight on through as I would a Smith & Wesson J-frame. Whether you like to stage the trigger or not, this trigger is just as good, if not better than any modern double-action revolver on the market.

The double-action pull is at an average of 8 lbs 10 oz, and the single-action trigger is an easy 4 lbs 4oz. I’ll tell you this: that single-action pull feels a heck of a lot lighter than that.  I’m not sure what it is, but I find a 6 lb trigger on a GLOCK unacceptable, while the greater part of 9 lbs on a revolver like this one feels light and easy. Double-action revolvers have a lot going on in the trigger. They don’t reset like semi-automatics. The King Cobra has three distinct clicks before the trigger is fully reset and ready to turn the cylinder and cock the hammer again. Those of you unfamiliar with revolvers may have an issue with this, but anyone who’s worked with the wheel gun will find this perfectly acceptable. Watch old videos of Patrick Sweeney, or any of the great revolver shooters out there. You’ll see them slapping the inside front of the trigger guard with their trigger finger when they’re shooting fast. Reset isn’t an issue.

The King Cobra has a transfer safety bar, making it completely safe to carry with the hammer down on a live round. The manual describes how the transfer bar works in detail:

In either mode the functioning sequence is similar, when the trigger or hammer rotates rearward, the trigger unlocks the bolt from the cylinder, while the trigger lifts the hand to rotate the cylinder clockwise, the trigger also moves the transfer bar up behind the firing pin. When the hammer is approximately halfway to its cocked position the bolt is released from the trigger and rides on the outside of the cylinder. The cylinder continues to rotate until the bolt drops into the next cylinder notch, assuring proper alignment of the chamber, barrel, and firing pin before the hammer is released. Once the hammer is released from the trigger, it rotates forward, striking the transfer bar and transferring energy to the firing pin to ignite the cartridge in the chamber. Once the trigger is released, the trigger will rotate back to its at-rest position, pulling the transfer bar down from behind the firing pin, leaving a gap between the firing pin and hammer. Without the trigger holding the transfer bar up behind the firing pin, there is no way for the hammer to contact the transfer bar or firing pin.

At the time of this writing, all Colt King Cobras come from the factory with a brass bead insert front sight. I’m a big fan of the brass bead front sight, as long as it’s well-polished and shiny. Unfortunately, this one isn’t.
The front sight on the King Cobra is quite dull and flat. A little metal polish and a minute of careful work with the Dremel tool make all the difference. The standard brass bead insert is interesting. Currently, even on the owner’s manual, it states, “The front sight is interchangeable, standard model comes with a fiber optic.”  It clearly does not come standard with the fiber optic insert, and the only ones available from Colt, still listed on the same immediately next to the manual, include the brass bead. The lack of attention there by Colt does not breed confidence.

Specifications: 
Colt King Cobra
Caliber: .357 Magnum, .38 Spl, .38 Spl +P
Barrel Length: 3 in. , rifling 1/14 LH twist
Capacity: 6 rounds
Sights: Brass bead front
Frame Material: Stainless steel
Frame Finish: Brushed stainless
Grips: Hogue OverMolded
Action: Double-action
Weight: 28 oz.

Style and Appearance: ****
This should be five stars. The gun is good-looking, with great style and a brushed stainless polish done better than anyone in the business. The standard grips take a star away, and the tool marks under the front strap knock it down another big peg.
Reliability: * * * * *
Welcome to where revolvers rule. Multiple weights, velocities, types of bullets, and two different cartridges. Seven hundred rounds, six months, zero issues.
Accuracy: * * * * *
Even the heavy .357 Magnum round shot well. Getting 1-1.25” 25-yard groups from a smaller double-action revolver channel rear sight is truly impressive.
Overall: * * * *
A wood grip option and getting rid of those tool marks would make this a solid 5-star gun. The lack of options from the factory is pretty disappointing. But man, this gun handles well. It’s easy to shoot, accurate, and looks beautiful. Colt currently lists these guns as “Out of Stock”. Let’s hope they go the same direction as the earlier .38 Spl +P Cobra and re-release multiple versions of the gun. I hope for a 4-inch barrel, but I’m praying for one in Royal Blue.

Layawy: 1/3 down 90 days
Shipping:  $40, insurance extra upon Buyer's request
Payment:  Personal Check, Money Order, Cert. Check, or Zelle

randywine2000yahoo
(703) 858-2881
Returns without damage or alteration within 3 days of delivery minus a 20% restocking fee

Handgun Caliber: .357 Magnum
Manufacturer: Colt
Model: King Cobra
Serial Number: RA261207
Barrel Length: 3
Bore Info: 1/14 LH twist
Chambers: 6 Rounds
Condition: NIB
Metal Condition: NIB
Wood Condition: NIB
Bore Condition: NIB
Action: SA/DA
Triggers: SA trigger pull 4 lbs 4oz
Rib: Yes
Finish: Polished Stainless
Weight: 28 ozs
Manufacture Date: 2012
Case: Factory
Grips: Full SizeCustom Ivory Composit

Price: $1,999.00
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