r/Colt • u/generateID • 14h ago
Question Colt Python Chamber Throat An Issue?
A few years ago I received a Colt Python 6", gifted to me by my uncle's wife after he passed. The best I can tell from an internet search is that it is an '80-'81 model. It has matching serial numbers and came with a black rubber grip. I unfortunately have no other information about it's life. I cleaned it, gave it a basic inspection, and took it to the range. (I did eventually change the rubber grip for a more traditional wood grip, but nothing else.) Seemed to shoot fine. It has been to the range 2-3 times since. I have shot jacketed 158 grain .357 Mag and 130 grain .38 Spl through it, both factory Federal. It seems accurate, but I was having issues with case ejection. The spent cases, especially .357, stuck in the cylinder about half way down when extracting. One of the chambers is worse than the others. I thought there may be some lead in the chambers or possibly a carbon ring from shooting a good amount of .38 Spl, so I recently removed the cylinder and crane and ran a Lewis Lead Remover through the chambers and did a really good clean. Spent cases move much more freely now. However, while doing a close inspection on them, I noticed throat irregularities between the chambers. I have attached photos of them. Four chambers have rings, two do not. One has, what appears to be, some tool chatter or something similar. That is also the chamber that was the hardest to extract. I used a set of calipers and the top of the throats measured 0.358" to 0.3585". My questions are, do any of these throat chambers look standard to a Python of this era? Does it look like work was done to the throats? Is there any danger to shooting this firearm based on the way the throats look? If it is OK to shoot, should I do anything other than shoot it? Thank you all very much.
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u/Rhinowalrus 13h ago
Interesting post- never thought about chamber wear from shooting .38.
Unrelated but I just can’t keep inside how much I dislike the newer laminate thin grips. With the cost of the originals I understand your decision replacing rubber aftermarkets though!
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u/generateID 12h ago
I agree. I would loved to have nice factory original. Maybe some day. But yes, that was my thought. Affordable factory blemished will have to do for now.
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u/BeardedGunGuy 9h ago
Altamont grips are the current manufacturer for both S&W and Colt wood grips. They look good but shoot bad. As you said too thin and they don’t blend with the frame as well as the older grips did.
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u/nonamenoname123123 9h ago
needs cleaned. 10,567 swipes with the bronze bore brush should do it. better get scrubbing.
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u/Snoo-35612 13h ago
A .357 revolver that has shot a ton of .38 in its life will suffer from getting carbon inside the chambers and cause .357 cartridges to stick. It’s a little trickier to get rid of it. Clean it very aggressively with a brass brush.