Smith & Wesson Model 57 Smith & Wesson Model 57 The Smith & Wesson Model 57 is a large frame, double-action revolver with a six round cylinder, chambered for the .41 Magnum cartridge, and designed and manufactured by the Smith & Wesson firearms company. The gun was designed as a weapon for law enforcement agencies. However, due to size and recoil it found more favor with civilian target shooters and hunters. In the early 1960s, Elmer Keith, Bill Jordan, and Skeeter Skelton, all noted firearms authorities and authors, lobbied Remington Arms and Smith & Wesson to introduce a new .41 caliber police cartridge with the
Smith & Wesson Model 27 Smith & Wesson Model 27 The Smith & Wesson Model 27 is the original .357 Magnum revolver. It was first produced in 1935, and many versions of it are still in production today. The Model 27 was built on Smith & Wesson's carbon steel, large N-frame, and was available at various times with 3", 4", 5", 6" or 8" barrel lengths and had adjustable sights. When first introduced by Smith & Wesson in 1935, it was known as the Registered Magnum. The model was essentially a custom-order revolver. Barrel lengths could be had in quarter-inch increments from 3.5 to 8.75