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Colt Python (6")

Colt describes the Python as a six-shot, single/double-action stainless revolver in .357 Magnum with a full-length ejector shroud, a user-interchangeable front sight and an adjustable rear target sight; this record covers the 6 in barrel configuration, SKU PYTHON-SP6WTS, with Walnut Target Stocks and a Semi-Bright finish.

Scope note: SKU PYTHON-SP6WTS, the 6 in stainless Python.
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THE SECOND MIXED-TIER RECORD, AND THE FIRST WHERE THE TWO TIERS CORROBORATE EACH OTHER RATHER THAN ONE FILLING THE OTHER'S SILENCE. Two Colt documents describe this revolver and they agree value for value: the 2020 Python owner's manual (manufacturer tier) publishes an 11.5 in overall length, a 6.00 in barrel, a 46.0 oz unloaded weight and 1-in-14 left-hand rifling, and an archived Colt-hosted spec sheet publishes the same four figures plus the height, width, finish, frame material and grips the manual omits. Only the Desert Eagle record has had a second document to check against, and there both were manufacturer tier; here the corroboration crosses tiers, which is worth more, because it tests the retailer-tier document against the maker's own words and it passes. THE SPEC SHEET IS RETAILER TIER, ON THE DOCUMENT'S SHAPE RATHER THAN ITS ADDRESS — colt.com serves it, and it carries a $1,499.00 retail price and a list of state restrictions (California, Massachusetts), which is a distributor feed's shape. That is the same call the Colt Government Model .45 record makes about the same endpoint, and it is deliberately consistent with it. ONE THING IS SHARPLY DIFFERENT FROM THAT RECORD, THOUGH: this sheet does not contradict itself. The 1911 sheet said "Series 70" in its title and "MODEL: 1991 Government" in its body, which destroyed the series field. This one reads PYTHON (6") in the title, "Model: Python" and "SKU: PYTHON-SP6WTS" in the body, with a matching UPC of 098289003270 — consistent throughout, which is part of why its unique values are recordable at all. WHY THE WHOLE SPEC TABLE FOOTNOTES THE SPEC SHEET, INCLUDING ROWS THE MANUAL ALSO PUBLISHES. The overall dimensions render as one row with one footnote, and only the spec sheet publishes all three axes — the manual has the length and neither the height nor the width. Attributing that row to the manual would credit it with two measurements it does not contain, the silent wrong-reference bug that has now surfaced five times in this project. So the record's defaultSource is the spec sheet, which genuinely publishes every value in every row it backs, and the manual is cited for the controls and for both action rows, where it is the better source — the latter needed a new `triggerActionSource` field, deliberately deferred by this directive until a record required it, and this is that record: the spec sheet has no action row at all, so without the override Colt's own classification would have been footnoted to a distributor feed. The residual consequence is that THREE displayed rows are chipped retailer despite Colt's manual publishing the same figures — the overall dimensions, the barrel length and the weight. That understates the evidence, which is the safe direction to be wrong in when the alternative is claiming a document says something it does not, and this note is where the corroboration is recorded. The manual's fourth agreeing figure, the 1-in-14 left-hand rifling, has no schema field and appears on no row. TRIGGER ACTION IS RECORDED AND THE CITATION IS MODEL-SPECIFIC. The manual's TYPE OF REVOLVER line reads "Colt Python, six shot, single/double action revolver, caliber .357 magnum, shrouded ejector rod, and ramp front sight" — that names this model and states the trigger mode, so it normalizes to da/sa. Note the paragraph two pages later that does NOT count: under FUNCTION the manual explains that "Most revolver models can be fired by Single Action Mode... or by Double Action Mode" and that "Some revolver models are DAO", which is generic instruction about revolvers in general and would have been a near-citation of exactly the kind refused on the Springfield Hellcat. Ignition and operating system are unset: Colt names a hammer, a transfer bar and a firing pin as components without classifying the ignition, and a revolver's cycling is not among the operating-system union's values. Contrast the Ruger LCR, whose row is empty because Ruger's "Double-Action" is a catalogue category spanning both directory values; Colt writes "single/double action", which picks one. CHAMBERING RECORDS ONE CARTRIDGE AND THE REVOLVER TAKES TWO. Colt states that ".38 Special & .38 Special +P, can be fired safely from this revolver" and the spec sheet says it "also accommodates .38 Special cartridges". `chambering` holds a single value, so only .357 Magnum is recorded; the .38 Special compatibility is stated by the manufacturer rather than inferred, and it sits here because there is no field for it. METRIC VALUES ARE THIS DIRECTORY'S CONVERSIONS EVEN THOUGH COLT PUBLISHES METRIC, and that needs explaining. The spec sheet — the source these rows footnote — is imperial only. The manual does give metric, and it agrees exactly on the two lengths (29.21 cm is 292.1 mm, 15.24 cm is 152.4 mm) but not quite on the weight: Colt prints 1.30 kg where 46 oz converts to 1304 g, a 4 g gap from Colt rounding to two decimals in kilograms. Recording the manual's metric under the spec sheet's footnote would misattribute it, so the helpers' conversions are used and flagged, and Colt's own figures are disclosed here. THE 4.25 IN VERSION IS A SEPARATE RECORD AND ITS FIGURES ARE NOT LOST: the manual gives it a 9.75 in (24.77 cm) overall length, a 4.25 in (10.80 cm) barrel and a 42.0 oz (1.19 kg) unloaded weight, with the same 1-in-14 LH rifling — but no height or width, because no spec sheet for that SKU was found. Note the manual presents the two as "versions" of one model rather than as two models, which is Colt's framing; the base-model rule still separates them, and the height and width recorded here belong to the 6 in gun only. WHAT COLT'S LIVE CATALOGUE HAS TO DO WITH THIS: nothing, and that is the point. Colt currently lists 42 products and only two Pythons — an Engraved Python (PYTHON-SP3WTS-SE) and a Roundbutt Python 2.5" (PYTHON-RSP2TS) — neither of which is this configuration, and both publish only SKU, caliber, capacity, action and a price, exactly as the scoped 1911 Classic Government listing does. Their action strings are worth recording as a curiosity of Colt's own inconsistency: one says "Double and Single Action" and the other "SA/DA". No value from either was carried onto this record; matching model names are not matching models. Year introduced is unrecorded: the spec sheet calls this "The 2020 Python", which is Colt's name for the reintroduced design rather than a dated announcement, the Python line itself dates to 1955, and Colt's live post sitemap holds 18 posts with no Python announcement among them. Recording a single year would have to choose between the original and the reissue, and no source read here dates either. Warranty is unrecorded: Colt publishes no warranty terms reachable from the manual or the catalogue, as the 1911 investigation also found. Also published and unrecorded for want of a schema field: 1-in-14 left-hand rifling with six grooves, a stainless steel frame in a Semi-Bright finish, Walnut Target Stocks, a recessed target crown, a user-interchangeable front sight, an adjustable rear target sight, the UPC, and the $1,499.00 price the sheet carried at capture. Finish is NOT recorded in slideFinish: a revolver has no slide, and "Semi-Bright" describes the whole gun — the Mark IV and LCR call.

Reference fields

ManufacturerColt[1]Retailer / distributor
Manufacturer seriesPython
Firearm categoryHandgun[1]Retailer / distributor
Manufacturer chambering357 Magnum[1]Retailer / distributor
GenerationNot yet verified
Manufacturer listingListed as SKU PYTHON-SP6WTS, UPC 098289003270; Colt's live catalogue no longer carries this configuration, offering only an Engraved Python and a Roundbutt Python 2.5"[1]Retailer / distributor
Trigger actionDouble-action / single-action[2]
Slide finishNot yet verified
ControlsRamp front sight, user-interchangeable on the barrel, with an adjustable rear target sight; full-length snag-free ejector shroud; transfer bar that prevents the hammer striking the firing pin until the trigger is squeezed and held back[2]
WarrantyNot yet verified
MSRPNot recorded
Verification boundary: Published technical data are rounded, may not reflect manufacturing tolerances, and may change without notice. MSRP is not recorded: most cited product pages do publish a price, but it changes without notice and independently of the specification, so this directory has no field for it and the row stays blank rather than carrying a figure that would silently go stale. Values marked ≈ were converted by this directory from the unit system the source published; the unmarked figure in the same row is the published one.
Evidence tiers backing this record: Manufacturer, Retailer / distributor. Unmarked values come from manufacturer documentation; any value drawn from a lower tier is labeled inline with that tier. Where two sources disagreed, the higher tier was recorded and the disagreement noted.

Sources

  1. [1]
    Colt spec sheet for PYTHON (6") — SKU PYTHON-SP6WTS, UPC 098289003270 (Colt-hosted, distributor-shaped; carries a $1,499.00 retail price and state restrictions)Retailer / distributor Distributor spec sheet served from the manufacturer's domain (PDF) · Web Archive capture
    Accessed 2026-08-13 · Captured 2021-04-23 from https://www.colt.com/api.php?action=specsheet&product_id=670535
  2. [2]Accessed 2026-08-13

Common questions

Answered from this record's cited fields only. Where a manufacturer publishes nothing on a subject, the question is not asked rather than answered with a blank.

01What caliber is the Colt Python (6")?

The Colt Python (6") is chambered in .357 Magnum. Colt writes it as 357 Magnum. Ammunition should match the exact chambering marked on the firearm.

02How many rounds does the Colt Python (6") hold?

Colt lists a 6-round standard magazine for the Python (6"). Colt lists no optional capacities for this record. These are magazine capacities; a round carried in the chamber is not counted here.

03What is the barrel length of the Colt Python (6")?

Colt lists a barrel length of ≈152.4 mm / 6 in.

04What are the dimensions of the Colt Python (6")?

Colt publishes ≈292.1 × 39.4 × 139.7 mm / 11.5 × 1.55 × 5.5 in (height: measurement basis not stated by Colt). Any measurement basis shown is the manufacturer's own qualifier; where none is shown, the manufacturer states none.

05How much does the Colt Python (6") weigh?

Colt publishes ≈1304 g / 46 oz (the spec sheet states no basis; Colt's owner's manual labels the same 46.0 oz figure "Weight (unloaded)", and a revolver has no magazine, so the magazine question this field usually settles does not arise).

06Is the Colt Python (6") striker-fired?

Colt publishes "single/double action" as its own name for the action and does not classify an ignition type for the Python (6"). This directory records the manufacturer's wording and leaves the ignition field empty rather than inferring a classification the source does not state.