Colt Trooper: The Python Understudy

by Jim Wilson

At the end of World War II, with their government contracts filled, the firearms companies got back to making guns for the civilian market. Just as before the war, the hot ticket item in handguns was still the .357 Magnum cartridge. Colt Firearms had been chambering the cartridge in their Single Action Army and New Service revolvers, however they didn’t bring either gun back out after the war and I suspect it was because the machinery was worn out and unreliable. Instead, in 1953, they introduced two medium-frame revolvers that bore a marked resemblance to their popular Officer’s Model Match.

They were the Trooper and the Three Fifty Seven Magnum.

Earlier .38 Special Trooper on left - later .357 Magnum Trooper on the right

Now these two guns were virtually identical to look at. The Trooper was built on what they called the I-frame and was chambered for .38 Special. The Three Fifty Seven Magnum was built on the E-frame and chambered for the magnum cartridge. The only difference that I could ever see in the two was that the Trooper had its firing pin in the hammer and the .357 had a firing pin in the frame. The magnum came with a fancy blued finish while the Trooper had the more subdued treatment. Both guns could be had with a nickle finish, 4 or 6-inch barrel, and each model could also be ordered in .22 Long Rifle.

About 1955, somebody got the idea that they could stick a fancy ribbed barrel on one of these guns and name it after a snake. The Colt Python was born.

Original Trooper has firing pin on the hammer. Later Trooper has firing pin in the frame.

As you might imagine, the Python was a hot item and sales of the Three Fifty Seven lagged. In 1961, Colt dropped it from the line entirely. The Trooper then became the less-expensive understudy to the Python, now chambered in .357 Magnum, firing pin in the frame, but maintaining the less fancy finish. Colt marketed the Trooper as a law enforcement gun to compete with the Smith & Wesson Highway Patrolman and the .38/44 Heavy Duty. It was a popular gun with the U.S. Border Patrol, New York State Police, and many other law enforcement agencies. Its size put it right in the middle between Smith & Wesson’s K-frame guns and their N-frame guns. And that suited a lot of handgunners.

As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, a Colt Trooper was the first revolver that I carried as a young officer...before following the crowd to Smith & Wesson. However, a few years ago I was out in Baylor County with a group of lawmen and noticed that one deputy was wearing a Trooper. When I asked, he told me, “My grandfather was a Texas Ranger and he carried a Colt revolver and a Winchester lever-action rifle. My father was a county sheriff and he carried a Colt revolver and a Winchester lever-action rifle. If it’s any of your business, my Winchester lever-action rifle is on the front floorboard of that squad car over there and you see what’s in my holster.” Later, several other officers told me that the deputy could make that Colt sing, too, as he had proven on at least three different occasions.

  By the late 1960s, Colt revolvers just weren’t selling. They were certainly still building good guns so I suppose that the problem was in the front office, though I don’t know that for a fact. At any rate, in 1969, the original Trooper was discontinued and replaced with a revolver of lesser quality.

Colt Trooper (1955) .38 Special on the left. Trooper (1966) .357 Magnum on the right

In another story on GUN TALES I told about receiving a Colt Trooper as a gift. This gun was manufactured in 1966, chambered for .357 Magnum, and had the firing pin in the frame. Just a few months ago, I ran across my second Trooper at a gun show. This one is 1955 vintage, .38 Special, and the firing pin is located in the hammer. The ramp front sight and adjustable rear sights are identical on the two guns.

I have become really fond of these two Colts. With the service-size stocks they fit my hand very well. And, shooting heavy loads the recoil is much more manageable than in the K-frame S&W guns. And, just like the Python, the Troopers of this era are known for their accuracy. They just didn’t have the same smooth action of the Pythons, an oversight that has been corrected by my gunsmiths.

I hope it doesn’t hurt my reputation for me to admit that I just don’t need the blinding power of full-house .357 Magnum loads. What I prefer is something along the lines of the .38/44 Heavy Duty ammo of the 1930s...a 158 gr bullet running about 1,000fps. My factory load of choice is from Underwood Ammo. It is a .38 Special loading that features a 158 gr lead SWC hollowpoint that runs just about 1,000fps from a 4-inch gun. My fallback .38 Special load is from Double Tap and consists of a hard-cast 158 gr SWC running at the same velocity.

Although these Colts are getting along in years, they are both in excellent condition. The good news is that, should they need replacement parts, most of the internals of the Colt Official Police revolver with do quite nicely. And there were a ton of those OP guns made and available quite reasonably.

The Colt Trooper may have always played second fiddle to the fancier, more famous Python, but it is a grand old sixgun.