Best 357 Magnum - The 5 Best .357 Magnums - 5 Minutes Explained: One of the most durable pistol calibers of the last century, the .357 Magnum (9x33mmR) cartridge was the most powerful commercially available cartridge for many years. Invented in 1934 and developed by leading firearms authorities, the cartridge quickly became the choice of revolver enthusiasts, law enforcement and military forces around the world.

The .357 Magnum was originally developed from the .38 Special and was the first "magnum" round ever invented. Although the two orders are similar, there are clear differences between them. The .357 Magnum round is longer than the .38 Special, which prevents the more powerful round from being chambered in less powerful revolver cylinders. (On the other hand, .38 special cartridges can be loaded into .357 Magnum guns, providing a less powerful, inferior, and cheaper shooting experience)

Best 357 Magnum

Best 357 Magnum

The .357 Magnum is much more powerful than the .38 Special. The special full metal jacket .38 will hit at 189 pounds per square foot with a subsonic muzzle velocity of 810 feet per second. A model .357 Magnum cartridge at 575 pounds at 1440 feet per second. More than doubling the power and increasing the velocity - well above supersonic - with essentially the same cartridge was quite a feat. Here are five of the best .357 Magnum firearms.

The .357 Magnum: A Useful And Exciting Cartridge

Smith & Wesson was one of the first gun manufacturers to sell firearms in .357 Magnum, because the round was the original design team. The Model 27 debuted in 1935, and despite being born during the Great Depression, it was an instant hit, and the average waiting time for customers to receive their revolver was up to four years.

Eight-three years later, the Model 27 is still in production. Smith & Wesson has produced the Model 27 in various barrel lengths over the years, from four inches to ten and five-eighths, but the rest of the revolver has remained unchanged. (If anything, the revolver is even better and can pass the "newer" high-pressure +P ammo.) The modern Model 27 has a four-inch barrel, but remains the same in design and performance. 27 has a six-round cylinder, measures 9.3 inches overall and weighs 42 ounces. It is made of carbon steel with a blue finish.

The Model 27 is a double-action revolver, meaning that one pull of the trigger will eject the hammer, advance the cylinder, and release the hammer to fire the pistol. This distinguishes it from older revolver designs where the hammer had to be manually depressed.

The gun that won the West, the Winchester 1873, is probably the best known of the lever-action rifles popular in nineteenth-century America. Today, Winchester still makes a variety of lever actions, including the 1873 Sporter in .357 Magnum. The Sportsman has a walnut stock with a satin finish, a twenty-four inch octagon barrel, and a hardened receiver case. The rifle retains the 1873 semicircle rear sights for long range shooting along with a gold dot front sight. The rifle is loaded through a gate on the right side, and up to fourteen rounds of .357 Magnum ammunition can be stored in a tubular magazine located under the barrel. (Unfortunately, this may be against state firearms laws, especially in California.)

Magnum: Possibly The Most Versatile Handgun Cartridge On The Map

The Eagle Desert Magnum Research is one of the most recognized pistols today. While the Desert Eagle is best known for being chambered in the .50 Action Express and .44 Magnum, there is also a .357 Magnum version.

The .357 Magnum Desert Eagle takes advantage of the Desert Eagle's built-in recoil reduction system, making it one of the smoothest .357 Magnum firearms. Bottom recoil is linked to a Desert Eagle gas piston, rotary bolt action system similar to that used in the AK-47. As one famous gun reviewer says, “Shooting this .357 Magnum is no worse than pulling the trigger on a Glock 19.” Comparing the .357 Magnum to a 9mm pistol is pretty obvious.

The .357 Magnum Desert Eagle comes standard with a six-inch barrel and has an overall length of 10.75 inches. Because the pistol's barrel, frame and slide are made of carbon steel, the Desert Eagle weighs 4.5 pounds unloaded. The handgun takes a nine-round magazine.

Best 357 Magnum

The Ruger LCR was introduced in 2009 as a concealed carry personal defense handgun. The LCR was originally chambered in .38 Special, and its light weight and short barrel made it difficult to shoot. In 2010, Ruger followed up with a larger LCR chambered in .357 Magnum. The LCR 357 features the same 1.87-inch barrel, five-round barrel, and matte black finish as the original model. It also has the same overall length.

Bigger Bite: Colt King Cobra In .357 Magnum

Unlike the aluminum frame of the original LCR, the LCR 357 is built with a 400-series stainless steel frame to withstand the higher pressure of the magnum round. This adds almost a quarter pound to the weight of the revolver. The double action LCR does not have a hammer, so it can only be fired in double action mode. Due to the lack of a deteriorating hammer, finer extraction from clothing is possible.

One of the most recognizable guns of the Old West, the Colt Single Action Army revolver is a staple of cowboy and western movies. Called the “Peacemaker,” the revolver is high in the hand, and today's offering from Colt is virtually unchanged from the versions produced a century ago. Chambered in .357 Magnum, the Single Action Weapon features a 5.5-inch barrel, six-round cylinder, lever trigger (reminiscent of cow boot fins), blued barrel, and color-hardened frame. The .357 Magnum version weighs two pounds unloaded and nearly three pounds loaded.

Unlike modern revolvers, the Single Action Weapon is a single-action revolver: that is, the hammer must be depressed between shots to advance the cylinder to a new round without firing and cocking the hammer. This slows the shot, but the trigger pull is much easier and shorter than double action revolvers.

Kyle Mizokami is a defense and national security writer based in San Francisco who has contributed to The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, War is Boring, and the Daily Beast. In 2009, he co-founded Japan Security Watch, a defense and security blog. You can follow him on Twitter:

Best Looking 357 Revolver?

Kyle Mizokami is a defense and national security writer based in San Francisco. His work has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Esquire, The National Interest, Car and Driver, Men's Health, and many others. He is the founder and editor of the blogs Japan Security Watch, Asia Security Watch and War Is Boring. We may earn a commission when you shop through links on our site. Learn more here.

If you're looking to buy a .357 revolver, you're in luck. We've rounded up the best .357 Magnum revolvers on the market and provided you with a buyer's guide to help you make an informed buying decision.

The most popular round for wheel shooters is the .357 Magnum cartridge. You can also use it whether you are carrying a muzzleloader for defense or a larger gun for target shooting, hunting and hiking. It is also a great firearm for those who like to reload, as the .357 is one of the easiest cartridges to reload.

Best 357 Magnum

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Best .357 Magnum Revolvers For Self Defense

In the 1930s, gangs roamed the countryside, robbing banks and running riot. During this period of American history, the popularity and prices of automobiles increased. It is now the vehicle of choice, making robbers mobile and difficult to stop.

The service revolver of the time was the four-inch .38 Special. It has an accurate bow lead bullet about 800 fd and it didn't cut it. Sometimes the only way to stop a gang is to shoot into their car in the hope of incapacitating the driver. The old .38 couldn't do that reliably.

Colt introduced the expanded .38 Auto cartridge in 1929, known as the .38 Super. This was the first cartridge to combat magnum-like velocities made for a semi-automatic pistol. In addition, FMJ round nose bullets were better able to withstand thin sheet metal and glass. But the revolver was still the lawyer's weapon of choice.

The .357 Magnum cartridge was developed under the guidance of some of the most creative minds of the time. He debuted in 1934, at the height of the gangster revival. Elmer Keith and Smith & Wesson created the cartridge to meet the needs of law enforcement and gang members who wanted a pistol with high ballistic potential.

Best .357 Magnum Revolvers [proven Stopping Power]

An improved missile had to be developed that could pass through the early bulletproof jackets and car hoods of the time. The standard is often cited as the first Magnum cartridge ever designed. Since its inception, the .357 remains in the top 5 selling cartridges worldwide.

The .357 is much better in terms of power than its predecessor, the .38 Special. It fires at a muzzle velocity of 810 feet per second and can produce an impact force per square

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