Continuing the Colt tradition of excellent revolvers named after snakes, the concern delivered their impressive "big boy" Colt Anaconda in 1990. While displaying some similarities to the Colt Python of 1955, the Anaconda was chambered for a more powerful cartridge, this in the form of the .44 Magnum (as opposed to the .357 Magnum used in the Python). While initially suffering from poor accuracy, Pythons were re-engineered with revised barrels and eventually proved highly accurate, produced in a beautiful satin finish stainless steel form and offered with varying barrel lengths. Its weight and size precluded it from official military usage and limited its acceptance in law enforcement circles. It proved popular in the civilian sporting and hunting realms as well for its robust and reliable construction. Colt designed the Anaconda to compete directly with other large-bore Magnum-minded revolvers on the market such as the popular Smith & Wesson Model 29. Unfortunately for Colt, its competitors had already established a foothold in this realm some 30+ years earlier.
The Colt Anaconda mimicked the Python to a large degree. The frame was enclosed for extra rigidness and held the firing pin as well as all major internal working components including the cylinder . The fluted cylinder held six cartridges of .44 Magnum (or .44 Special) and swung out to the left for extracting/reloading. A spring-loaded ejector arm ahead of the cylinder allowed for clearing each chamber. The chamber then was reloaded and set back within the frame. The trigger was integrated into the frame design and protected by a ring. The pistol grip sat aft of the trigger and was ergonomically shaped to the hand, completed with grooved black neoprene synthetic rubber. The hammer spur protruded a short distance from the rear of the frame and within reach of the thumb for actuation. The barrel was fitted ahead of the cylinder and seen with a ventilated rib, just as in the Colt Python. Adjustable open iron sights were noted at the rear of the frame and aft of the muzzle and optics were optional for accurized shooting. The revolver was of "double-action" in its design, meaning that the pull of the trigger managed the cocking (and release) of the hammer for successive shots, allowing some level of impressive "repeating" fire to be reached until all chambers were spent. Barrels were offered in 4-, 6- and 8-inch lengths. Interestingly, the Anaconda was only available in the aforementioned satin stainless steel finish. The Colt logo is clearly found on the rubber grips and on the left side of the frame. Detailed model info is imprinted along the barrel.
In 1993, Colt unveiled one other distinct Anaconda form, this chambered for the .45 Colt cartridge and available in 6- or 8-inch barrel lengths. A camouflaged variant Anaconda variant was also produced with an 8-inch barrel intended for hunting. The Colt Kodiak was also brought online in 1993 and sported a factory-installed recoil reducer, unfluted cylinder and stainless steel finish. These were very limited edition guns. Colt officially discontinued the Anaconda series in 1999.
Users have loved their time with the Colt Anacondas, citing the iron sights as quite responsive and the firing action to be smooth and of high quality - specifically for hunting and target shooting.
United States
