Colt Cobra Question
I have an opportunity to buy a Colt Cobra 38 spcl. 2" for $289. It has some holster wear but no rust or scratches. I thought with the right ammo it might make a nice summer time carry gun. I like the six shot aspect over the small S&W. The gun is about a 1988 blue w/ wood grips. Is the $289 + tax a fair price, and are they dependable / accurate? Thanks for the advice.
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I have a Colt Cobra in 38spl with an alloy frame. Does anybody
know what kind of alloy this might be? Thanks...0 -
Actually, according to Colt, they approached ALCOA to come up with a High Strength Aluminum Alloy to be used for these guns. Colt subsequently made the Agent, Cobra, Aircrewman, and Courier frames from the metal alloy they had ALCOA make. The material was proprietarily named "Coltalloy."
The Aircrewman revolvers made of this material for the U.S. Air Force proved to be not strong enough for their .38 special loads. Damage was occurring to the guns and the Air Force sent them all back to Colt. I'm told less than 20 still exist and that the entire run of these revolvers was destroyed except for these few.
These guns will NOT take +P or +P+ or "HOT" handloaded ammo as a consistent diet. Sometimes, they won't take it at all! If you have an "aluminum framed" Cobra .38 Special, treat it to a diet of "light" loaded ammunition if you want it to last!
Some of these same model guns also had a cylinder made from this material called "Coltalloy" and these are especially prone to problems. However, the ones of these models chambered in .22 LR, such as the Courier, had a steel barrel and Cylinder with only an Alloy frame and seem to handle the .22 LR without any problems whatever!
If your Cobra has a steel cylinder, it will be quite a bit stronger than one with an alloy cylinder. Check it with a magnet to be sure. Meanwhile, if it were me, I would use it accordingly! Hope this helps!
Fish Shudder at the sound of my Name!0 -
Actually, the factory manual for my Colt Agent says that it will handle +P ammo but not +P+....
But then, maybe the alloy frame wasn't of the same type of ALCOA aluminum alloy...
"In God We Trust........All Others Go Thru NCIC"0 -
Just took a look in a Colt Safety and Instruction Manual for the following revolvers: Detective Special, Diamondback, Police Positive, Commando Special, Agent, Cobra, and Viper. Manual is Colt Part No. 96031 REV A JUL 94. Here's what that one says regarding ammo for these guns. It makes this statement regarding +P 38 Special Ammo for the Agent 38 Special, The Cobra 38 Special, and the Viper 38 Special; Limited Use * (Aluminum Frame). Down at the bottom where the * is it states: "Extensive use of +P 38 Special ammunition will accelerate wear in your revolver. For continued satisfactory performance, have it checked at a Colt Authorized Repair Service Station periodically. Intervals should be every 1000 rounds in aluminum frames and 2000 or 3000 rounds in steel frames." It goes on:
NOTE: If you want to use +P+ ammunition, buy a Colt revolver chambered for 357 Magnum cartridges. The dealer will be pleased to show you the Colt revolvers which are suitable and available.....
I wouldn't take this to be an outright recommendation for the use of +P ammo, and obviously, they say +P+ is a definite NO! By recommending even the steel framed revolvers be "checked at 2000 or 3000 rounds" is no testament to them, either, in my opinion.
Fish Shudder at the sound of my Name!0 -
My Cobra has the steel barrel and cyl. I need to re-blue the
frame though, any suggestions on how to re-blue the alloy frame
would be appreciated..Thanks...0 -
Looked at mine dated Oct 1984 and it says the same. But, it says limited use, and not none at all. Be that as it may... Have you shot 1000 rounds of +P in yours? I haven't cause it is painful. I have fired a few, just to see that I don't want to shoot any more than that, and will just stick to standard reloaded ammo... The pachmayr grips helped, but with the wooden grips and shooting in Arizona, I always ended up against the back side of the hammer, so I quit.
We are just splitting hairs, and I guess it is up to the individual on what they want to do. Some may want to try +P's and others may not. The choice of freedom...
"In God We Trust........All Others Go Thru NCIC"0 -
Sorry about splitting hairs. Just don't have much faith in the way they worded their "OK" to do so.....doesn't exactly make you feel like it's all right to me.
Regarding reblueing the frame....not an easy thing to do. The process is called "adonized" and it isn't something you can do at home. I've found the easiest thing to do on aluminum is use a black marker with a thin tip and carefully "paint" the scratch. Don't know how you would refinish it. Might want to talk to a Chrome Plating shop in your area. They may do it or know someone that does.
Fish Shudder at the sound of my Name!0 -
Now that we're done splitting hairs, do you know of a good, reputable smith to work on the Agents? Mine is out of timing...[:D]
NOW, NOW... don't jump to conclusions.... It started out this way from day one... I waited until later to try the +P's and I was real careful when I pulled the trigger....
I haven't shot the thing for over 12 years......
"In God We Trust........All Others Go Thru NCIC"0 -
74cuda:
I hate to say this, but in all honesty if it were mine, I wouldn't consider doing anything except sending it back to Colt for repair. The reason I feel this way is because the likelihood of anyone finding parts for one of these is slim and none. Jack First in So. Dakota did have some items, but that was a while ago. If it needs a new hand for it, etc., I would rather throw myself on the mercy of the factory even such as it is now days. They would find or make whatever part(s) they might need or require. They are very slow with repairs, sometimes three months or more.....Not a pretty story. On the other side of the story, most of the parts interchange with the Detective Special.
Fish Shudder at the sound of my Name!0 -
Minor point but the "Aircrewman" was a S&W Chiefs Special, not a Colt.
It's possible that Colt also made some but I remember being issued a S&W "Aircrewman" back in my flying days with the admonishment, "If you have to use it, throw it, don't shoot it!" I kept a .45 in my flight bag. RancheroPaul is correct in that those guns were scrapped (and rightly so!) However, if your find one, buy it! Quite a collectors' item.0 -
I skimmed through the responses so hope I did not misunderstand something.
The information about the "Coltalloy" is correct. It is just an ALCOA aluminum alloy with a fancy name. I assume the alloy was the same for all alloy-framed Colts in the 1950s, including the Commander and Cobra introduced in 1950. ALCOA was promoting aluminum for all sorts of things in the early 1950s, including gun frames. The Whitney Wolverine has an ALCOA alloy frame as well.
The information about the Courier is where I disagree. Only the .22 Courier has a steel cylinder. The .32NP Courier has an ALLOY cylinder, the only production Colt to have an alloy cylinder. The Aircrewman was not a production gun, but did have the alloy cylinder as mentioned. The M13 Smith & Wesson Aircrewman with its alloy cylinder had the same problems, and the cylinders were replaced with steel at some point, instead of being recalled like the Colts. Smith built thousands of alloy-cylinder production guns, mostly the Pre-M12 K-frame revolvers, and a few thousand J-frame Pre-M37 revolvers.
All Colt "D" frame fire control parts are the same, except for hammers on rimfires. If any Colt double-action of the modern era is out of time, it is almost always because of a worn hand. Just replace the hand with a new one and that will solve the problem with no gunsmithing needed in most cases. New hands are readily available (from Brownells for instance) and are inexpensive. You can also "stretch" the old hand by peening the hand in the slot, but that is not necessary when new ones are available.
The entire discussion about use of +P and +P+ loads means little unless large numbers of those loads are fired. The guns will not blow up with a few; they will just wear out quicker on a steady diet of them. Use them for carry after making sure where they print, and practice with standard loads. Not ideal, but workable.0
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