GP100 vs 686 vs Python - Everyone Picks the Wrong One

There's a tiny hole on the side of your Smith & Wesson that marks the exact week the company almost died — and it quietly changes what your revolver is worth. Two of these three legends were built by companies being sold off, boycotted, or bankrupted while the gun was still on the assembly line. That's why almost everyone picks the wrong one. GP100, 686, or Python? Everybody argues wallet versus heart and misses the real question — it was never which brand, it was which YEAR. In this one we follow the money: Smith & Wesson's fire sale to a lock company (Tomkins to Saf-T-Hammer, $15M in 2001) and the "hole" that came with it, Colt's two bankruptcies and its ghost of a revival now flying a foreign flag, and the one maker — Ruger — that never once sold out. Then we settle the caliber war with the FBI's own Miami receipt: the gun that ended the most studied gunfight in American history was a 686 firing .38 Special +P — not even a magnum. Named experts, sourced numbers, and real 2026 prices. No hype, no marketing — just the truth about the steel. In this video: • Where that little "lock" hole above the thumbpiece really came from — and why it split Smith's own market in half • Why the Colt Python is really two different guns, and almost everyone buys the wrong one to shoot versus to keep • The one revolver of the three you literally cannot buy in a "bad year" • What the 1986 FBI Miami shootout actually proved about "stopping power" (it's not what the comments think) • How to read the dash number, the crane cut, and the "M" stamp before you ever pay • 2026 street prices for all three — and the one that's the genuine smart buy 📄 FREE — The HuntForge Field Blueprint (PDF) Everything the video couldn't fit on screen: full ownership timelines for all three makers, the exact dating tells for each gun, 2026 market ranges, cartridge & ballistics context, a plain-English glossary, and every source so you can check us. Download it free, no sign-up: ➡ https://drive.google.com/uc?export=do... So tell me in the comments: which one's actually in your safe, what year is it, and what did you pay? GP100 owners, how's that trigger after 10,000 rounds? Python people — new or vintage? And 686 owners: check above the thumbpiece tonight and tell me lock or no lock. Sources include: RevolverGuy.com (L-frame history; S&W internal-lock history); American Rifleman / NRA and Wikipedia (Model 686, the 1987 "M" recall); Washington Post and MassLive (S&W ownership, the 2000 HUD Agreement, the 2001 Saf-T-Hammer sale); Colt Forum and Wikipedia (Colt bankruptcies; Python 1955–2005; 2021 CZ acquisition); Athlon Outdoors (Ruger GP100); Recoil and The Mag Life (1986 FBI Miami shootout); Dr. Vincent DiMaio, "Gunshot Wounds"; FBI / Urey Patrick, "Handgun Wounding Factors and Effectiveness." HuntForge is an educational and historical channel about firearms, ballistics, and American hunting heritage. This video and Blueprint contain no load data and no instructions for building, modifying, or altering any firearm. Prices are estimates and fluctuate. If you're buying a used revolver, have it inspected by a licensed gunsmith before you trust it or your money. #GP100 #Ruger #RugerGP100 #Model686 #SmithAndWesson #SW686 #ColtPython #Python #Colt #357Magnum #38Special #revolver #revolvers #wheelgun #wheelguns #gunhistory #firearmshistory #guncollecting #collectorgrade #Lframe #DArevolver #MiamiShootout #FBIMiami #gunfacts #huntforge #gunreview #revolvercomparison #357 #snakegun #shootingsports