I compared the Python with a Limited Edition M1911 from Colt, a 5" steel-frame .45 ACP setup much like many of the "combat custom" .45s from the 1990s.

The new Python was only offered in two barrel length however, 4.25" and 6", leading to customer requests for Colt to reintroduce the shorter 3" barreled model as well.

I find it rare for a gun to possess intrinsic warmth, but the Colt Python 3-inch model reintroduced this year has just that. I don’t mean warmth produced by the combustion of smokeless powder—I mean a ...