Colt has reintroduced its legendary Python .357 Magnum revolver in a blued finish, and the firearm is perfectly balanced and deadly accurate, as well as legendary.

The Python was launched by Colt in 1955 and it is iconic in the revolver world. It is immediately recognizable via the ventilation rib that runs the length of the barrel.

The reintroduced blued Python comes with either a 4.25″ or 6″ barrel length and holds six rounds of ammunition. The model we shot had a 4.25″ barrel and we shot .357 Magnum and various .38 Special rounds through it.

The trigger pull is smooth in double action and crisp and clean in single action. The weight of the revolver–42 ounces–helps manage recoil and keep the firearm flat while firing the powerful .357 Magnum round. Recoil is even more manageable when shooting .38 Special or .38 Special +P.

The balance of the blued Python is such that just picking it up and holding it delivers confidence. And that balance, combined with the great trigger, manageable recoil, and renowned Colt barrel, is part of a combination that delivers accuracy shot after shot after shot.

There will be many more range days with the blued Python, and it will be carried as a sidearm during hog and coyote hunts, too. Moreover, this handgun will be a perfect companion on camping trips deep in the mountains, where help is far away but threats are very close.

In reality, the blued Python is so gorgeous that gun owners may be temped to put it in shadow box and hang it on the wall like a piece of art. The only problem with that choice is the blued Python’s beauty is more than skin deep.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a pro-staffer for Pulsar Night Vision. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.