The New Colt Viper .357: A Diet King Cobra

January 13, 2025

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Categories: Guns

The Colt Viper was one of the rarer snake guns. Originally released in 1977, the Viper was intended to be a longer barreled and more controllable version of the Colt Cobra snub-nosed revolver chambered in .38 Special. The aluminum-framed Viper only sold for that year and was promptly discontinued. In 2024, Colt revived the Viper brand as a slimmer and trimmer version of the re-released King Cobra .357 Magnum revolver.

The new Colt Viper is an all-stainless steel six-shooter. It features a half-lug 3 inch or 4.25 inch barrel for weight savings and unknockable fixed sights. The sights consist of a pinned ramped front sight and a rear notch machined into the top strap of the cylinder frame. The revolver wears an exposed hammer that can be cocked for a light single action pull or pressed through for double action. The Viper comes wearing a pair of handsome checkered walnut grips that extend below the grip frame for a full-handed hold.

In my own shooting of the 3 inch Colt Viper, I found the action to be somewhat smoother than the new generation of Colt Pythons, albeit it is a much more compact handgun. That compactness lends itself well to belt carry, but that, combined with the slicker style of grips, makes the Viper a bear to hold onto while shooting full house .357 Magnum ammunition. As the grips do not take up much space between the grip frame and the back of the trigger guard, full house Magnums tend to bump my hand against the trigger guard under recoil. This rub is alleviated as the Viper is fairly easy to manage with moderate Magnum loads and downright pleasant with any flavor of .38 Special ammunition. It handles similarly to the vaunted Ruger SP101, but with one more round of ammunition and a better action. If you are considering a smallish-frame all-steel revolver for carry, you might throw the new Colt Viper in the mix with the SP101 and the Smith & Wesson Model 60.