1992 was a pretty damn good year for me. With graduation on the horizon, I had a great job with the Salt Lick Bar B Que clearing $200 in cash working three days a week. My car was a bright yellow 1968 Camaro that ran 11s in the quarter mile and my girlfriend was a curvy redhead that ran me crazy everywhere.
My dad, who already kept a Colt Python on the nightstand, brought home something new that year. A huge, shiny Colt revolver in .44 Magnum. I shot that Anaconda Hunter far more than he ever did, and I’ve been looking forward to another one ever since.

Although it doesn’t say “Hunter” on the side like the old models, Colt has obliged. For this deer season, I imbibed some ballistic nostalgia, picked up a new 8″ Anaconda, and headed out to the field. This new big snake gun put antlers on the wall, meat in the freezer, and a big ol smile on my face.

These are the best stainless snake guns Colt has ever made, inside and out. There’s nothing rough on this gun, inside and out. Colt continues to produce the best stainless finish on the market. Colt bills all of these as their “brushed stainless” finish but it’s much closer to the old “ultimate stainless” they offered in the 90s. That shiny finish may not be the best thing for a hunting revolver, so you may want to consider their matte version if this is your desired use.

Like all of the new Anacondas, this 8″ version comes standard with a set of black Hogue grips. The old 8″ Anacondas most often came with Pachmayr “Gripper” grips very similar to this model. Walnut grips were also available back then but none are offered from the factory with these guns. However, any of the modern Python grips should also fit these Anacondas, and wide array of those grips exist on the aftermarket. The Hogue grips work well to keep the gun steady in hand, especially in the or with winter gloves on, but a gun this pretty really does deserve fine wood.
The critical dimensions of the revolver are just about perfect. Each cylinder measured .432″ using a minus pin gauge, the forcing cone started at .450″ and then narrowed to bore diameter. Using a minus pin gauge set, five of the cylinders measured .432″ and one measured .433″. The minor bore diameter was .415″. The forcing cone started at .450″ and narrowed to bore diameter. Just like all of the other post millennial snake guns I’ve reviewed, end-shake was minimum, and the cylinder gap is .002″ with a feeler gauge. I’d be a little concerned that was too little of a gap for a double action hunting gun, but all measurements were made at the end of the review, and I did not suffer any issues with the reliability during the review.
No issues means no issues whatsoever. No round failed to fire, the cylinder never failed to turn in time and the ejector never failed to throw all of the empty cases out with each solid push. That last one was a particular concern as I was pushing maximum pressure loads through the revolver, the kind that tend to stick in a rough cylinder.

Even without the scope, the 8″ Anaconda is not a lightweight gun. Of course, with an 8″ barrel it’s not really designed to be carried on the hip, doubly so once it’s scoped. Like the originals, the 8″ Anaconda features a full-length ejector rod housing, putting considerable weight down to the muzzle. There’s also that long “vented rib” the series is so famous for and a stainless-steel frame even beefier than the old models. If anything, the Anaconda is overbuilt and can take a steady dose of heavy bullets at speeds some other wheel guns just can’t handle.
Take a look at the rounds made by Buffalo Bore’s new Heavy .44 Magnum +P+ round, generating north of 1,600ft/lbs of energy from this pistol (Madre de dios!) Note that the Anaconda is listed as a revolver safe for this ammunition. As much as I love it, the S&W Model 29 is not. That’s because the Anaconda, in any barrel length, is just a bigger gun, with thicker cylinder walls (and a slightly longer cylinder as well.)
As beloved as the old snake guns are, and deserve to be, the triggers on the newer models are demonstrably better. For the Anaconda that is certainly true. Unlike the original coil spring, these new guns have a “linear leaf spring” resulting in far less stack, less weight, and generally just a smoother, cleaner pull than the guns released in the 90s. Out of the box, the double action trigger averaged 9lbs 7.7oz and the single action averaged 5lbs 9.9oz. There was a .2oz extreme spread in both the single and double action pulls. Weights are an average of 5 pulls each with a Lyman digital trigger scale.
As I had no intention of using the irons with this particular revolver, I never measured group size with them on. My previous experience with the 6″ model showed 1.5″ five round groups with commercial and home-rolled rounds at 25 yards off bags were fairly easy and repeatable. There’s no reason to believe this 8″ version would be any less precise, and likely a bit more given the longer sight radius and reduced recoil from the additional weight. Putting a Picatinny rail on the Anaconda was as simple as removing the rear sight and screwing a rail onto the already drilled and tapped top strap of the frame. It wasn’t 10 minutes of work.
With a Burris 2-7X32mm handgun scope set to 7X, the Anaconda is capable of producing exceptional results, with the right bullet. Shooting untimed off bags at 100 yards, Blazer’s inexpensive 240gr JHP round shot 3″ five round groups. That group size shrank considerably with Hornady’s 240gr XTP rounds, printing 1.8″ groups. Those two rounds bracketed the worst and best commercial rounds.

Given the precision I’d seen with iron sights on a 6″ model I’d previously reviewed, I suspected this 8″ scoped model could do better. A 245gr cast Keith (Lyman bullet 429421) under 19.8gr of Alliant 2400 turned out to be the most precise of the home recipes I tried. With a hard crimp that bullet came out of the barrel at 1,419fps and printed 1.5″ groups. I have read reputable reports of competent shooters printing smaller groups than these, but this is plenty good enough for me.
Having already established the Anaconda is a beefy beauty, I had no qualms about loading it a bit heavy. I wrapped a 300gr hard-cast flat-nosed gas-checked bullet from Cast Performance with some gooey bullet lube on top of 15.7 grains of Alliant 2400 powder with a cartridge overall length of 1.700″ and crimped it well. That’s about as much push as any reloading manual would recommend behind that bullet. Muzzle velocity was a few feet per second under what the book gave me, at 1,224fps. At 200 yards that bullet is delivering 550ft/lbs of energy, as much as the top loads of a .45 ACP deliver at the muzzle. Even better, when scoped, I could put every round in the cylinder on a 6″ plate when shooting off a bag at 200 yards. This would be my hunting load for the gun.
Over this last deer season, at ranges from 30 to just barely over 100 yards, this Anaconda “Hunter” reborn took 3 does, one ugly forked 4-point, and a fine 9-point buck. None of them took no more than one round to bring down. All were shot with the same hunting load listed above, and all ran a bit, but none made it 100 yards. Most were shot broadside, but that 9-point was shot quartering toward at 60 yards. None of the rounds were recovered, all were complete pass throughs.

The new Anacondass are better than the originals in every way, and the 8-inch model is no exception. This big wheelie is capable of exceptional precision, under the right conditions, and wrings out every bit of potential from the 44. Magnum cartridge. It’s also just small enough to easy care up and down the hills, and just big enough to put down the biggest of whitetail and muleies. The modern 8″ Anaconda is everything the old Hunter model ever was, and even better.
Now, Colt, do one in .45 Colt that will accept 20k+PSI loads, and Realtree it. (IYKYK)
Specifications: Colt Anaconda
Caliber: 44 Magnum
Barrel Length: 8″
Capacity: 6 Rounds
Action: DA/SA
Length: 13.5″
Height: 6″
Width: 1.75″
Weight: 59 oz
MSRP: $1,499
Once again Jon, you have sparked a bad case of the “I wants”. I love my S&W Model 29 which has made me a fan of the .44mag. The Anaconda has been on my radar for some time and now you may have pushed me to purchase.
My wife doesn’t want you to write any more..😄
Bucephalus,
Several months ago I had the pleasure of dry-firing someone’s new model Colt Anaconda .44 Magnum revolver–the very same revolver that Jon reviewed in this article. The trigger is beyond fantastic in both single-action and double-action. If you want a large revolver and can even begin to justify the expense, BUY THIS REVOLVER. You will NOT regret it.
Getting back to the trigger, the double-action trigger feels twice as smooth and half the weight (force) of any other revolver that I have ever fired. And when I say smooth, it feels like the same pull force from start to break. It is astounding. Of course, being a quality trigger, the break is clean without any significant over-travel and reset is just as clean.
I have three very-large revolvers chambered in .44 Magnum. I just realized that I can probably sell all three of them and the combined proceeds of those should be more than the cost of a brand new Colt Anaconda in .44 Magnum. That will be my goal in 2026–sell all three of my large .44 Magnum revolvers and buy a new .44 Magnum Colt Anaconda revolver.
desirable for sure.
for the hunt i’m never gonna use the da tho.
i like my single action. magnaporting is effective.
Jon,
Thank you for the thorough review and details.
Your hunting experience confirms what I have read from other sources: large and heavy hardcast bullets with flat meplats, even at modest velocities, put deer down in very short order. And .44 Magnum definitely qualifies with “large and heavy” bullets. I am even considering shooting a hardcast .43 caliber, 255 grain Keith bullet just barely subsonic through my suppressor for very quiet shots to maybe 50 yards. (White-tailed does tend to move in groups where I hunt and I have very good chance of being able to take two within seconds of each other if I can reduce my noise signature to virtually nothing and avoid spooking them.)
You also reinvigorated my objective to use my .44 Magnum revolvers and rifles to their maximum capabilities for white-tailed deer hunting this coming fall season of 2025. I should have plenty of time to sort out what shoots good groups and what does not.
Oh, and congratulations on filling up your freezer. I had a similar banner year, although I took all four of my does with my .50 caliber muzzleloader shooting .45 caliber, 250 grain Hornady SST-ML bullets at muzzle velocities around 1,600 feet-per-second, at ranges from about 40 yards to 117 yards. Me eldest child, however, did take a nice 9-point buck at a mere 30 yards with one of our .44 Magnum break-action rifles shooting inexpensive Fiocchi 240 grain semi-jacketed softpoint bullets. That buck went about 70 yards after the shot, laid down, tried to get up once, and then expired several seconds later. All the while my eldest child could see blood pouring out of the entry wound until that buck laid his head down for the last time.
Outstanding. On subsonic 44, run a 300+ grain hardcast bullet pushed just under the speed of sound. There will be a clean .429″ tunnel through the animal. Ive done with with an integral suppressed Ruger 77/44 to kill piles and piles of pigs. Don’t expect them to drop in their tracks.
Greetings: I’m not a hunter but enjoy reading stories from those who are. So what happens to the “piles and piles of pigs.”? No challenge or judgement here just a question from someone who is pretty ignorant of all things hunting. Thanks for the good stories.
Depends on who’s killing them and why. I take 100-200 a year, so I just pull the loins and hams and leave the rest for the coyotes. If it’s a serious infestation most will just kill as many as possible as often as possible and just literally pull up a tractor and leave them in a big pile. You might just butcher a couple of them. A couple weeks ago I counted 100 pigs from one location on one property.
Thanks. Have a peaceful day.
“Have a peaceful day.”
What kind of person says that? The fake kind of person that tells someone to shoot themselves in the face.
Mr. Taylor,
You have no idea how badly I want a subsonic 300 grain hardcast cartridge for my .44 Magnum rifles. Alas, I cannot find any manufacturers who produce such a load and I have no room left in my home** for reloading equipment to make my own. The closest cartridge that I have found is a .255 grain hardcast Keith bullet in .44 Special at Underwood ammunition.
Several years ago I found a credible source which claimed that a heavy hardcast bullet with a wide and flat meplat would make a permanent wound channel at least twice the diameter of the bullet–even at impact velocities of 900 feet-per-second. They used a standard pressure .45 Colt loading (muzzle velocity of something like 950 feet-per-second) with a heavy hardcast bullet to take a bison with a broadside shot at fairly close range (maybe 30 yards?). The photos that they provided showed a huge hole through the animal. (I don’t remember which specific animal parts, maybe the heart or even the exit wound through its ribs.) If that portrayal was true, then I expect a subsonic hardcast .44 Magnum bullet to make a similarly large permanent wound channel in a white-tailed deer. It will be interesting to see how far they can run after absorbing that.
** My home is so overloaded as it is that I have to keep the small new deep-freezer (that I purchased last November for all of that venison that I harvested this year!) at a friend’s home. There really is no possible way that I can keep reloading equipment at my home.