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anyone seen the- Cobra Shadow 38spl

18K views 35 replies 30 participants last post by  bmcgilvray 
#1 ·
i was looking at a gun magazine that showed this replica of the S&W j-frame..i believe the company is called Cobra Arms.. never heard of this company before?
 
#3 ·
Looks like a bad copy of a 642... Why try a new manufacturer when S&W has been making the J-frame for years...
 
#9 ·
Looking at their site , I would say most likely the revo isn't good quality. Most of the guns are cheap Sat night Special type pistols. My buddy owns a derringer , it is crap IMO.
 
#10 ·
Would that be COBRA Enterprises in Utah?
I would not trust a firearm made by them.
BTW: they are not showing a S&W Type J-Frame on their website yet so it must be pretty new.
Here is a link to their site ~~~> Cobra

If money is a problem - you would probably be much better off with a pre-owned Smith & Wesson until more is known about the quality of the COBRA. They actually LOOK well made and decently finished.

There are a few of them listed on gunbroker. Price range around $349.00
They actually look pretty good & OK for +P - though none of the other COBRA guns are +P rated.


and you can get one in pink. :rofl:
 
#11 ·
Some are so ready to condem this gun and haven't ever looked at it or shot the gun. Lets see what shakes out with it before we pass judgement. I like to see the inners of the revolver. It could be junk or it could be a sleeper. No lock that's a plus and better than a smith. Mim parts isn't that what smith is using today. I carry older Colts Agent & Cobra but I just bought a smith 37-2 made in 93 with wood grips and non MIM in 98 % for $325.00. I like the Colts better plus I get six shots which I like. No Locks and MIM for me.
 
#13 ·
I have to agree with cocojo... What grounds does anyone have to dismiss this company? Don't get me wrong, it could be junk, but shouldn't we have a little proof before we make assumptions....

I think we can agree S&W knows they're a well-known company, and probably make a couple extra bucks on that fact. What company wouldn't?

Every company has to start sometime, and build their own reputation. As I'll be in the market for a small revolver next year, I'm hoping some reviews will come out. Cheap price doesn't always mean cheap quality.

I think we should wait on first hand reviews, not how how much they spend on quality advertising.
 
#14 ·
Im not a Taurus fan by any stretch of the imagination but I would buy a hundred Tauri before I ever touched a Cobra snubby.

You know what you are right. I have no experience with this revolver. I really dont know what it will do. In this case though I know what kind of quality you can expect from Cobra because I have seen and handled their derringers and their 380. They feel like junk so I am not going to test fate. With this new revolver I am willing to bet it feels the same way. I dont regret not wanting one or encouraging others to look more closely at a Taurus or a Rossi if money is tight.

OTOH kudos to Cobra for jumping on a bandwagon that has proven to be very profitable. There is also no shortage of people that like cheaper guns. Hi Points sell like crazy where I am at.

In the pictures it honestly looks decent. Very close to the Smith and Wesson. Let us all hope that it is VERY close.
 
#19 ·
Just purchased the pink one for my wife. Haven't taken it to the range yet.
The gun appears well made but after she pulled the trigger several times she complained that it was a little stiff.
Then she had trouble releasing the cylinder. So I decided to open it up and see what could be done to improve
the performance. After tinkering with it for 4 hours & took a break as nothing I did improved the operation.
The next day I started over determined to make some headway. Took me a while to figure out why the slide that
is connected to the thumb piece was sticking. Apparently the round pin that actually pushes the cylinder pin is
dragging against the aluminum frame. If you push the thumb piece parallel with the barrel there is no binding.
But using your thumb normally there is some lateral pressure that causes the pin to bind. My fix was to use silicone
grease (food grade) to replace the oil. Then I took 3 coils off the spring that loads the cylinder pin. This has helped.
This is not a problem with my S&W 66 Stainless. I think a better design would have the cover plate prevent this
slide from moving laterally by having a tighter cavity. As for the trigger pull I thought about reducing the hammer
spring as it has no thumb pull on the hammer. Fear of a miss fire stopped me. Maybe I can fins a replacement spring
set later. So I attacked the problem by polishing the parts that rubbed together. This did little to help. I then cut
several coils off the trigger return spring which helped the trigger pull but the trigger would not return all the way.
Next I took several coils off the Cylinder Stop spring which helped a little to allow the trigger to return but it would
still catch sometimes & not return. So I had to add some shim stock to the trigger return spring to make it reliable.

At this point the trigger is somewhat improved but still a little stiff compared to my model 66. I think the main difference
in performance between the Cobra & the S&W is that the S&W has tighter tolerances and the problem with the aluminium
case. My 66 feels very smooth in all functions whereas the Cobra does not.
The parts look nearly the same. I wish I still had my S&W 36 to compare exactly.

Please do not try any of the modifications I mentioned. I would like to try a lighter spring set if I knew they would work in this gun.
I would also like to get a target trigger to help with the feel.

Just my ramblings.
 

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#20 ·
I think you answered a lot of questions about the quality of the Cobra... It looks much like the internals of a 642, except a 642 works... You have had to make fairly major modifications to the gun, just to make it cycle and you haven't fired it yet... Would you really trust your wife's life to this gun?

No thanks, I'll stay with S&W or Ruger. If I was going to go to a second tier gun I would choose Charter Arms, Taurus or Rossi...
 
#23 ·
I don't "think" my SD guns will fire if needed,I wouldn't trust my wifes life to a gun that the Company is known to build cheap guns that aren't reliable.Do what you want but there are better options available for the same money,you just might have to buy a used gun
 
#22 ·
Thought I'd revive this thread, since I just picked one up last week for around $300, brand new. I bought the titanium anodized version. After taking it home, taking a look at it, and cleaning and lubing it up (yes, I clean guns before shooting them, even if they're brand new), I took it out to a friend's range to put some rounds through it. Here's what I thought:

1. It's as accurate as a S&W. I had a M642, and it shoots just as well.
2. The trigger is rough, but I was able to stage it easily enough.
3. It feels like a M642 in my hands. I'm sure you'd be able to swap out parts for it easily, like grips.

Now the bad:

1. For some reason, the cylinder wouldn't line up right. This was after 100 rounds of shooting jacketed wadcutters, not +P stuff, which it is rated for. :frown:
2. The ejector wouldn't work right. It would push out the shells about 1/8", then I had to pull them out by hand. They came out easily enough, so I don't think it was due to the actual chambers, so it must be an issue with the rod. :confused:
3. After taking it home, I sat on the couch dry firing it. The firing pin broke. :mad:

I'm sending it back to Cobra after the holidays, with a detailed report. If they can fix the problems, I'm still going to sell it. I could probably get back my money for it on the secondary market. I think that for the price, Cobra could have done a better job with this gun. I have two of their derringers, and they've worked flawlessly. The Shadow acts more like a $100 revolver than a $300. You get what you pay for. Next time, I'll spend the extra $100 and buy a Ruger SP101, used.
 
#25 ·
1. For some reason, the cylinder wouldn't line up right. This was after 100 rounds of shooting jacketed wadcutters, not +P stuff, which it is rated for. :frown:
2. The ejector wouldn't work right. It would push out the shells about 1/8", then I had to pull them out by hand. They came out easily enough, so I don't think it was due to the actual chambers, so it must be an issue with the rod. :confused:
3. After taking it home, I sat on the couch dry firing it. The firing pin broke. :mad:

This is typical for Cobra. Their guns are notmade to shoot, they are made to look at,fondle and play with, but dont dry fire it.

Their biggest sellers are the Derringers. I've messed with several, they start out life as pieces of crap, they go through life as pieces of crap and they all end up the same...as pieces.

Why people would bet their lives on cheap pieces of crap is beyond me. Usually its because they are broke, uneducated about guns, uneducated, dumb and or living off of the goverment mammary gland or one of the ignerint unwashed masses that put the current administration in office. :rofl:

No discerning,gun savy individual would own a Cobra unless it was truly a mistake. If they are smart, they learn from that mistake and never buy another.
 
#33 ·
This is typical for Cobra. Their guns are notmade to shoot, they are made to look at,fondle and play with, but dont dry fire it.

Their biggest sellers are the Derringers. I've messed with several, they start out life as pieces of crap, they go through life as pieces of crap and they all end up the same...as pieces.

Why people would bet their lives on cheap pieces of crap is beyond me. Usually its because they are broke, uneducated about guns, uneducated, dumb and or living off of the goverment mammary gland or one of the ignerint unwashed masses that put the current administration in office. :rofl:

No discerning,gun savy individual would own a Cobra unless it was truly a mistake. If they are smart, they learn from that mistake and never buy another.
Ok so I understand your discontent with the government and with the fire arms Manufacture Cobra but going on a rant and rave about the owners of their fire arms is ridiculous. I to have a disgust for the governmental policies about weapons and I the other B.S. that they are forcing onto us as US citizens but understand something. I don't live off the government and I sure as hell didn't vote for the officials that are in office now but I do own 2 Cobra Fire Arms and all they are for are last resort weapons. I own a multitude of S&W weapons and Remington's and Mossberg's. All that was asked was a review of the weapon not your personal opinion of the owners of the weapons. But I'm glad that as a step-child of the US Army, that I was fighting for your right to be an outstanding and enlightened person. Oh and have a nice day.
 
#29 ·
I would like to see a company make a 38 derringer the size of cobras derringer but with the quality of Bonds derringer. As it is Bond derringers are just to heavy and big for two shots. The reason I either carry a smith j frame or a small auto.
 
#32 ·
They're nowhere close to the quality of Taurus. I can't speak for Charter Arms, never having shot one. I've had two Taurus revolvers, and both were rock solid shooters, and unbreakable.

On a side note, I did return the gun to Cobra, and got it back in 2 weeks. I don't know if they fixed whatever the issue was, or if there were any improvements; I used it as a partial trade in for a Mossberg 800.
 
#34 ·
I have owned several Davis/Cobra derringers, both did as advertised, they went bang every time you squeezed the trigger. I would not compare them to a Jennings/Bryco, Lorcin, Rohm or the other cheap throw away type guns because IMO they are better made, meet design function at a cheap cost, reliable and strong competition to Bond Arms.

When I buy a product I buy the best product to meet my needs at a cost that I can afford. When it comes to SD guns, looks and finish are secondary to reliability and accuracy. If looks and finish mattered I surely would not buy an auto loader with a plastic receiver/frame.....
 
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