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 17 be dry. The Model 17 was discontinued in 1998, but in 2009 was reintroduced as the Model 17 "Masterpiece" due to a resurgence in the popularity of vintage Smith & Wesson revolvers. The company chose approx. fifteen previously discontinued models to produce once again. This was done under the "Classics" category of S&W's current offerings. Smith & Wesson Model 17 The Smith & Wesson Model 17 is a six-shot double-action revolver chambered for .22 LR. It is built on Smith & Wesson's medium-sized K-frame. Smith & Wesson's Models 16 and 17 have their origins with the company's Pre-World War 2