Security/Python Not sure what to think?

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If it was done correctly, it should be a tack driver. However, I think the BIN price is about twice what it is worth. For the most part, it is a 200 dollar barrel screwed on a 400 dollar gun.
 
Drooool...... best of both worlds. I love it.
Not sure I agree with ColdPythonElite on the price.

You have to look at the amount of work put into it. It's not simply $200 (barrel) + $400 (gun) = $600 gun. There is the labor to remove old barrel and install new one. There's also refinishing in nickel. I clearly see the aftermarket wood grips.

Now let's think about less obvious stuff. Let's face it, if you were bothering to put that barrel on that gun, I'd be willing to bet that gun has had an action job, perhaps chambers polished, perhaps muzzle recrown, etc...
 
For $1250 I'd buy a real Python.

These combinations (smolts, etc) were faddish back in the 70s. They faded fast.

But that's just me.
 
I have a gunsmith that would do the work to set up a gun like that for about $150 bucks...Heck, I just had him rebarrel a revolver for me using a slightly different barrel than what came on it. It did not cost me even $150.

That gun could have easily been done for under 600 bucks if you are in the right place at the right time. A Python barrel can be had for well under $200 with a little shopping. The right shopping could score Ruger for probably under $200 as well, particularly one needing a barrel from something like an accidental bulge. After a little gunsmithing and refinishing you could be into one around $600.

Sunnyslopes is correct. Those guns were fads 30 years ago. There isn't much demand for them.

Just because a project might cost a pile of bucks to build, doesn't necessarily make it worth that pile of bucks, though.
 
The idea back in the day was to get an excellent target pistol with a strong action and usually do it on a budget. Python barrels are noted for their accuracy.
 
If it was a real python it would be worth a lot more.
I saw a 4" nickel Python in a gunshop in NJ this week selling for $1800.
 
These were called "Cougers" if I recall correctly.

Interesting gun, but a bit pricey.

I'd give about $800 tops for it myself if it had a killer action job, and the finish looked good up close.
 
This wasn't uncommon in the 1960s and 1970s, although it was usually done with S&W revolvers. (The resulting guns were called "Smolts" or "Smythons." :D) It took a lot of skill (when done right) to rethread the barrels or frames and turn the shoulder down so the barrel indexed properly at the right gap.
 
Looks to me like some hair-brained project from someone with more money than brains, and some poor gunsmith had to say "Well,uh,ok, you're paying the bills".
If I also had more money than brains, and got to see it in person, and fire it in person, well then, who knows, maybe it's a winner.
But sight unseen ? Off the interwebz ?? Gimme a break, this has "Idiot Bait" writen all over it. :cool:
 
Used guns never get the gunsmithing costs back, but that type of a job from a professional would probably go for the BIN price or more. I think it is a neat concept, and the best of both worlds for shooting. The Python still has the looks, but the Ruger would hold up about twice as long a Python. If it was a a used gun at a local shop, I'd be on it to check it out thoroughly, and back to dicker on it if I though it was a pro job and still had a lot of life in it. I've always wanted one of those. It's not just a dressed up Ruger; that Python barrel probably offer the best accuracy, next to a heavy Douglas, etc, and looks a whole lot better.
 
I know it's off the wall, but from the pictures it doesn't look like a backyard mechanic did the work. Sometimes having one of a kind is worth paying a little extra, and if it's done right it could be a gem. A gem not exceeding $800 in my opinion.
 
Well, first of all it isn't a one-of-a-kind...although I will admit that I've never seen one in done in nickle and I know the Ruger was never offered by the factory or the gunsmith who built this gun in nickle.

This was called the Cuger/Couger and was put together by Bill Davis Co (previously named Cake-Davis) of Sacramento CA, who made their name building top flight PPC guns. It wasn't built on a whim, but only after several customers asked for it after having seen his Smolt (Python barrel on a S&W M-19)...something they could feel more comfortable feeding a steady diet of .357 Magnum loads through.

They were built in batches (both 6" and 4") as demand justified, with the extras sold to walk-in customers. I've seen them in both blued and stainless finish; an action tuned was included. The appeal was the cooler look, additional forward weight and greater accuracy of the 1-14" twist of the Python barrel
 
If the provenance (i.e., in this case, the identity of the gunsmith who built it) of the revolver were established, it would make a big difference in the value - or whether to buy it at all.
 
I agree with others. Who did the work? Is it good work? A picture can't tell you those things. It's a custom job that you can't see or handle until you've spent the money. I would be wary.
 
Python barrels narrow slightly from rear to front - making - partly - for their incredible accuracy and stability of the shot round. That's what the attraction is - the rest: marketing and BS Collecting.

Why not get a real Python. Look around, they can be had for reasonable prices though you have to wait. Best place to look is in local gunshops.
 
Rolts, Cugers, ...

I like it. I have real Pythons and real Troopers and real DSs. and I would buy this in a heartbeat. Just not for what he was asking on GB. The ones I used to see were Smythons...Python on a Smith M-19...and they were very accurate. In addition to the barrel bore closing from back to front they also had different twist directions. Been looking for a "right price" 6" Nickel Python since I saw the bank robber in "Getaway" use one. I'd take this one instead if it was $800 or so.
 
Just goes to show you a high end 1911 is worth $3k-$4k, but a sharp custom revolver isn't worth more than $800 to most of us........................
 
I've never seen a 1911 that was worth $3-4k, but that's just me...When the paper gets stacked that high, it better have wheels on it.:D
 
I've never seen a 1911 that was worth $3-4k, but that's just me
Click to expand...
I used to feel that way until I started seeing 1911s regularly go for $6k. And this isn't from the wishful WTS folks...this is the price they are actually selling for.

Like I've always said, how much something is worth is determined by how much someone will pay for it...it has little to do with what it last sold for or how much the work on it cost.

If I remember correctly, the Smolt and Couger sold for $400-$500 back when they were new...about the same price as a Python
 
Python barrel or not...it is a Ruger trigger.

I wouldn't own that thing.

Putting a Porsche engine in an F-250 does not improve the breed
 
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