Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns .357 Mag Revolver, Who Builds The Toughest, Most Reliable?

No you did it😂

.357 mag is no mystery in ‘toughness’ or design capabilities in any of the mid to top-Shelf current SA/DA revolver makes. Get a GP 100 if you want cruder or a S&W 686 if you want finer. There will be no difference in ‘’strength’ or durability. Both will serve well.

I can’t imagine needing anything more than a Ruger GP100 in 357

Korth Mongoose.

Revolvers are not tough. They're actually quite fragile. Just try snapping the cylinder closed and see how many experienced revolver shooters wince and cringe. Smash down on the ejector rod with the palm of your strong hand a few times and then strip the gun and roll the rod on a plate of float glass and see if it's still straight. Always slap the cylinder closed with a flick of your fingers to spin it until the shallow end of the stop notches catch on the cylinder stop. See how long the shallow side of the notches last. I won't mention particularly weak designs like the Colt mainsprings or undercut forcing cones on some S&W. I'll also skip the aluminum and scandium/aluminum alloy guns that aren't even intended to hold up. I will stick to the weaknesses that nearly every revolver has, like those I already mentioned, and the way the hand will either wear away on the ratchet or raise burs on it. Revolvers can seem pretty tough if you don't use them. If you abuse them, you'll wonder why anyone ever wanted one. If you use them properly, you'll know they take care and a significant effort to maintain.

All the above being why, as much as I love my revolvers, when I’ve been out busy with activities that demand my attention, working in the woods or doing field work on a tractor or anything similar, I’ve always tended toward carrying my Glock 20.

IMO, the 10mm GP renders all 6-shot 357's superfluous.

Dammit! I've had bad luck with GP's. But if I managed to get a good one from the get go & could shoot it enough to trust it, I might vote for it. Robust in many areas, but one chink in the armor could be no telling what.

So if was really wanting most reliable, then I'd pick the most reliable I thought I could find, & buy 2 of them. If/when something is very important, then the 1 is none & the 2 in 1 rule applies.


I heard Matt Dillion say just the other night; Chester, go get my spare pistol out of the desk drawer & bring it to me.

If you will have a gun bearer, get the Ruger.

If YOU have to carry get something else.

Lol. Good analogy.

That is a beautiful grip!

Would you mind saying who made it and what type of wood?

It’s a Hogue Kingwood.

Loved the old S&W add. A pic of a burger shaped like a GP & it sitting on a bun with lettuce. The caption went something like; Thick is for burgers, for sleek & well designed think S&W.

Yeah I remember those advertisements.

Conventional wisdom is the Rugers are Redhawks are the toughest, which is why I chose one for my .44 magnum.
But for .357, I think the S&W 586/686 are plenty tough and more refined, so that was my choice.

I don't think you can go wrong with either.

Pretty

Doesn’t look like the GP
I had in the 80’s! Nice!

Very tough. Mine took some abuse. Tight as heck. Never forget Wiley Clapp wrote up. One load he tested was 140 XTP. Shot 5 shots under 1/2" at 25 yds from a Ransom Rest.

I do miss the 686 pre-lock I had. Both 4”

Former 6” SS Python was the most accurate Centerfire revolver I owned. Amazing trigger and accuracy but I’d never expect it to last like a GP or 686.