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The Colt Anaconda is a large frame double-action revolver featuring a full length under-barrel ejection-rod lug and six round cylinder, designed and produced by the Colt's Manufacturing Company in 1990. Chambered for the powerful .44 Magnum and .45 Colt centerfire ammunition cartridges, the Anaconda marked the Hartford, Connecticut firm's first foray into the popular large-bore Magnum pistol market.
Development
Built on a new and heavier ‘MM' frame, the Anaconda was brought out to compete with .44 Magnum contemporaries such as the Smith & Wesson Model 29, the Sturm, Ruger & Co. Redhawk and Blackhawk, and the Dan Wesson Firearms Model 44. Considering that many of these models had been marketed and sold for fully 35 years upon its introduction, the Anaconda was a very late entry into the large-bore handgun market. Unlike most other pistols introduced in the 1980s and 1990s, the Anaconda was never offered with a carbon steel blued finish, but was available only in stainless steel. Anaconda revolvers were primarily marketed for sport enthusiast shooters and hunters, as they are too large for law enforcement general duty use or concealed-carry, although made-to-order limited production versions of the gun continued to be available from the Colt custom gun shop until approximately 2003.
Features
Originally chambered for the .44 Magnum cartridge, in 1993 the Anaconda began to be offered in .45 Colt as well. Its fit and finish resembled an upsized King Cobra married to a ventilated-rib barrel reminiscent of the Python's.
There were 2000 Kodiaks made as a special run of Anacondas, breaking away from their long history of naming revolvers after snakes.