Why are the colt python and annaconda so expensive?
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Why are the colt python and annaconda so expensive?
They are not made anymore, but are still desirable. They are well made quality weapons. In the 1980's the Python was a status symbol in the law enforcement community. The same holds true for the Anaconda. In that it is a quality weapon that in not made anymore. Supply and demand.
The guns are timeless classics in limited supply. Heck, Python triggers are a work of art by themselves.
Colt made real nice revolvers, and they arent available any longer. I wish I still had my King Cobra. never seen or felt a trigger like that again.
As a S&W fan let me look at this with cold, unemotional logic. Supply and demand. The Colts are not made anymore, they are of a bygone era, that many look back on as in many ways better than our current one. The Colts were old designs (the S&Ws are to) built to standards that one rarely sees today. The finish and bluing could be truly spectacular. Therefore many people want them, and these tend to be people old and financially secure enough to pay for what they want. As mentioned above they aren't made anymore. So we have a significant, well heeled demand chasing a dwindling supply, prices will rise.
If youi are one of those people that can't be happy without this memento of a cherished past, by all means buy one or more. However, if you want a fine revolver, to shoot, hunt, compete in IDPA, ICORE, etc. get a Smith. It was harder to find a competent Smith for the Colts back in the day, it is getting even harder. Parts are even more difficult, and the Colts are not the most robust design. All of this means nothing to the person who wants one because of any number of nostalgic reasons. Similarly I just had to get a Triumph TR6 because I had wanted one for 40 years, what a disappointing car.
Colt stopped making those models because they could not make any money on them. The market is now dominated by cheaper revolvers and the Smith is now the highest quality of the production revolvers.
It is difficult to compare a S&W 29 or 629 with a Colt Anaconda. Fit, trigger, finish, and aesthetics are all significantly better on the Colt.
Value is only going to increase on the Colt. If you can afford it, buy it. You won't be sorry. If you can't, buy a Smith and you still won't be sorry.
Everyone is spot on. I'm definitely not getting rid of my Detective Special. They are still affordable revolvers (especially considering that they're Colts), and as effective today as ever. I sure wouldn't mind adding a snub Python to my stable though :)
Colt premium, and good marketing. You see the same with the 1911s and ARs. People are just willing to pay a couple hundred dollars more for an identical product with a pony on it -- status, history, limited supply (given discontinuation of the revolvers), who knows? Whatever it is, there's no doubt that Colt has managed to portray itself as the "real" version of whatever they're selling. And people are willing to pay for that.
In my experience with all manner of Colts, the only ones I've seen that tend to have a higher quality than those of their competitors are the ARs. Today's Colt 1911s aren't usually as well-built as comparable Springfield 1911s(and from the 1970s through the late 1990s they were utter garbage), and the Pythons were usually on par with the S&Ws (on par with the K-frame S&Ws, at least -- I've found the L-Frame S&Ws to be of lower quality than the Pythons, generally).
And the Anaconda? Price from the Colt name only. They're crap. If you want a nice DA .44, get a Ruger Super Redhawk if you want to shoot heavy loads, or a S&W 29 or 629 if you're going to shoot factory level loads.