The Colt Anaconda is a large
frame
A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent.
Frame and FRAME may also refer to:
Physical objects
In building construction
*Framing (con ...
double-action
Double action (or double-action) refers to one of two systems in firearms where the trigger both cocks and releases the hammer.
*Double-action only (DAO) firearms trigger: The trigger both cocks and releases the hammer. There is no single-action f ...
revolver featuring a full length under-barrel ejection-rod lug and six
round
Round or rounds may refer to:
Mathematics and science
* The contour of a closed curve or surface with no sharp corners, such as an ellipse, circle, rounded rectangle, cant, or sphere
* Rounding, the shortening of a number to reduce the number ...
cylinder
A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base.
A cylinder may also be defined as an infin ...
,
designed and
produced by the
Colt's Manufacturing Company
Colt's Manufacturing Company, LLC (CMC, formerly Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company) is an American firearms manufacturer, founded in 1855 by Samuel Colt and is now a subsidiary of Czech holding company Colt CZ Group. It is the s ...
in 1990.
Chambered for the powerful
.44 Magnum and
.45 Colt
The .45 Colt (11.43×33mmR), is a rimmed, straight-walled, handgun cartridge dating to 1872. It was originally a black-powder revolver round developed for the Colt Single Action Army revolver. This cartridge was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1 ...
centerfire ammunition cartridges, the Anaconda marked the
Hartford, Connecticut firm’s first foray into the popular large-
bore Magnum
pistol market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
*Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, an ...
.
[“Colt mk. V revolvers: Trooper, KingCobra, Anaconda (USA)”](_blank)
World Guns Web site. Accessed November 26, 2008.
Development
Built on a new and heavier ‘MM’ frame, the Anaconda was brought out to compete with
.44 Magnum contemporaries such as the
Smith & Wesson Model 29
The Smith & Wesson Model 29 is a six-shot, double-action revolver chambered for the .44 Magnum cartridge and manufactured by the United States company Smith & Wesson.
The Model 29 was offered with barrels as standard models. Other barrel lengt ...
, the
Sturm, Ruger & Co. Redhawk and
Blackhawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to:
Animals
* Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856
* Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus''
* Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii''
* Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus uru ...
, and the
Dan Wesson Firearms
Dan Wesson Firearms (DW), part of CZ-USA, is an American handgun manufacturer. The corporate headquarters, customer service and manufacturing plant is located in Norwich, New York. Dan Wesson Firearms is known for its revolver expertise and fo ...
Model 44. Considering that many of these models had been marketed and sold for fully 35 years upon its introduction, the Anaconda was a very late entry into the large-bore
handgun market.
Unlike most other pistols introduced in the 1980s and 1990s, the Anaconda was never offered with a
carbon steel blued finish, but was available only in
stainless steel.
When originally introduced, Anacondas were plagued with poor accuracy, but changes to the
barrels
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, u ...
quickly corrected the problems to the point that Colt billed its new pistol as among the most accurate
.44 Magnum revolvers in production.
Anaconda revolvers were primarily marketed for sport
enthusiast
In modern usage, enthusiasm refers to intense enjoyment, interest, or approval expressed by a person. The term is related to playfulness, inventiveness, optimism and high energy. The word was originally used to refer to a person possessed by G ...
shooters and hunters, as they are too large for
law enforcement
Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules
Rule or ruling may refer to:
Education ...
general duty use or
concealed-carry, although made-to-order limited production versions of the gun continued to be available from the Colt custom gun shop until approximately 2003.
In 2021, Colt resumed production of the Anaconda, using a new design with a stronger frame and an oversized
Python
Python may refer to:
Snakes
* Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia
** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia
* Python (mythology), a mythical serpent
Computing
* Python (pro ...
action.
Features
Originally chambered for the .44 Magnum cartridge, in 1993 the Anaconda began to be offered in
.45 Colt
The .45 Colt (11.43×33mmR), is a rimmed, straight-walled, handgun cartridge dating to 1872. It was originally a black-powder revolver round developed for the Colt Single Action Army revolver. This cartridge was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1 ...
as well. Its fit and finish resembled an upsized
King Cobra married to a ventilated-rib barrel reminiscent of the
Python's.
Initially marketed with a satin brushed stainless finish, a highly polished mirror-like option known as "Ultimate Stainless" was catalogued for a time through the Colt Custom Shop. Anacondas came equipped with four, six, or eight inch barrels,
neoprene synthetic rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, an ...
finger-grooved
combat-style grips with
nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow ...
colored 'Rampant Colt'
medallions, large
target
Target may refer to:
Physical items
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artillery, f ...
type
hammers
A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as wi ...
and
triggers, as well as
open iron sights with a
red insert front and fully
adjustable white outline rear.
Some models were factory
drilled and tapped for
telescopic sight
A telescopic sight, commonly called a scope informally, is an optical sighting device based on a refracting telescope. It is equipped with some form of a referencing pattern – known as a '' reticle'' – mounted in a focally appropriate ...
mounting, while others shipped with
recoil
Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, as according to Newton's third law the force r ...
reducing
Magna-Ported barrels.
The trigger actions on these guns are rated as very high-quality, and the heavy-duty solid construction and weight tends to absorb recoil, making the Anaconda relatively easy to shoot with heavy loads.
Kodiak
Introduced in 1993, the Kodiak was similar to the Anaconda in that it was constructed entirely of stainless steel, but offered the additional features of a recoil-reducing factory magna-ported barrel and unfluted cylinder.
There were 2000 Kodiaks made as a special run of Anacondas, breaking away from their long history of naming revolvers after snakes.
[ A special run of 1000 King Cobras was made about the same time, having the same Magna-Ported barrel and unfluted cylinder and were called the Grizzly.][ There was an uncatalogued 5" barrel version of the Anaconda, with reportedly less than 150 made. These 5" versions command very high prices when they are encountered. Additionally, Colt made an extremely low number of 4" barrel Anacondas chambered in .45 Colt. This ultra-rare variation commands a premium price when encountered as well.
]
See also
*Colt Diamondback
The Colt Diamondback is a revolver manufactured by Colt's Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut, in calibers of .22 LR and .38 Special. Inspired by the successful Colt Python, the Diamondback was manufactured from 1966 to 1988 and was ...
References
External links
Safety and instruction manual
*
{{Colt's Manufacturing Company
Colt revolvers
Revolvers of the United States
.44 Magnum firearms
.45 Colt firearms
Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1990