Best 357 Magnum Revolver: Our Top 20 Picks

The 357 Magnum is a very popular revolver cartridge. It has been around for over 50 years. In that time it has garnered a lot of fans and it has been chambered in many different guns including pistols, single-action revolvers, double-action revolvers and even some carbines.

The 357 magnum was originally a black powder cartridge but modern guns are loaded with smokeless powder which usually results in higher velocity numbers being reported by ammunition manufacturers. The .357 Magnum was designed to give shooters more power than the .38 special while still allowing them to shoot easily from a six-shot revolver. The longer case allows for this while keeping the overall length of the cartridge similar enough to allow it to fit into all but very compact revolvers.

The 357 magnum was first introduced by Smith & Wesson in 1935. It uses a smaller case with the same rim as their 38 special cartridge allowing it to use the same size grips on most guns chambered for both cartridges. The .357 Magnum was marketed as being able to shoot either lighter, less powerful bullets at higher velocity or heavier bullets at lower velocity compared to the .38 special. This meant shooters could select either larger diameter, heavier bullets without having to pay for hand-loading costs or they could fire lighter weight bullets faster than they could from a .38 special revolver providing them more stopping power than ever before if needed.

357 Magnum revolvers are tested using two methods today 1) actual firing by ammunition manufacturers and 2) the more common method, chronographing. The latter is done by firing a group of rounds through the revolver and measuring how fast they were fired from the gun to determine the velocity. This way it's standardized and doesn't require someone to own a specific gun in order to get reliable results.

Another important measure for any handgun cartridge is muzzle energy, especially if you're considering using it for self-defense purposes. Muzzle energy is simply how much force the bullet has when it leaves the barrel and this can give you an idea (to some degree) or what that round would do if it hit a soft target like a person or even an animal. Again no standard test exists so ammunition manufacturers use several different methods to measure muzzle energy and some results can greatly vary from the norm and even from other manufacturers.

The 357 Magnum is considered by many to be a very effective cartridge for self-defense purposes but it also has its limitations. It's usually limited to shooting lighter bullets of about 150 grains or less which reduces overall energy as well as penetration power. This is why some choose not to trust this cartridge as much as others, but if you're only using the gun for home defense and another option exists, such as shooting a 20 gauge shotgun, there's no reason not too consider those options first either. Here's our top 20!

1) Smith & Wesson Model 686 Plus

2) Taurus Raging Hunter

3) Colt Python

4) Smith & Wesson 340PD

5) Ruger GP100 Match Champion

6) Smith & Wesson 627 V-Comp

7) Kimber K6s DASA

8) Chiappa Rhino 50

9) Ruger New Model Blackhawk

10) Colt King Cobra Carry

11)  Nighthawk Custom Korth ULX

12)  Rock Island Armory AL3.0

13)  Ruger Redhawk

14) Dan Wesson 715

15) Kimber K6s

16)  Colt Single Action Army Peacemaker

17) Smith & Wesson Performance Center 686

18) Ruger SP101

19) Charter Arms Mag Pug

20) Ruger Blackhawk