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Colt Cobra

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Colt Cobra .38 Special

The Colt Cobra is a small, short-barrelled revolver chambered in .38 Special, .32 Colt New Police, and .22 LR formerly made by Colt's Manufacturing Company.

This revolver is the same overall size and configuration as the famous Colt Detective Special and uses the same size "D" frame. However, the Cobra's frame is lighter weight aluminum-alloy as compared to the all-steel frame of the Detective Special. The Colt Cobra was produced in calibers .38 Special and .22 LR. The Cobra .38 Special was available in 2-inch and 3-inch barrel lengths. The Cobra in .22 LR was available only with the 3-inch barrel.

The Colt Cobra is prized by some for its light weight, smooth trigger action, hand fitting, polished blue finish, and ability to hold six rounds (as opposed to the competing Smith and Wesson Airweight model revolver that only holds five rounds). These Colt revolvers are no longer in production, adding to their allure and collectability.

The Cobra is a double-action snubnosed revolver, a class of handgun known affectionately to gun aficionados as a "snubbie". As the name "Detective Special" suggests, this class of firearm was historically popular for use as a concealed weapon by plainclothes police detectives. Despite the increasing advent of semi-automatic handguns, the snubnosed revolver remains extremely popular among law-enforcement officers and civilians alike for concealed carry, more particularly in the US, due to its small size, light weight, ease of operation and near-total reliability.

Long-term use of higher-pressure +P ammunition in older model Colt Cobra revolvers (i.e., those without a shrouded ejector rod) is not advised. Extensive use of +P ammunition may stretch the revolver's frame, which could result in timing problems or malfunctions. However, post-1972 Cobras were rated for up to 1,000 rounds of +P ammunition before inspection was recommended (as compared with the 2,000 to 3,000 round interval for the post-1972 steel-framed Detective Special revolvers). Even the latest user manual for the Cobra and Detective Special advised against the use of .38 Special +P+ ammunition, recommending purchase of a .357 Magnum caliber revolver for those wishing to shoot +P+ ammunition.

Colt Agent

The Colt Agent was a variant of the Cobra that used the same, shorter alloy frame of later-model Cobras, but the Agent had less-expensive finishing and grips. These difference allowed the Agent to be sold for a lower price than the Cobra. The bottom of the Agent's grip was slightly shorter than the Cobra grip. Depending on the "issue" and year of manufacture, the Agent was available in a non-reflective, matte finish or a polished blued finish [citation needed]. The Agent was available only with a 2-inch barrel and in .38 Special caliber.

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