Skeptics are of the argument that flame cutting can result in a revolver’s top strap breaking, that it is usually caused by repeatedly shooting lighter (but faster) 110 gr. to 125 gr. bullets in full-power loads.

Since a lighter bullet is shorter, it supposedly leaves the cylinder gap and pushes itself into the forcing cone earlier, leaving more room for the still-expanding hot gases to escape. Shooting anything heavier than the 125 gr. (e.g. 140 gr., 158 gr.) supposedly alleviates this issue.

Optimists on the other hand claim that it’s a self-limiting problem — that, regardless of the bullet weight, as more and more of the top strap’s metal is cut by the hot gasses, eventually there will be no more metal to cut through and more space for the gases to dissipate, hence stopping the flame cutting.

In my years of owning and shooting a .357 Magnum revolver, I’ve never had to deal with flame cutting. But I only purchase 158 gr. factory ammo.

Since I’ve never shot a single 125 gr. round in my Taurus 689, I wouldn’t personally know how many rounds it would take to break its top strap via flame cutting (nor would I want to find out). And since there have been no scientific studies and tests concerning this subject, I cannot say with 100% certainty that either of the above parties is correct.

What I would recommend is, contact your manufacturer about the revolver you purchased and how susceptible it is to flame cutting, then ask them if their warranty covers replacement in case you need one. If you can’t do any of the above or you just can’t get an answer, then don’t shoot bullets lighter than 140 gr. just to be safe.

Of course, the bullet weight warning doesn’t apply to pure copper bullets — a 125-gr. copper bullet will be taller than a 125-gr. lead bullet because of the simple fact that lead has more density than copper. If you’re inclined to shoot only 125 gr. loads, then stick to pure copper bullets (they’re more expensive though — you’ve been warned).

REVOLVERS MORE RELIABLE THAN SEMI-AUTOS

What’s great about revolvers is if a shot fails, the user only needs to cock the hammer and/or just pull the trigger (for SA/DA revolvers the trigger only needs to be pulled). Since the cylinder will rotate and cycle the next chamber, assuming the previous round happens to be a dud, it should fire the next round.

Some revolver purists, often to their detriment, make the claim (especially when they talk to newbies seeking advice) that revolvers are more reliable than semi-auto handguns citing just the scenario described above.

While this common claim can be true to a certain extent, it isn’t 100% accurate. Granted, a revolver doesn’t have too many moving parts (on the surface at least) compared to semi-autos, which means it doesn’t jam nearly as often.

But when a revolver does jam, it can be a real nightmare to fix — unlike with semi-autos where most FTFs and FTEs can usually be remedied by just racking the slide.

And then there’s the fact that a semi-auto’s slide and recoil springs absorb recoil, which in general, all things between the two platforms considered, makes modern semi-autos more newbie-friendly compared to revolvers.

PROPER RELOADING

Reloading a semi-auto is fairly simple and intuitive. You push the mag release, the mag comes out, you push a fresh mag in, rack the slide (or actuate the slide release) and you’re ready to go. Things aren’t as straightforward with revolvers.

Most people, regardless of whether they’re new or long-time revolver shooters, for some reason don’t seem to know how to properly load a revolver. It’s not uncommon to see someone who uses their weak support hand to load rounds into the chambers.

The proper way is Massad Ayoob’s “Stressfire” reload. Upon opening the cylinder and ejecting the empty cases, with the revolver’s barrel pointed downward, the weak hand’s middle and ring finger tightly holds the cylinder at an angle (avoiding the hot forcing cone) and the strong hand loads fresh rounds into the chambers. The weak hand then gently locks the cylinder back in place and aligns a loaded chamber to the barrel.

Speed strips, speed loaders and moon clips (for revolvers with a cylinder recessed to accept such) still allow for faster reload but with enough practice, the method described above allows for fast reloads without using any kind of tool because with your strong hand you can load two (even three) chambers at once.

PROPER GRIP

Semi-autos don’t have that cylinder gap that revolvers have which makes them easier to grab on to. With semi-autos, the shooter can use practically any grip method they prefer (straight-thumb, cross-thumb, etc.).

With revolvers though, using the straight-thumb grip method (which allows for more stability and better recoil control in semi-autos) will result in the shooter losing a piece of skin, even flesh, on their support hand’s thumb because of the hot gases that escape from the cylinder gap. And no gloves will help.

Another thing about proper grip, when shooting .357 Magnum loads, you have to grasp the revolver grip as high up as possible for better recoil control. This will mitigate a common issue with revolvers wherein the barrel’s axis is sitting just too high up from the user’s arm (the only exception being the Chiappa Rhino, more on that below).

I mean not to disrespect the revolver platform by talking about these caveats — God knows I’ve always been in love with revolvers. I’ve had one for over a decade before I owned my first semi-auto (a custom 1911 which is itself more than a decade old). Revolvers will always have that special place in my heart. But I’m not blinded by my love for revolvers. I’m just keeping it real.

So now that we have all of the caveats out of the way, let’s get to the meat of this article.

1. KORTH ARMS (GERMANY)

Founded in the early 1950s by Willi Korth, a railway engineer, Korth-Waffen is a luxury firearms manufacturer based in Lollar, Germany. They make some of the finest pistols and revolvers for competition, but what really got me interested in their firearms is their Korth Combat, an ultra-expensive luxury revolver chambered in .357 Magnum that is supposedly more durable than the Colt Python and sold for $4,700 in the early 2000s.

Nicknamed the Rolls Royce of revolvers, each Korth takes about four months to build, and unlike most of the other revolver brands and models on this list which use MIM parts, Korth’s parts are hand ground out of forged deep hardened proprietary steel.

All Korth revolvers are custom made for each customer, and all parts are hand fitted with care, giving them unrivaled durability and accuracy even after 50,000 rounds. The luxurious deep blueing on these revolvers is so strong that it reportedly doesn’t need solvent to clean lead and powder residue from continuous firing of up to 300 rounds.

This makes Korth’s some of the rarest and most expensive revolvers on this list. If you’d like to know more, here’s a somewhat dated but still relevant write-upwhich has all the info you’ll need just to give a bit of a background.

Nighthawk Custom, a specialty 1911 manufacturer, teamed up with Korth-Waffen to produce three new Korth revolvers intended for the US market — two of which are chambered for the .357 Magnum: the Mongoose and the Super Sport. Both are medium-frame, 6-shot revolvers that feature a polished trigger assembly, combat trigger, skeletonized hammer, Hogue rubber grips and a matte blued finish Nighthawk refers to as “DLC”.

The Mongoose has an optional cylinder that allows it to shoot 9x19mm Parabellum rounds with no moon clips required. It’s available in 3.5-inch-, 4-inch-, 5.25-inch- and 6-inch- barrel configurations.

Both models’ barrel and cylinder are machined from ASIS 4340 billet steel while the frame is milled from ASIS 4140 billet steel.

It might not be as expensive as the Korth Combat revolver but for $3,499, the Mongoose screams unprecedented craftsmanship, durability and accuracy through and through, not to mention Korth’s reputation and the bragging rights that come with owning one of their guns.

I wouldn’t recommend the Super Sport as I feel like for $4,799, it’s just way too expensive for any purpose outside of revolver shooting competitions. The accessory rails on both sides of the barrel and the top strap allow for mounting several attachments (laser, flashlight and scope) all at once, but I really don’t see the point.

I could easily buy a 7-shot S&W 686 and have Glenn Custom convert it to a PPC revolver for $800 if I wanted something similar at around 1/3 of the Super Sport’s price.

As for the Mongoose, it can be considered a hard sell but if money isn’t an issue, don’t bother taking a look at the other revolvers on this list and just buy it. The Mongoose is the crème de la crème — literally the best wheelgun your money can buy.