Found it on gunsamerica. made one year, 1988. Only 200 made. After I called the dealer about the Stalker with no scope, rings, or case, he said he had the ring mounts (discontinued) and colt flap case (worth hundreds by itself, impossible to find) , and the price was the same! He was surprised they only made 200 of them. The Stalker is not well known, made from Python parts after the Python production was discontinued. Hand made in the custom shop.
I am retiring the case, could not imagine using it in the field and damaging it. Will use an uncle mikes for $8. Here are photos. Maybe deer season next fall?

The scope is the easy part to find. Stock Leupold M8 2x or 4x EER silver. No special markings, like some of the other Colt Hunting handguns. Got an eye on one for $125.

cool find you will have lot's of fun hunting that piece

Forgot to mention, that it balances very nicely. Amazing, actually, for an 8 inch barrel.
I read about someone hitting a can at 225 yards on the second shot. The barrel has an internal taper, .001/inch, from the back to front, which makes for extra accuracy . My FFL has only seen one other Stalker in 20 years. You don't see em at gunshows.

probably a silly question, but what would you hunt with a 357mag revolver?

Rich
Buff Killer

Very Nice..

If it were mine, I'd hunt deer, black bear, varmints and people who asked too many questions (that last one's a joke).

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
probably a silly question, but what would you hunt with a 357mag revolver?

Rich
Buff Killer[/QUOTE

Not silly at all.
Well, out east here we only have 50 to 100 yard shots normally, so a 357 with a heavy load would be fine for deer hunting. Very small openings with a lot of brush. Tree stands to stay above the deer and keep human odor down. If you are in Idaho, you are probably shooting at 200 to 400 yards. That is what I think of when I think of Western hunting. I may be wrong, but......

Oh, right, today I won the correct M8 silver scope at auction for $150 shipped. Awesome!

cool i have an luepy m8 2x on my 41

One thing to think about when one considers "western" hunting . . .

IF the shots were all 3-400 yards no one would ever get anything with a bow . . .

AND they do.

Wow, that's cool! What a score!

Millet rings should hold for the little gun!

A nice weapon I hope they are stronger then a normal python. Dosen't take many full house 357 loads to loosen one of them up.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
A nice weapon I hope they are stronger then a normal python. Dosen't take many full house 357 loads to loosen one of them up.

Really? That's the first time I've heard that.

Back when all the cops were carrying revolvers like the K frames smith it was common knowleage that they did not hold up under a steady diet of full magum rounds. Shoot as many thousands of 38s through them as one would want but after a few thousand mag loads they would start getting loose.

Sounds like it's afflicted with the same problem as the Model 29....... That's unfortunate considering what a fine piece the Python is.......bummer.

The K frames the model 29 and the pythons are fine hand guns but don't hold up to a steady diet of full magum rounds. Carry them a lot shoot reduce loads a lot only shoot full power full when one needs too.

One of my 29s I've had for about 20 years, and now the heaviest load I shoot is a 277 grain bullet at right around 1,300 fps. They will definitely beat themselves up.

Sorry for the thread hijacking!

I know the Pythons aren't nearly as good for pistol whipping people as the S&Ws are.

quote:

Originally posted by MS Hitman:
I know the Pythons aren't nearly as good for pistol whipping people as the S&Ws are.

That would be a weight issue, though I would imagine that with that long barrel, you could really tee off on somebody.

MS Hitman

I would have to disagree. Until the full underlugged S&W 357's came along I would rate the Python to be the best of the 357's for pistol whipping.

Myself, I always used a S&W N Frame 44 Mag or a Model 25 45 ACP, or a 45 1911 45 ACP.

The bad thing about the Colt 45 ACP, is every time I hit somebody in the head with it I knocked the safety off.

Nice catch dude!

No, the Python frames tend to bend and lock the cylinder up. One had to be shipped to the factory loaded, because neither the armorer nor a local gunsmith could remove it.

Disagree all you want to; just don't expect me to buy into your opinion when I've got field use.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
Back when all the cops were carrying revolvers like the K frames smith it was common knowleage that they did not hold up under a steady diet of full magum rounds. Shoot as many thousands of 38s through them as one would want but after a few thousand mag loads they would start getting loose.

quote:

Originally posted by OLBIKER:

Which part, about them stretching with a lot of full-power loads or that the Smith & Wesson makes a better bludeon?

The stretching.I have had more than a few Pythons and still have 3.I tend to load a little bit on the insane side and never had anything stretch or shoot loose.I think he is thinking of a Model 19 S&W with fullhouse loads.

mariog

Back to your original post.

Before the 44 Mag was around many BIG gane animals including moose and brown bear were taken with the 357.

I am a 44 Mag kind of guy [and now I have a 475 as well] but IF I was going to hunt deer with a 357 Mag, I would be sure to choose a fairly heavy bullet designed for hunting not personal protection, as inadequate penetration has caused more problems in shooting game [with pistol or rifle] than any other reason besides poor shot placement.

For deer I would look at maybe Hornady 158 XTP, the heavy 180 Federal, or the Federal Cast Core or equivelent handloads.

For bigger game the heavier loads would get the nod.

Aso let me add that while I am a S&W kind of guy when it comes to revolvers I have owned 3 Pythons, a 4" and two 6 inchers. One 6" I used in PPC Competition.

ALL of them were very accurate.

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
probably a silly question, but what would you hunt with a 357mag revolver?

Rich
Buff Killer

a properly loaded .357 mag will stop anything in north america..... you sound like one of the 460-500 supermag nuts..................

very nice colt ya got there... congrats JJB

quote:

Originally posted by tasco 74:

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
probably a silly question, but what would you hunt with a 357mag revolver?

Rich
Buff Killer

a properly loaded .357 mag will stop anything in north america..... you sound like one of the 460-500 supermag nuts..................

Damn you mean I spent all this money on big bore handguns, and I could of done it all with a 357 MAG....

quote:

Originally posted by Redhawk1:

quote:

Originally posted by tasco 74:

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
probably a silly question, but what would you hunt with a 357mag revolver?

Rich
Buff Killer

a properly loaded .357 mag will stop anything in north america..... you sound like one of the 460-500 supermag nuts..................

Damn you mean I spent all this money on big bore handguns, and I could of done it all with a 357 MAG....

Redhawk...

If you can shoot good you could have.

Sorry, could not resist.

quote:

Originally posted by tasco 74:

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
probably a silly question, but what would you hunt with a 357mag revolver?

Rich
Buff Killer

a properly loaded .357 mag will stop anything in north america..... you sound like one of the 460-500 supermag nuts..................

Kill, maybe, stop, well that's the realm of my .475 Linebaugh (and the .500 that's almost done).......it's all about diameter and the ability to sling heavy lead, and the .357 just doesn't have much of either. While the .357 is perfectly adequate for thin skinned game like deer or small hogs, I wouldn't use it for something big and toothy. JMHO.

All about the Python link........
http://motos.home.att.net/coltpython.htm
r in s.

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:

quote:

Originally posted by Redhawk1:

quote:

Originally posted by tasco 74:

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
probably a silly question, but what would you hunt with a 357mag revolver?

Rich
Buff Killer

a properly loaded .357 mag will stop anything in north america..... you sound like one of the 460-500 supermag nuts..................

Damn you mean I spent all this money on big bore handguns, and I could of done it all with a 357 MAG....

Redhawk...

If you can shoot good you could have.

Sorry, could not resist.

You a funny guy...lol

If it was made in 1988 it wasn't made after the Python was discontinued. IIRC the Python wasn't discontinued until 1998 and a commemorative model was made with the value on it was placed at 50K. It's not for sale

The biggest issues that I'm aware of with the Python were timing and the stacking trigger. Far too many shooters would rapid fire the gun, for whatever reason, and produce unnecessary wear on the star causing the timing issue. It's not hard to check either.
Because it uses a leaf spring the trigger pull gradually builds until it fires, unlike a revolver that uses a constant coil spring. Some like it, some don't.
As far as bending, it took hot loads and the crane bent. A lot of times it was due to the shooter not filling the cylinder. This caused uneven stress on the crane. FWIW, the same thing applies to the S&W 500. It's not recommended to shoot the gun without the cylinder full.

I knew about the Silhouette and Hunter but never knew about this gun. I like the unfluted cylinder

Thanks for the comments and load recommendations! Got the correct scope now, and will try to get photos up soon.