Key Points and Summary: A defense expert with over three decades of shooting experience ranks the definitive top five .357 Magnum handguns.
The Workhorse: The Ruger GP-100 takes the top spot for its “tank-like” durability and ability to handle brutal handloads.
Colt Python Revolver. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The Classic: The Colt Python is the “Rolex” of the group—exquisite, accurate, but expensive.
The Original: The S&W Model 27 started it all in 1935 and remains a production staple today.
The Modern Standard: The S&W Model 686 offers a perfect balance of strength and trigger smoothness, especially in the 7-shot “Plus” variant.
The Carrier: The S&W Model 19/66 (Combat Magnum) is the pragmatic choice for duty carry.
5 Best .357 Magnum Handguns Today
Back when the late great Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. Wesson developed the .357 Magnum cartridge on behalf of Smith & Wesson back in 1935, it was the most powerful handgun cartridge in the world.
Time marches on, ergo many more powerful handgun cartridges have come along in the past 90 years, including (but certainly not limited to) the .454 Casull and Smith & Wesson’s own .500 S&W. However, the .357 remains an extremely popular round for self-defense, paper-punching, and handgun hunting alike.
Plus, there’s just something about the way “three-fifty-seven magnum” rolls off the tongue. With that in mind, this writer now rates what he considers to be the five best .357 Magnum handguns ever made (admittedly, a subjective list, but based upon 36 years of hands-on shooting experience as well as the assessments of professional shooters far greater than Yours Truly).
Ruger GP-100
This one tops the list as my favorite revolver, bar none, regardless of caliber. Built like a tank by the fine folks at Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc., it’s the Timex of wheelguns, i.e., “Takes A Licking, Keeps On Ticking,” as the investment casting method of construction enables it to shrug off brutal handloads that would literally blow up wheelies of competing brands like Colt or Smith & Wesson.
Ruger GP-100. Image: Creative Commons.
The heavy steel construction and factory-standard rubber grips (as opposed to prettier-looking but pain-imparting wood grips) make the gun a pleasure to shoot, even with the full-house Magnum loads and not just kinder, gentler .38 Specials. My 6-incher (which I’ve owned for 22 years and has easily fired over 20,000 rounds through) won me multiple medals at the Nevada Police & Fire Games (NPAF), a testament to the gun’s intrinsic and practical accuracy.
Colt Python
If the Ruger GP-100 is the Timex of revolvers, then this classic “Snake Gun” is the Rolex of the bunch. The first time I fired a Python (way back in 2004), I was amazed by the glass-smooth double-action trigger … and then I was flat out blown away (bad pun fully intended) when the owner (a fellow Air Force officer) told me that it was a factory stock trigger and not a custom trigger job by a gunsmith! Oh yeah, it was super-accurate too.
Colt Python. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
And whether in stainless steel or the exquisite Royal Blue finish, the aesthetic beauty of the Python is simply a wonder to behold. However, sticking with the Rolex vs. Timex analogy, the downside is that it’s significantly more expensive than the GP-100.
Smith & Wesson Model 27
Neil Diamond starts his classic song “Sweet Caroline” with the words “Where it began/I can’t begin to knowin’/But then I know it’s growin’ strong …” Well, in the case of the .357 Magnum, we *do* in fact know where it began, with the S&W M27, which was initially known as the Registered Magnum before being rebranded under its alphanumeric designation in 1939.
The very first Registered Magnum ever produced was presented to no less than FBI founding Director J. Edgar Hoover.
Smith and Wesson Model 27. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
And in the spirit of Neil Diamond, the Model 27 is indeed still going strong, as the gun is still in production after 88 years. It’s built on Smith’s large N frame, the same frame series as the Model 29 .44 Magnum (you know, the gun immortalized by Dirty Harry) and the Model 57 .41 Magnum.
Smith & Wesson Model 586/686
One good Smith deserves another, eh?
Though not as tough as the Ruger mentioned above, the blued or nickel-finished carbon-steel 586 and the stainless-steel M686 are arguably the strongest .357s Smith & Wesson makes. This is thanks in large part to the beefed-up full-length barrel underlug.
These two guns belong to S&W’s L-frame series, which the company officially calls a “Medium” frame but really are more of a “medium-large;” to use a naval analogy, if the N-frame guns are the battleships of the Smith & Wesson revolver line, then the L-frames are the heavy cruisers and K-frames (more on these in the next segment) are the light cruisers.
Smith released the industry-standard 6-shot Model 586 and 686 in 1980 and 1981, respectively, and then, notwithstanding the longstanding “sixgun” slang term for wheelguns, released a 7-shot version—the 686 “Plus”—in 1996!
Smith & Wesson Model 586. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
I fired a standard 586 way back in 1991 and a 686 Plus in 2023, and in both instances I was impressed by the smoothness of the trigger—not quite as smooth as the Python, but still pretty goshdarn smooth—and the accuracy.
In fact, as much as I love my GP-100, the 686 Plus is second only to the Beretta PX4 Storm .45 ACP semiauto pistol on my Christmas Wish List.
Smith & Wesson Model 19/Model 66
Yes, that’s right, one more Smith wheelie to round out this Top 5 List.
Known initially as simply the “Combat Magnum” back in 1955, and designed in consultation with legendary Border Patrol Agent and gunfighter Bill Jordan, this K-frame sixgun is what made the .357 Magnum a more practical weapon for police duty carry, especially in the 4-inch barrel configuration.
Smith & Wesson Model 19. Image Credit: Smith & Wesson.
When the stainless steel version, the Model 66, debuted in 1971, it also became more maintenance-friendly, with improved resistance to rust, leather holster wear, and corrosion. Not as durable as the Smith 586/686 or the Ruger, but pragmatic, smooth, and accurate.
Honorable Mentions
Yes, there are semiautomatic pistols chambered for .357 Magnum. The best of the bunch is the Desert Eagle; unlike the .44 Magnum and .50 AE versions, my lone experience firing a .357 “Deagle” was positive. (Alas, the Coonan and the LAR Grizzly have both gone the way of the dodo bird.)
Meanwhile, going back to revolvers, though I have a longtime sentimental love for the Colt King Cobra (another “Snake Gun”) as both the first Magnum and first revolver of any kind I ever fired (at the tender age of 14), the somewhat gritty trigger pull makes it just miss out on my Top 5.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr, Defense Expert
Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He is also the author of the newly published book “Five Decades of a Fabulous Firearm: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Beretta 92 Pistol Series.”
