Twenty Five odd years ago, I was at a local gun show just poking around to see what was available or interesting. This was long before the “Black Gun” craze, so there were lots of nice-looking firearms to gaze at.
I was at a table standing next to an older gentleman who was trying to sell a handgun, and no one would even give him the time of day. It was a first-generation Colt Trooper in exceptionally fine condition (Good), but he had rung the barrel (bulged due to a squib load being lodged in the barrel and a regular load fired behind it) (bad). After several tables rejected him, I asked if I could look at it. Then asked what he would take for it. He said a hundred bucks, that C-Note jumped out of my wallet.
I figured, I could have a custom bull barrel put on it.
The action was tight as a drum, zero play in rotation or fore/aft. The first generation of Troopers (Trooper 357), were made on the exact frame as the Python and had the same internal lockwork. The only difference was the finish and of course the vent rib barrel.
Before looking at a custom barrel, I decided to call the Colt “mothership”, to see what their thoughts were. To my surprise, they had ONE new 4” barrel in stock from the late 1950’s. So, off the Trooper went. And for the princely sum of another 100 bucks, they replaced the barrel, refinished it and went thru the lockwork. What a deal, a fine near new Colt for 200 bucks!!!!!
Once returned, it was a very fine shooter indeed. Over the decades, I put thousands of rounds thru this thing, all light 38’s. My eldest daughter learned to shoot handguns with it, heck, I even used it when I took my classes for concealed carry.
Spin the time clock to today… I have gotten to where; a 4” open sight handgun and my eyes just don’t work as well together shooting bullseye small groups. So, I got to thinking about what I could do to improve the old workhorse. Drilling and tapping for a dot was out of the question.
As I mentioned above, the 1stGen Trooper and the Python share the exact same frame, I thought, what the heck, I would try and find a longer Python barrel and have it put on.
Looking around, I found that Python barrels must be made from gold plated UnObtainium. When I looked at the prices. $400-600 minimum. 6 inchers were even more expensive. Since there was a change in barrel thread, in the later years, I had to make sure that I got the correct one (two pin front sight vs. the later single pin). But I kept poking around.
Recently, while ordering some parts from Numrich Arms, I noticed that they had a few Python barrels. I called to chat about them, most were either the 2 ½ “ or the incorrect thread. They then told me that they had just gotten in a NOS( New Old Stock) 8 inch, Python barrel, two pin. Not just a regular Python barrel, but a Python TARGET barrel. Tapered bore, gain twist….The cream of the crop. Brand new, still in the wrapper. They shot me a great price and I ordered it.
Four days later, FedEx dropped it on my doorstep.
A quick call to my favorite gunsmith (Alex Hamilton…TenRing Precision in San Antonio TX), confirmed that he had no issue doing what I wanted as he used to do Python barrel swaps onto K-frame Smiths and even Ruger Security Sixes, so a 1stGen Trooper would be a piece of cake.
They would then take a look at the internals and tune if needed. I then ordered the entire gun given a coat of GunKote so that it all matched. He said they had about a several month backlog, but he would work me in as he could (good gunsmiths are busy, GREAT gunsmiths even more so, so keeping one on your Christmas card list is really a good idea). So off via Fed Ex it went and the waiting has begun.
But I can show you what the gun looks like today and what it "will" look like when I get it back.. A totally different look.
I was at a table standing next to an older gentleman who was trying to sell a handgun, and no one would even give him the time of day. It was a first-generation Colt Trooper in exceptionally fine condition (Good), but he had rung the barrel (bulged due to a squib load being lodged in the barrel and a regular load fired behind it) (bad). After several tables rejected him, I asked if I could look at it. Then asked what he would take for it. He said a hundred bucks, that C-Note jumped out of my wallet.
I figured, I could have a custom bull barrel put on it.
The action was tight as a drum, zero play in rotation or fore/aft. The first generation of Troopers (Trooper 357), were made on the exact frame as the Python and had the same internal lockwork. The only difference was the finish and of course the vent rib barrel.
Before looking at a custom barrel, I decided to call the Colt “mothership”, to see what their thoughts were. To my surprise, they had ONE new 4” barrel in stock from the late 1950’s. So, off the Trooper went. And for the princely sum of another 100 bucks, they replaced the barrel, refinished it and went thru the lockwork. What a deal, a fine near new Colt for 200 bucks!!!!!
Once returned, it was a very fine shooter indeed. Over the decades, I put thousands of rounds thru this thing, all light 38’s. My eldest daughter learned to shoot handguns with it, heck, I even used it when I took my classes for concealed carry.
Spin the time clock to today… I have gotten to where; a 4” open sight handgun and my eyes just don’t work as well together shooting bullseye small groups. So, I got to thinking about what I could do to improve the old workhorse. Drilling and tapping for a dot was out of the question.
As I mentioned above, the 1stGen Trooper and the Python share the exact same frame, I thought, what the heck, I would try and find a longer Python barrel and have it put on.
Looking around, I found that Python barrels must be made from gold plated UnObtainium. When I looked at the prices. $400-600 minimum. 6 inchers were even more expensive. Since there was a change in barrel thread, in the later years, I had to make sure that I got the correct one (two pin front sight vs. the later single pin). But I kept poking around.
Recently, while ordering some parts from Numrich Arms, I noticed that they had a few Python barrels. I called to chat about them, most were either the 2 ½ “ or the incorrect thread. They then told me that they had just gotten in a NOS( New Old Stock) 8 inch, Python barrel, two pin. Not just a regular Python barrel, but a Python TARGET barrel. Tapered bore, gain twist….The cream of the crop. Brand new, still in the wrapper. They shot me a great price and I ordered it.
Four days later, FedEx dropped it on my doorstep.
A quick call to my favorite gunsmith (Alex Hamilton…TenRing Precision in San Antonio TX), confirmed that he had no issue doing what I wanted as he used to do Python barrel swaps onto K-frame Smiths and even Ruger Security Sixes, so a 1stGen Trooper would be a piece of cake.
They would then take a look at the internals and tune if needed. I then ordered the entire gun given a coat of GunKote so that it all matched. He said they had about a several month backlog, but he would work me in as he could (good gunsmiths are busy, GREAT gunsmiths even more so, so keeping one on your Christmas card list is really a good idea). So off via Fed Ex it went and the waiting has begun.
But I can show you what the gun looks like today and what it "will" look like when I get it back.. A totally different look.
