Let me start off by saying I'm a huge Colt fan and there isn't any colts that I truly hate.  The ones I'm not a big fan of are the Double Eagle, Cowboy, and Mustang XSP and the only one of that list that I dislike the most is the Mustang XSP.  I certainly wouldn't not buy a Double Eagle or Cowboy but they certainly on the top of my would buy list.  My biggest issue against the Cowboy was the lousy finish and rough action.  If I did buy a Cowboy I would have the action worked to smooth it out and have it refinished.  I fully understand the Cowboy was meant to be a cheap version of the Single Action Army and to compete with the Ruger Vaquero for sales from the Cowboy Action Shooters but it fell way short of doing that.  I guess we shouldn't be surprised since it was less than half the price of a Single Action Army.  If Colt put a little more quality into the gun it very well might have beat out the Vaquero in sales and popularity.  As for the Double Eagle I don't like the shape of it.  It might sound crazy but looks matter just as much in guns as they do with members of the opposite sex. 

I have a good number of Colts, love each and every one of them, and wouldn't part with them unless it was an extreme situation.  I also prefer the blued finish over stainless steel but if stainless steel was the only option I'd buy whatever it was in stainless steel.  When it comes to the Mark III's they are good revolvers and can certainly hold their own in the quality, appearance, and accuracy departments.  I have a blued six inch Trooper Mark III in .357 Magnum and have no complaints about it.  The bluing is the high quality we expect from Colt, the factory action is very smooth (it's never had any action work done), and it's accuracy is very good.

As for the new Colts that I've seen which are a dozen or so of both the Cobra and King Cobra I'm a fan of them both.  I spent a good amount of time checking each of them out very closely and based on what I saw here's my opinion of them.  The first thing that people need to do is realize and accept the fact that they ARE NOT the old Cobras and King Cobras we had years ago.  First off the spring is different and doesn't stack like the old ones did which I think is a positive improvement.  The trigger guards are shaped differently which I'd rather the rounded trigger guard of the old revolvers but that's a minor issue to me.  I'd say the biggest turn off I have on all the Cobras is that they have that stupid scan box thingy engraved into the frame.  I think it's silly and ugly.  Also as I said earlier I like the blued finish the best and wish that was an option on them.  Colt does make the Night Cobra which isn't a bad looking revolver however I don't like the bobbed hammer, it looks like someone took a hacksaw and cut off the spur.  Over all the boobed hammer isn't hideous and not a good enough reason for me not to buy one but it's reason enough for me to put it lower on my want to buy list.  When it comes to the machine work the fit and finish is high on the quality scale, not the top but definitely at least a seven or eight on a scale of one to ten.  I can't comment on the cylinder length since I never measured one.  As for the price of them I don't think it's too bad, I do think they could have a bit lower prices for the Night Cobra and Bright Cobra.  The one thing I would like to see is for Colt to offer them in a blued versions with a full hammer and have the option to get them with a ramp front sight.  So to sum it up I'd definitely buy and recommend any of the Cobras and King Cobras and will eventually be adding a few to my collection. 

Welcome to the Nation, glad to have you here with us.  What is the rifle in the picture you posted? 

My guess is they had to stop selling guns while the FFL paperwork got updated since the Sportsman's Warehouse was the new owner.  I've never been in a Sportsman's Warehouse but from what I've seen on their website they look like a nice store with a good variety.  In my area there's a Field and Stream but it shares a store with a Dick's so I don't think there's much hope they'll buy that one.  The only other hope is that the Sportsman's Warehouse opens up a store here.  Recently the Gander Outdoors went out of business so there's a spot they could open up, hopefully the do.  As for Field and Stream and Dick's I know they lost a ton of business at their store here because of their anti second amendment antics. 

I think they absolutely have to have the Royal Blue finish as an option on it for the simple fact it's a Python.  Also the Royal Blue finish doesn't cost much more to do, just more buffing.  When I ordered my Single Action Army through their Custom Shop they didn't charge me any more for the Royal Blue finish opposed to the regular blued finish.  I've handled a few of the new Cobras and like them quite a bit.  The main reason I haven't bought one yet is I want a regular blued version with a full hammer opposed to the Night Cobra.  Also I want to get one of the King Cobra Target.

I've seen lots of them on Gunbroker go for well over $2,500 and lots of them has issues with the finish.  Personally I'd never pay more than $2,500 for one and it would have to be in perfect condition.  Yeah they're beautiful high quality revolvers but there's no way in hell they're worth the prices people are paying for them but there is the problem, people are paying that much and a lot more. 

I agree with you completely in wondering how it made it through the quality control check.  For the price they charge for their rifles every one of them should be absolutely perfect when they leave the factory. 

All my dies are full length resizing dies because I load for multiple rifles in the same caliber and from time to time I buy once fired brass.

I'm up in the air about long range shooting. Targets maybe, animals are a little different for me. ...just my opinion. Plus farthest I can practice is 300, if I could shoot farther I would feel better about it

In my opinion you've answered the question about how far you're going to shoot because you're limited to practicing at 300 yards.  Shooting out to 300 yards is pretty simple in that all you have to compensate for is the bullet's drop but once you pass 300 yards there's a lot more to consider.  You have to take into account the bullet's drop, the affect of the wind, thermals, elevation you're at, the angle of the shot, and temperature to name just a few.  I totally agree with you and line of thinking of shooting a target is far different than shooting an animal at long range.  Sadly lots of people see some guy on a hunting show shoot an animal at 700, 800, or even more yards and they get the idea they can do the same thing.  What a lot of people don't realize is those guys have custom rifles and spend more time on the range in a month than most guys do in a year.  Also those shows are edited so no one ever sees how many shots it actually takes to get the perfect shot or how many animals they miss or wound because their shot wasn't good or the lost the animal.  My advice is to keep your shots to 300 yards or less and you'll not only be confident in your shot and abilities but also know where the bullet's going to go rather than guesstimating it's point of impact. 

Bobandbeans you're welcome, I'm glad it helped you out, and good luck with your new rifle.