Colt Debuts Full-Size King Cobra Target .357 Magnum

in Authors, Competition, Industry News, Max Slowik, This Week
Colt Debuts Full-Size King Cobra Target .357 Magnum
The Target is a double- and single-action revolver with a spurred hammer built for competition. (Photo: Colt)

After a long, and for some absolutely excruciatingly painful wait, Colt is now offering a full-size King Cobra revolver chambered for .357 Magnum. The newest Cobra has a 4.25-inch barrel and they’re calling it the Target model.

It’s a handsome revolver with its forged stainless-steel construction, matte finish, full-length underlug, custom Altamont hardwood grips, and target sights. The front sight has a fiber optic insert and the rear sight is fully adjustable. One classic touch is that the grips sport a silver Colt medallion on each side.

“After releasing the King Cobra earlier this year we received a flood of requests for a 4-inch model with adjustable sights,” said Colt director Justin Baldini. “Our customers are excited to bring their Colts to the range and the King Cobra Target is engineered for accurate and enjoyable shooting. The longer barrel and custom wood grips also just look fantastic. We’ve precisely tweaked this revolver to get it exactly where we want it and know our customers will feel the difference.”

While Colt says this revolver is intended for competition shooters, its appeal is much broader. This is the new King Cobra nearly everyone has been waiting for, from casual shooters to handgun hunters and more.

Whether it’s for having fun at the range or more serious action shooting full-size .357 Magnums is always a pleasure. And of course, it can be loaded with low-pressure .38 Special rounds for practice and training.

Colt Debuts Full-Size King Cobra Target .357 Magnum
A full-size six-shot .357 Magnum isn’t going to make everyone happy, but it is going to make a whole lot of them grin from ear to ear. (Photo: Colt)

No doubt some buyers are still waiting for an even longer barrel option, or perhaps a blued version with a glossy finish, or even this pattern just with fixed sights. One can expect to see those in the not too distant future. But for now, this offering is a real crowd-pleaser.

Like the other updated King Cobra revolvers introduced this year the Target has a linear mainspring for a smooth and consistent trigger. It’s a six-shot revolver compatible with a wide range of speed loaders and it’s priced in line with earlier models.

The suggested retail price for the King Cobra Target is $999, a hundred dollars more than the base model, and while oftentimes online and in-store prices are lower, discounts on high-demand guns tend to be less. And this is the sort of gun to see a lot of demand.

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About the author: Max Slowik is a writer with over a dozen years of experience and is a lifelong shooter. He has unwavering support for the Second Amendment and the human right to self-defense. Like Thomas Paine, he’s a journalist by profession and a propagandist by inclination.

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  • OTTO ANDERSON JR January 3, 2020, 11:28 am

    HEP YE ALL THE COLT PYTHON S COMEING BACK ABOUT TIME TO . NOW TO FIND IT IN STOCK AS THE KING C I STILL WAITING ON THAT ONE SO THEY SHOULD GET TO WORK AND GET THEM OUT.

  • michael mcnally November 23, 2019, 8:24 am

    Is there any chance that Colt will ever offer the Python again?
    I once owned a .357 Python & letting the $ sign blind me, I sold
    this masterpiece! Stupid mistake!

  • OTTO ANDERSON JR September 19, 2019, 1:33 pm

    WELL WHEN IS THIS NEW COLT GOING TO BE AT DANCE GUN SHOP AS I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR MINE TO COME IN SO ANY ONE THAT HAS COLTS ADDRESS PLEASE SENT THEM A NOTE AND ASK .

  • Nate September 6, 2019, 4:42 pm

    nice looking wheel gun but why no python and anaconda and why are the ‘p’ so hard to get??

  • Bertil Wockatz August 28, 2019, 12:55 pm

    They say that the P would be too expensive to make, being the precision tool it is and needing so much manual labor to manufacture it. Besides I have heard that the “Old guys” (and “gals”) who made them are retired by now and it would take so much time to hone the new gun builders to bring out new Pythons that would be as good as the old ones. I don´t know, but it sounds plausible. So I will stick to mine. Made in the seventies with a 3″ barrel. No, not the usual 2,5″ snubby and not a shortened 4″ but the original fairly unusual 3″. My favourite! (Beside my old 1911 (not A1) and SAA bl.p frame)

  • OTTO ANDERSON JR August 27, 2019, 7:13 pm

    i need a colt python colt so start makeing them again

  • OTTO ANDERSON JR August 27, 2019, 7:04 pm

    well ny one know when theses colts will be sent out to dance sport in va ? i am waiting toget mine so colt get them there this week so ican goand get mine.

  • Glenn61 August 24, 2019, 1:33 pm

    This new King Cobra retails for nearly a thousand bucks,,, how is this any better than a good used Ruger GP100 that has superior rifling at less than half the cost….?

  • Nelson Ortiz August 23, 2019, 3:50 pm

    No comment

  • Burton T Jones August 23, 2019, 2:28 pm

    When I started shooting years ago,Colt was a name everybody knew.I bought a few of them, brand-new.ALL turned out to be lemons.All had one issue or another.Never again.I switched to S&W, and Ruger,and have never looked back.
    If you want a good Colt,buy one at least 40 years old.

  • Gene August 23, 2019, 12:15 pm

    In 72 I bought a cobra snub nose 38 there’s no finer fire arm

  • Johnny August 23, 2019, 11:08 am

    Colt needs to stop wasting time and put the Python back out there. I have the Cobra in 44mag and it would not touch the accuracy of the 357 python.

    • Michael Jaral August 24, 2019, 12:19 pm

      Thank you, my feelings are the same. Bring back the Python. Stop wasting time.

  • DK DEUEL August 23, 2019, 11:05 am

    Now that a Prius is considered a “full size” car, I’m suspicious of “full size” in a handgun. Instead of dicking around, just built a Python, same size, same features as the original, give it a decent trigger, lose the fiber optics ( fine for .22’s, not real, high end guns), and give it a decent price. You’re trying to compete against the GP100 and the 586/686 Smith’s, both very good guns, you’ll just lose again if you don’t field a better gun at an affordable price.

    • Charlemagne October 18, 2019, 10:33 am

      I agree wholeheartedly about the size thing. Carry guns are great but a “King Cobra” should be a full sized duty gun, like my 1990 vintage .357 not an undersized caricature like the new version.

  • John August 23, 2019, 9:59 am

    In these days of CAD programming and CNC machining, why there isn’t a quality southpaw model of revolver made? Charge me an extra buck or two for your troubles!

  • Zupglick August 23, 2019, 9:31 am

    Pretty weapon, but I keep my S & W 629.

  • Ed Bernacki August 23, 2019, 9:30 am

    It’s nice that Colt is reintroducing revolvers again, but I think I’ll just stick to my two Pythons, which I bought several years ago for $1000 and $1100 respectively…

  • Bob August 23, 2019, 9:18 am

    Still have mine, purchased in 1977. Six inch Python (Nickel)

  • TERRY August 23, 2019, 9:15 am

    If only colt could bring back the Python. That was a sweet revolver with it’s ventilated rib and light trigger pull. That’s the gun I truly miss.

  • Daniel D Gorodn August 23, 2019, 8:19 am

    It looks like a beautiful gun, but where is the new Python?

  • OTTO ANDERSON JR August 23, 2019, 7:40 am

    MAKE THE PYTHON. MINE WAS STOLEN . GOT THE KING COBRA 3 INCH. ASK FOR THE 4 INCH NO HAVE DID NOT KNOW THEY WERE MAKING ONE.. WILL HAVE TO CHECK AND SEE WITH MY GUN DEALER . WANT A PYTHON. SO DO THE RIGHT THING AND MAKE SOME MPRE AS THESE PEOPLE OUT HERE IS DRIVING UP THE PRICE ON THEM AND GETTING RICH . SO COLT DO THE RIGHT THING AND MAKE SOME MORE

  • David August 23, 2019, 7:28 am

    It looks like a beautiful gun, but where is the new Python?

  • Jon Baniak August 23, 2019, 7:05 am

    Just make the damn Python!

  • LARRY Hedleston August 23, 2019, 6:57 am

    Bought 1 with 3″ barrel & love it.

  • Jason Weaver August 23, 2019, 6:25 am

    My dreams came true

  • Roy S Lee August 23, 2019, 5:45 am

    Order me a Colt KC 4.25 barrel. I just received the 3 inch barrel last week.

  • MadMax3.6 August 23, 2019, 5:11 am

    They call it King cobra but you put a vented rib on that barrel and you have a Colt Python.

    • Tex August 27, 2019, 5:04 pm

      Not quite, MadMax3.6. The Python, if I remember correctly, has a different trigger mechanism and is not as robust as some of the other double action revolvers being mentioned. The Python was a hand assembled and very well tuned revolver before it ever saw a packing box and was shipped out the door. Lastly, and this goes back to the trigger issue, not that many gunsmiths are able to work on the Python. As older ‘smiths retire and younger ones replace them, that knowledge of old Colts like the Python is lost. To your point though….I would love to see Colt put the Python back into production. Let’s keep our fingers crossed and contact Colt with your request. Good luck.

  • Steve August 23, 2019, 4:43 am

    Better, but still not what they were!

  • Guy Bivens August 23, 2019, 4:36 am

    When will Colt be shipping the Target model? Hopefully it won’t take a year from now to see one on the shelf.

  • shrugger August 23, 2019, 3:56 am

    Right side of the frame forward of the screw. Can someone please explain to me why they’ve mutilated this beautiful revolver with that sh!t?

    • Mike August 23, 2019, 7:44 am

      That’s the Government for you……

  • Rick Hester August 22, 2019, 10:04 pm

    Every body is chasing Ruger Match Champion !!!

  • Irvin gaubert August 22, 2019, 7:05 pm

    Where and when can I buy one

  • dave bright August 22, 2019, 3:19 pm

    Just when I thought I was out…..They pull me back in ! Lol !
    Gotta have one

    • Jeremy J August 23, 2019, 7:15 am

      You’re never out. Once you made that first gun buy you were in for life lol

  • kelly caffey August 22, 2019, 10:17 am

    this is great!
    but im a snub fan. is there a colt king-snub-ra with sights like the k38 combat masterpiece 2 inch barrel? which i have. 15-2.

    • Paul August 23, 2019, 6:38 am

      Good news. If you look down below this article you’ll notice that Colt is also announcing a 2” King Cobra in 357.
      So, if you can find one, or order one…you’re set!

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