This weeks gun is another reader submission, a Colt Anaconda in .45 Colt. This was the last of the Colt "snake" guns. They made a Cobra, Diamondback, Viper, Python, and the Anaconda. It was also the last regular production Colt double-action revolver, though the Python is still available on special order. These were made only in stainless steel, in .44 magnum and .45 Colt, with 4", 6" and 8" barrels. I met a female C/O at Folsom once who carried one of these in .44 mag 6" as her standard off-duty gun.
This particular one sports a red dot sight and is used, I am informed, for hog hunting. It would certainly be a good choice for that duty, though I think I would have gone with the .44 mag and shot a slightly lighter, faster bullet. However, I understand most hog hunting is done in brush rather than the open so this may very well be an excellent choice for the intended purpose. I am disinclined to nitpick with a serious craftsman about the choice of his/her tools, it can be a very personal thing.
This is a big, heavy, impressive piece of hardware. The .45 Colt round was a very popular law enforcement round well into the 20th century. I know of at least one guy on the State Police who carried a Smith & Wesson revolver in .45 Colt when he worked for that agency, before they had a mandatory changeover to a standard issue weapon. In the standard factory load it throws a 255 grain flat-point bullet and has a good reputation against human targets. There are modern high performance factory hollow-point loads available. I wouldn't care to schlep one of these around all day, even without the red dot. It would, however, make one hell of an impression when you "whip it out", and even more if you ever had to light it up.
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