The Colt Grizzly

Legions of Colt enthusiasts are clapping their hands and stomping their collective feet due to the burgeoning renaissance at Colt. Since CZ purchased them a few years ago, Colt’s offerings have expanded exponentially — along with their quality. More consistent, more reliable and more innovative than anything we’ve seen from Colt in, dare I say it … decades. Welcome back, old friend!

With the launch of the various “Snake” revolvers over the past few years, including the “Be Still My Heart” Python, Colt has kept the heat turned up. With the release of the Grizzly, Colt has neatly filled in the spot for a high quality, easy-to-pack, general duty .357 Magnum for the field. With its unfluted cylinder, ports, adjustable sights (with replaceable front blade, thank you very much), user-friendly Hogue OverMolded rubber grips and near-impervious stainless steel construction, it just might steal the nebulous position of the “Perfect Packin’ Pistol.” Did I just say that?

It’s a bit “shades of the old Trooper,” which attempted to fill a more working-gun price and feel for those who couldn’t afford a Python. But it’s very much more. It’d be easy to say, at first glance, “Oh, it’s trying to be a Python” — but very much not. While it shares the frame and many features, rather than being a showy safe queen to me the Grizzly is specifically made to work hard, outside, in the weather, protecting you, your family and doing any job you might toss at it. It feels significant in your hand and at about 41 oz. (two more ounces than a 5″ 1911), you get wheelgun reliability, .357 Magnum versatility and the guilt-edged accuracy this type of Colt revolver is world-famous for. If it sounds like I’m impressed, it’s because I am.

Between us, I always sort of considered the “fancy” Colt revolvers like the Python, Anaconda, Diamondback and others to be like an overly made-up debutante who was used to looking very good but not actually doing anything to get dirty. I know, I know, you’ll argue with me and you’d be right but when you say, “Oh that? It’s my minty 1958 vintage blued Python” people stop talking and stare at it. They don’t do that when you say, “Oh that? It’s my old police duty S&W Model 10.” You expect the 10 to be a workhorse. But a Python?

Except you’d be wrong about the Grizzly. I think this gun will look best with some scratches on it, discolored cylinder face from shooting too many hot loads — it can take it — nicks and abrasions on the grips and a ready-willingness to keep working if you want it to. Bring it on.

Details Please

Released in 2024, the look of the Grizzly’s unfluted cylinder caught the eye of the Colt cognoscenti, right along with the idea of a rough-and-tumble opposite to balance the pampered Python. It’s a bit like the good looking but hard-working Ford F150 in your driveway — parked next to the Lexus.

I’ve got about 350 rounds through my test gun, which I promptly bought by the way because it’s, well, that good. I’ve had zero issues. The sights stay put and are easy to see, the action is smoother than a current production Python I have (heresy!), the grips are businesslike and do the job, the cylinder opens neatly with a nice click and the full-length ejection rod knocks out the empties toot-sweet. The chamber mouths are beveled ever-so-slightly but enough to ease loading, the trigger is grooved but very smooth, allowing your trigger finger to slide when pressing and the hammer spur is the wonderful spade-shape we’ve come to know and love on the Python. Thank you, Colt.

The full underlug looks darn good and offers a bit of weight forward to help steady things, while the rib looks just right. I did notice it has the very classic two cuts as opposed to the new Python’s three cuts. I’m not sure why Colt elected to put three in the Python but it is what it is. Python fans are still wringing their hands over that mystery. Oh, the humanity …

Do we need an unfluted cylinder? I doubt it and predict Colt did it to set the Grizzly apart (after trying it with a Python lately). The cylinder bolt cut-outs are slightly off-set from the charge holes so I’m sure there’s plenty of strength to begin with. But it does offer a sort of burly, business-like look to things. It also adds exactly one lonely ounce to the weight. And if you favor engraving, it offers a blank canvas for a talented artist. So there’s that too.

I noticed the barrel is crowned beautifully and the forcing cone mirrors the same quality of workmanship. Those are the two most important points to final accuracy — other than the unpredictable nimrod on the trigger. This sort of attention to detail shows it’s “Old Colt” thinking rather than crank-’em out profit-making. Thanks again, Colt.

Some Specifics

The Python was resurrected in Colt’s lineup in, as I recall, 2020. Since then, 17 revolver models have been introduced and the Grizzly is number 18. Lucky 18? Just maybe so. The bigger brother is the Kodiak, based on the Anaconda frame and it’s in .44 Magnum. The Kodiak was originally a run of special Anacondas with unfluted cylinders and ports (sound familiar?). It sold so well Colt expanded on the idea much to our benefit.

Being chambered in .357 Magnum, the Grizzly can, of course, handle any .38 Special load you might think up. The capacity is a traditional six rounds, it’s stainless steel, has a 4.25″ barrel and six ports in a “V” on either side of the barrel below the front sight. In my shooting, I found they did reduce muzzle flip a tad if you’re shooting hotter loads but didn’t have much effect with .38 loads. This is, after all, a moderately heavy gun to begin with.

The front sight is red, but can be changed easily by the owner. The rear is a classic Colt adjustable, sort of blending the old style Colt Elliason with an S&W rear. It’s bold and easy to see and isn’t cluttered with white outlines or any such nonsense. Sometimes, old school is good school in my opinion.

The DA pull has a very faint “stack” to it like a typical Python action might, but Colt has smoothed it out wonderfully and you almost can’t feel the stacking at all. It flows effortlessly, offering a single “click” as the cylinder bolt finds the cylinder, then continues to a compellingly predictable DA let-off. The term “silky-smooth” seems camp, but it describes it well. The really interesting thing is in this age of 12- and 14-lb. crunchy DA pulls, my sample gun rolled off at around the 8.5- to 9.5-lb. mark. It honestly felt lighter and when I first tried it I anticipated some misfires since it was so light. But there were no issues — ever.

The single-action pull averaged right at what Colt said it should be, 4.5 lbs., give or take a few ounces. Like the DA trigger, it was a delight to experience. When pressed, there was no movement, then suddenly the hammer dropped. Not like that glass rod people talk about, but more of an “If this, then that” situation. The sear was either engaged — or not engaged, and it somehow moved from one position to the other magically. It was, and is, great fun to shoot SA, something I don’t normally do very much of.

Also, while not exactly “melted” as you often see on carry guns, the various sharp edges are more smoothed than I’d have anticipated. Too many stainless guns remain sharp, but the Grizzly is comfy to handle. The cylinder even has a slight bevel on the front edge as every proper revolver should.

Shooting

I expected the Grizzly to shoot well, with the Python heritage in its blood, but it outdid itself in spades. The barrel is a 1:14″ LH, 6-groove rifling system. Colt has done many things wrong over the years but they’ve always done barrels right.

During testing I fired a bunch of loads, including one nasty 180-grain hard-cast lead “Castcore” .357 from Federal (1,130 fps, ouch), and the Grizzly seemed to enjoy them all. Velocities were as you would expect from a 4.25″ barrel so there’s no need to go there. But my favorite load was a 148-grain Berry’s Bullets target wadcutter (copper plated) I load with 3.6 grains of HP-38 powder. I found a load averaging about 750 fps which just seems to shoot like a laser out of any .38 Special. Sure enough, from a comfortable, muzzle-rested position on my bench, it delivered the best group of the day at just a tad under 1″ at 20 yards. Frankly, I think the gun will do better than that so I need to dust off my Ransom Rest and try it later. I just don’t see well enough to shoot at 25 as well as I’d like to but this 20-yard distance shows what the Grizzly can do.

This gun is a shooter in every category, regardless of the load. Call it “always less than 2″ at 20 yards” for everything and likely close to that at 25. I have a 6″ steel plate at 100 yards here. Once I dialed in the elevation with the wadcutters I could hit it at least three out of six shots for each cylinder full. This is great fun at every level!

Bear Guns?

Everyone seems to be touting this gun as an “ultimate bear” gun for the backwoods trekker. That’s fine, but between 2000 and 2017, from what I could find out, there were 68 known hospitalizations from bear attacks and 10 fatalities. More people were killed by simply falling down, drowning, etc. in the outdoors so bears are not a huge threat for most of us.

Regardless, what the Grizzly does — the gun, not the bear — is offer a dead-nuts reliable, accurate, beautifully constructed, handsome revolver, well equipped to protect someone from just about anything, even the bear you stumble onto someday. Pair the Grizzly with a good field holster and you’re pretty much good to go for anything. Even a field of dangerous dirt clods waiting to pounce wouldn’t be anything to fret over. Bang, gotcha.
“Fun” — another good word for the Grizzly!

MSRP: $1,599

Colt.com

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