when did they stop making the colt python
Colt Python In October 1999, Colt Manufacturing Co. announced that it was ceasing production of Python revolvers. In a 2000 follow-up letter to distributors, the company cited changing market conditions and the costs of defending lawsuits as the reasons for the discontinuation of the Python line, as well as a number of other models.[9] The Colt Custom Gun Shop continued making a limited number of Pythons on special order until 2005, when even this limited production ceased.[2][10]
Revolver Early revolvers were caplocks and loaded as a muzzle-loader: the user poured black powder into each chamber, rammed down a bullet on top of it, then placed percussion caps on the nipple at the rear of each chamber, where the hammer would fall on it. This was similar to loading a traditional single-shot muzzle-loading pistol, except that the powder and shot could be loaded directly into the front of the cylinder rather than having to be loaded down the whole length of the barrel. Importantly, this allowed the barrel itself to be rifled, since the user wasn't required to force the tight fitting bullet down the barrel in order to load it (a traditional muzzle-loading pistol had a smoothbore and relatively loose fitting shot, which allowed easy loading, but gave much less accuracy). When firing the next shot, the user would raise his pistol vertically as he cocked the hammer back so as to let the fragments of the burst percussion cap fall out so as to not jam the mechanism. Some of the most popular cap-and-ball revolvers were the Colt Model 1851 "Navy" Model, 1860 "Army" Model, and Colt Pocket Percussion revolvers, all of which saw extensive use in the American Civil War. Although American revolvers were the most common, European arms makers were making numerous revolvers by that time as well, many of which found their way into the hands of the American forces, including the single action Lefaucheux and LeMat revolver and the Beaumont–Adams and Tranter revolvers, which were early double-action weapons, in spite of being muzzle-loaders.[6]