The Colt King Cobra Target in .22 LR is Colt’s only rimfire revolver, and it comes with more barrel length options than just about anything else in its class. For this episode of Project Rimfire, I put the 3-inch model through the same 25-yard bench rest accuracy testing and range drills as the other medium-frame .22 revolvers in this series to see how it really performs.
How does the trigger stack up? Is the false reset an issue? And does this modern Colt live up to the name?
Details are in the video below, or keep scrolling to read the transcript.
Hey everybody, I am Chris Baker from Lucky Gunner and today I’m looking at the Colt King Cobra Target… in .22 LR.
It’s part seven of Project Rimfire where I’m reviewing an absolutely unthinkable number of handguns all chambered for the mighty .22 Long Rifle cartridge.
To make this herculean task more manageable, I’ve divided these .22s into six different categories. We are currently in the medium-frame revolver category. Now, Colt considers this a small frame. I think it could go either way. It’s smaller than a K-frame and bigger than an SP101. With the 10-shot capacity, I thought it was a better fit with the other 10-shot .22s.
I have not given the Colts a whole lot of attention since they re-launched their revolver line back in 2017. I had a bad experience with one of those early .38 Special Cobras. But that was almost a decade ago. I think they’re long overdue for another chance.
What is a King Cobra Target?
The .22 LR version of the Colt King Cobra came out in 2022. This is their one and only rimfire model, but they do offer it in five different barrel lengths. This one is the 3-inch model because, as we’ve already established in our last video, 3-inch revolvers are objectively the best. But if you’re one of the poor unenlightened souls who objected to that comment, you can also have it with a 2-inch, 4.25-inch, 6-inch, or even 8-inch barrel. That’s more barrel length options than any other .22 revolver on the market.
This is a King Cobra which means it’s built on the beefier magnum version of the Cobra frame. And the “Target” designation means it has an adjustable rear sight and a fiber optic front sight. They’ve also given the .22 model the vent rib cutouts on the barrel, which you do not see on the .357 version. With that and the full underlug, it kind of looks like a junior Python.
The grips are Hogue’s OverMolded rubber style with finger grooves – a decent cost-effective option and there are plenty of aftermarket grips available. Of course, it has all the other Colt features that are going to feel weird if you’re a Smith, Ruger, or Taurus fan. You have to pull back on the cylinder release latch. The cylinder rotates clockwise instead of counter-clockwise. And the double action trigger might feel a bit odd as well.
Action & Trigger
Colt triggers are known for what revolver nerds call “stacking.” That’s when the weight of the trigger pull gradually increases as the trigger moves to the rear. So it starts out feeling light and then it gets heavier toward the end. It has kind of a rubber band quality to it. Other double actions tend to have more of a linear or even trigger pull.
Stacking is a trait of both the classic Colts as well as the newer ones. It’s not necessarily bad or good, it’s just a matter of preference. Personally, I don’t mind it, but it does take some getting used to. The King Cobra has what I’d describe as very smooth or gentle stacking. Overall, it’s a fairly light double action – about eight and a half pounds. And that’s right out of the box. No break-in required. It’s easily one of the best triggers in this category. Rimfire revolvers are notorious for heavy double action triggers. And it seems to get worse as you go down in frame size. The .22 King Cobra proves that it doesn’t have to be that way.
Keeping it Simple
Another quirk you might notice if you’re used to Smiths or Rugers is that the cylinder is not recessed – meaning the chambers are not counterbored so the cartridges sit flush with the cylinder face. As far as I’m aware, this doesn’t make much of a difference functionally speaking, with modern ammo. A lot of revolver people love recessed chambers – and they do look really nice.
But, for .22s especially, those little recessed areas are a massive pain to clean. And when they get fouled up, the rounds don’t seat properly and you get light primer strikes. The Colt is much easier to keep clean and I didn’t have to clean it as often as the guns with recessed cylinders.
But what I like best about the King Cobra Target is the size. Yes, I am partial to the 3-inch barrel, but it’s not just that. It’s really in a kind of Goldilocks zone. With this barrel, it weighs 31 ounces. It’s compact enough to feel like a good fit for smaller statured shooters. But it’s not really an everyday carry gun, so it doesn’t need to be too small. It’s just big enough for a 10-shot cylinder. And just heavy enough to keep the barrel steady for practical accuracy.
Accuracy
And speaking of accuracy, the factory iron sights are pretty good, but if you really want to squeeze the most accuracy out of it, you might want to try it with an optic. I used an Allchin optic mount that replaces the rear sight assembly. And that was paired with a Gideon Omega green dot sight. And a special thanks to Gideon for providing us with the optics we’re using in Project Rimfire.
Somebody always reacts like I just kicked their puppy whenever I put an optic on a wheelgun. And that’s okay. I get it. They look funny and there are some other downsides. But I’m trying to find out what these guns are mechanically capable of and an optic is much better than iron sights at removing the human element from that equation.
So with that in mind – for our 25-yard bench rest accuracy test, I fired two five-shot groups with four different loads. The Colt King Cobra Target showed stellar performance across the board with groups between an inch and an inch and a half.
The Smith & Wesson 617 Mountain Gun we looked at last time was technically more accurate on average, but just by a hair. No matter how you look at it, this is outstanding consistency for a factory .22 revolver.
Room for Improvement
Okay, now for what I did not like about this revolver. I have two issues, one minor and one bigger complaint.
Colt has obviously paid a lot of attention to the aesthetics of their new revolvers. The King Cobra Target has a mirror-bright finish unlike anything you’ll find on production guns from the other big revolver makers. They’ve left a matte finish on the top to avoid glare. The engraving is sharp and clean.
But then they’ve got this inventory-tracking code thing engraved right on the side of the frame. Why do they do this? Could they not make it a sticker, or at least put it somewhere less conspicuous? It’s not a deal-breaker or anything, but it does undercut the otherwise timeless aesthetic they’re going for.
The bigger issue I had was the trigger reset. And this is a fairly common complaint with all the newer Colts. It has a false reset point where you will feel a click, but the trigger has not reset completely. If you try to press it again, it just won’t move. You have to let it out one more click to fully reset.
If you ever like to shoot fast and you’re used to Smiths, or probably even Rugers, you are almost guaranteed to short stroke this trigger at first. A lot of people have similar issues with the Ruger LCR, but I think it’s more pronounced in the Cobra. It’s nothing I couldn’t get used to eventually, but because of this issue, I would not recommend a .22 Colt as a training analog for a non-Colt centerfire revolver.
Final Verdict
Other than that, I don’t really have any complaints. I’m going through these rimfire reviews pretty quickly, so I can’t speak to long-term durability. But for what it’s worth, the King Cobra Target has been 100% reliable for about 500 rounds and that’s a strong start. This would make a great first revolver for anyone who just wants to add a fun wheel gun to their collection. If you’re a revolver guy, you probably already know whether you like Colts. If you do, I think this is a good one.
Coming up soon, I’ll have our medium frame revolver roundup video and we’ll see how the Colt compares to other .22s in this category. Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss that. Until next time, if you have a .22 Colt King Cobra Target, leave us a comment and let us know what you think of it. And when you need some ammo, be sure to get it from us with lightning fast shipping at Lucky Gunner.
