By: Kyle Mizokami Key point: The Colt Python is a very successful revolver and people loved it. In the world of firearms, which gun is truly the best is difficult to quantify.

The new Python has the lines of the classic great from Colt but with some mechanical improvements and simplifications. The original guns were virtually hand-made and hand-finished.

The Colt Python revolver was made from 1955 'til 2006, about 51 years. It was a black day for Colt people when the maker was no longer able to offer this gun to the American shooter.

The famous saying about Colt’s guns—“God created man, but Sam Colt made them equal”—captures the very real way the gun changed life for 19th century Americans.

And somehow, he acquired Samuel Colt’s Paterson revolvers. Hays immediately saw the possibilities. Give a Ranger two Patersons and two cylinders per gun, and he could deliver 20 shots without pause.