The New Colt Viper
The Latest Snake Arrives In .357
Colt’s new Viper is much like the time-honored Police Positive Special revolver, but is chambered in .357 Magnum.
With Colt’s return to the small frame revolver market in 2017, they debuted a beefed-up, stainless-steel D-frame with a new double-leaf V-spring action in .38 Special and called it the Cobra. Later, Colt added a King Cobra series in .357 Magnum. These had fixed sights and 2″ or 3″ full-lug barrels. Target versions were also produced in .357 and .22LR, with adjustable sights and 4.25″ barrels. With a nostalgic nod, Colt has now announced a new variation of the King Cobra named Viper.
The Viper is a stainless-steel six shot, fixed-sight .357 Magnum revolver with either a 3″ or 4.25″. The primary difference between the Viper and King Cobra is a half-lug under the barrel protecting the ejector rod, and walnut stocks like those found on the original Viper.
When I ordered a test gun from Colt, I specified the 3″ version of the Viper. To me, the shorter barrel offers versatility for both concealed and open carry. Back in the day, I packed a 3″ .357 Magnum sixgun for several years as a law enforcement officer.
Examining the Viper from all angles I noted outstanding metal-to-metal and wood-to-metal fit, with no tool marks or blemishes on the natural stainless-steel finish. The top of the barrel rib and frame top-strap have a matte finish. From the beginning, the new Cobra family has standardized on a short grip frame like the one once found on the D-Frame Agent revolver. The walnut stocks on the Viper extend almost an inch below the frame, giving longer grip surface and are nicely checkered but have a pale color.
Another obvious difference between the King Cobra and the Viper is the front sight. The Viper has a black, serrated ramp held in place by a tiny screw. The rear sight is a square-notch 0.15″ wide.
The Viper has a heavy barrel with 1:14″ LH, 6-groove rifling and a recessed muzzle crown. Having a 3″ barrel allows for a full-length ejector rod making for positive ejection of spent cartridge cases. The beefy frame and thick top-strap should hold up well, even with a steady diet of .357 Magnum cartridges. The fluted, chamfered cylinder rotates clockwise. The cylinder release latch is pulled rearward to free the cylinder to swing out and to the left for loading. The smooth-faced trigger is about 0.25″ wide while the hammer spur is serrated. I measured the single action (SA) trigger pull weight, which averaged 4 lbs., 1.9 oz., with no creep. The DA pull weighed 8 lbs., 13.5 oz., was non-stacking and smooth. Empty weight on the 3″ Viper is 26.9 oz.
Of the fifteen 5-shot groups made with the Viper, the best
measured 1.17" using the Federal Train + Protect .357 Magnum
loads; overall average for all groups was 2.32".
Range Prep
I wanted to shoot the .357 Magnum, plus standard velocity and +P .38 Special loads to see how recoil and muzzle-flip varied in the solid little sixgun. Black Hills supplied me with their Factory New .38 Special +P ammo carrying a 125-grain JHP bullet. DoubleTap sent me their .357 Magnum cartridges loaded with a 110-grain solid-copper HP bullet. Federal’s Train + Protect with a “Versatile” 125-grain JHP bullet was my second Magnum load. For a standard-pressure .38 Special load, I chose PPU cartridges with a 158-grain LRN bullet and Remington shipped their .38 Special HTP +P rounds with a 125-grain semi-jacketed (scalloped) HP bullet.
Rummaging through my holster collection, I grabbed a well-worn Sourdough Pancake holster made by my friend Rob Leahy, the honcho of Simply Rugged Holsters. It’s a high-ride, open-top style with three belt slots and fitted to the Colt D-Frame. Mine has a tan finish and custom stamping depicting the Rampant Colt logo. From my speedloader box came an HKS Model 10-A speedloader, which worked fine with the Viper. It was carried in a Barranti Leather Spare speedloader pouch, an open-top design with two 1.5″ belt slots.
I noted when I first picked up the Viper the configuration of the factory walnut stocks put my ring finger in contact with the rear of the trigger guard. Experience told me that this was going to make shooting painful, especially with +P and Magnum cartridges. This was confirmed after a few shots with the test ammunition. I did an Internet search for after-market grips for the Cobra and came up with some interesting stocks from Badger Custom Grips. They’re described as full size, combat-style with three finger grooves, and a palm swell tapering toward the butt and made from two-piece, laminated wood. I selected the Spectra-Ply Blue Angel finish. Badger got them to me right away and when I fitted them to the Viper, they fit me like a glove and kept my ring finger away from the trigger guard.
Bill poses alongside the silhouette target used on the “Snub Workout”
course . The PPU .38 Special cartridges were used and Bill scored
a 446/510 with 3Xs.
Burning Powder with the Viper
All of my T&Es begin with a chronographing session to measure bullet velocity as I was curious to see what the test ammo would do in the 3″ barrel. Next was the accuracy potential evaluation. Since the Viper has a short barrel and fixed sights, I chose to shoot it at 12 yards. Shooting was done single action from the bench using a sandbag rest. Three 5-shot groups were fired with each of the five test loads.
Unexpected, the tightest 5-shot cluster was made using the Federal Train + Protect .357 Magnum cartridges — it measured 1.17″ and had a group average of 1.66″. Second place went to the Black Hills .38 Special load with a 1.25″ group. Point of aim on the 7.7″ oval targets was with the top of the front sight almost even with the orange center of the paper target.
The point of impact was good given the differing bullet weights and velocities. One note, the DoubleTap DT Lead Free SC-HP .357 load exhibited high pressure signs and took some effort to extract the spent brass cases. This is a lesson best learned on the range.
I recently saw a practical shooting course called “50 Round Snub Workout — 6 Shot Guns.” The Viper might not be a “snub” depending on your point of view but this looked like a good workout for the new Colt. Even with the Badger Grips, plus a wrist brace, my hand, wrist, and forearm took a beating so I decided to shoot the course using the PPU .38 Special cartridges. The round nose lead bullets are reminiscent of the police service cartridges from years gone by. These cartridges also work well with speedloaders. I loaded the Viper — it was time to get down to brass tacks.
Two .357 Magnum loads, two .38 Special +P loads, and one standard pressure .38 Special load was used during the Viper T&E.
Ruminations
Using the PPU .38 Special ammunition, the new Viper ran without issues. My reloading went well, spent cartridge cases ejected effortlessly and the speedloader caused no hiccups. I found the sights were easy to acquire quickly. I had no malfunctions or issues during this portion of the T&E. Thanks to the new grips and the nice rounded cylinder release latch on the Viper; my right thumb was spared the damage I sometimes get with other revolver brands.
Based on my experiences with the new Colt Viper, I certainly would give it high marks and
my recommendation.
Colt.com
BadgerCustomGrips.com
SimplyRugged.com
BarrantiLeather.com
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