By Jim Dickson | Contributing writer
Long known as a first class six shooter maker Colt has now brought out a .22 caliber “10-shooter” in the Colt King Cobra .22 Target Revolver.
In years past Colt made the great Officer’s Model Target revolver in .38 Special and .22LR. These had the forward curving grip like the Colt Single Action and Colt New Service revolvers and that grip always pointed better for me than the more swept back grip seen in revolvers today. The Colt King Cobra is a stainless steel 10-shot .22LR revolver built on a .357 Magnum frame so it has enough weight to hold steady when shooting. Overly light pistols can be a nightmare to try to do accurate shooting with but this one seems just about right. Not too light and not too heavy.
After picking the gun up at Reeves Ace Hardware in Clayton, Georgia I set about weighing and measuring it. This Colt hits the scale at 2 pounds, 1 ounce or 33 ounces on my 1940’s grocery scales with its 4¼-inch barrel. Overall length was 9 inches and it was 7¼ inches high. The double action trigger pull was smooth and light at 10½ pounds while the single action trigger pull broke clean at 6 pounds as measured by a Lyman mechanical trigger pull gauge from Brownells Gunsmithing Supplies.
The gun was steady and easy to shoot well in both double action and single action mode. The finish was a mirror polish and the fit of the parts was as precise as Colt customers have come to expect over all the years that Colt has been producing fine revolvers.
The King Cobra’s ejector rod has sufficient length of travel to push even loaded cartridges completely free of the chambers unlike some revolvers made today. Always hold the gun with the muzzle straight up when ejecting fired cases from a swing out cylinder gun to insure that a fired case does not fall between the cylinder and the extractor where it can tie up the gun until you claw it out. You just might not have that time if someone is shooting at you or a pack of wild dogs is coming at you.
There is an adjustable rear sight matched with a fiber optic front sight for rapid target acquisition. Adjustable sights have the advantage of easy zeroing at the range you are shooting with the particular ammo that you are using. The advantage of fixed sights is their durability for as the late, great gun designer Max Atchisson used to say, “A dropped pistol always lands on its sights.”
The molded rubber Hogue grips provide a good hold, excellent pointing, and significant recoil reduction though I doubt that recoil from the .22LR is ever noticed, anyway.
There is a ventilated rib along the top of the barrel while the full length ejector rod housing makes this gun look like a .22-caliber version of the Colt Python.
The muzzle is precisely crowned and rebated to prevent the crown being easily damaged.
One thing I noticed immediately is that the cylinder ratchets which the revolver hand engages to rotate the cylinder are uniquely shaped as is the end of the hand, quite unlike the traditional cuts. These work but I would hate to be the gunsmith who had to time a replacement cylinder on one of these guns. They remind me of the early first year production High Standard Sentinel .22 revolver cylinders, which were similar. They soon reverted back to the traditional cuts.
The King Cobra rimfire is precisely machined but finished without the excessively sharp edges of some handguns I have tested. Having the sharp edge of a trigger guard wear a hole slowly through the skin on your finger as you fire hundreds of rounds is no fun and I like guns where that problem doesn’t occur. When you shoot as much as I do you find out unpleasant things about some guns that the casual shooter may never encounter shooting only a box or two of shells at a time.
I had 1,000 rounds of Lapua Pistol King .22LR, imported by Capstone Precision Group. I have used Lapua ammunition for decades and this Finnish firm always offers top quality at reasonable prices. They supply the Finnish military and also the Finnish civilian market both of which are very demanding when it comes to quality.
The revolver was a dream to shoot, easily placing its bullets on target with either double action or single action fire. I could hit just as good double action as single action with this one, something I can’t say that about all double action revolvers. The trigger pull makes the difference. I love a gun that is accurate and I despise one that is hard to hit with. This one is a joy to shoot.
Fishermen often want a small .22-caliber pistol to kill poisonous snakes, and a stainless steel pistol is just what the doctor ordered for a wet environment, which may even include falling in the water. People who say “you leave snakes alone and they will leave you alone” lack experience. Occasionally you run into a bad tempered reptile that attacks on sight. Sharing a fishing spot with such a snake is asking to get bitten and if you have kids or dogs you can be almost guaranteed that they will suffer a bite.
Trappers have long used a .22-caliber handgun for dispatching animals in their traps and this one is perfect for that application. Carrying a .22 rifle for this chore gets awkward with all the other gear you end up carrying on a long trap line plus whatever was in your traps.
A lot of hikers like to have a .22 pistol to plink with along the trail and they are aware that it may be called on to do double duty as a protection. When trouble comes, you go with what you have. If you knew what was coming you would have avoided it or chosen a military caliber rifle with a high capacity magazine. Having a .22 to plink with has also supplied the fun for many a family enjoying the great outdoors.
It should never be forgotten that a lot of people choose the .22 revolver for defense because they can handle it and they are not willing to spend the time and money needed to make the transition to a larger caliber like a .45. They want a double action revolver because of its extreme simplicity with nothing to remember except point and pull the trigger. That is critical for the casual user in an emergency. They can hit a target with a .22LR but can’t yet handle a louder gun with recoil, so they stay with the .22LR.
Due to the lower noise level, complete lack of felt recoil, and low cost of the ammo, the .22LR has always been the most used practice caliber.
An accurate gun is a must as it dictates how much you will improve your shooting while using it. You can easily shoot 500 to 1,000 rounds at a time with no cumulative effects of constant recoil setting in. This adds up to a lot of wear and tear on the gun.
As someone who has habitually worn out guns through constant use, I know. Sure, there are cheaper .22 pistols out there but quality is always sacrificed in the long run. You may wear out several cheaper guns while a quality firearm just keeps going strong.
A .22LR pistol may get fired far more than a centerfire pistol and if it can wear out easily it will get the chance. In the end, you have the price of several cheap guns plus their bills from the gunsmith far outweighing the price of one trouble free quality gun. Since guns are one purchase that someday may be the only thing standing between you and death from an attacker, it makes little sense to skimp on the quality. That quality has kept Colt guns going with their reputation intact since the first Colt Patterson revolver in 1836.
After shooting, the Colt was cleaned using Shooter’s Choice Bore Cleaner with an Otis Technology .22 pistol cleaning kit and then lubricated with Ballistol oil before being returned to Colt. It’s important to remember that stainless steel is rust resistant, not rust proof, and deserves the same care as carbon steel guns.
