I was looking at a python having a serial # KT34xx. The owner maintains that it is bright nickel, but I can find no reference to a two letter prefix in Python serial numbers. Since the serial listings I am looking at stop in the early eighties, I am guessing this is a later gun, and therefore bright stainless. Any knowledgeable members that are sentient about this?

Alpha prefix for COLT Python serial numbers of K reached K99999 in 1983 and then changed to T beginning with T01001, also in 1983 and continuing through at least 1991. There is a possibility that a KT prefix began circa 1993. A call to Colt will answer your question.

It is almost certainly stainless. I believe but am not absolutely positive that Colt stopped producing nickel plated pythons in 1984-85 when they introduced the stainless Pythons. I suppose there could have been a special order plated one after that. According to one source I located on the net, your gun was probably made in 1991 or a bit later.

See this page

Toward the bottom, you will find this nugget,

quote:

We recently had a visitor looking for the date of manufacture (DOM) of his Colt Python with a low serial number beginning with the KT prefix. He called Colt at 1-800-962-COLT and they informed him that the DOM was 1991. Thanks Ken, for letting us know!

I sort of fell into collecting pythons, in a non-serious way years back and have quite a few of them laying around. I shot squirrels for years with one I scoped using .38 WCs. I only killed a limit, 8 at that time IIRC, one time, but it was a helluva lot of fun stalking them to get a decent shot. It just takes a helluva lot longer to set up a decent shot with a pistol than with a rifle, much less a shotgun. I rarely came home without 2 or 3 if the wind didn't kick up.