What about other manufacturers?
Charter Arms?
Freedom Arms?
Rossi?
(or are these cheap alternatives to the genuine article(s)???
Also... views on purchasing new vs used?
Charter Arms; the current production is generally regarded as well made, reliable revolvers. Not a good-looking as some others, maybe, but they will absolutely do the job and their customer service has an excellent reputation. One of these days I'm going to surprise my wife with one of the Charter Old Glory revolvers, if that tells you anything. There are plenty of Charter .357s around at good prices, but finding a 3" barrel is going to be a challenge. Most are 2.2" barrels, and some are 4.2". Of the 27 on Gunbroker right now, I don't see any 3".
Freedom Arms; there are 7 on Gunbroker right now. None are 3", and the
cheapest is $2097. But the quality is second to none, from everything I've ever read.
Rossi; I've never had one. Lots of folks on this forum absolutely love theirs, though. I shared a table at a gun show recently, and overheard my friend discussing Rossi with someone. His take was that if you find a good one, they are a really good revolver at an excellent price. But he said they used to hang on to their tooling too long, so you can also find them that are much looser than they should be. Find a tight one and you've got a gem. Those were his comments. Personally, if I were you and found a brand new 3" Rossi 357, I'd be all over it. But again, 3" might be hard to find. There are 6 .357 Rossis on Gunbroker right now, and most are 2".
All of the above are the genuine article. I don't think anyone's selling .357s in the US today that I'd really worry about, safety wise. The differences between them are cosmetic (the best Rossi I looked at for this post was MUCH better looking IMHO than any of the Charters) and maybe whether your great grandchildren will inherit it (Freedom), grandchildren (Ruger, Taurus, Rossi) or children.
Two other brands you might not be aware of are Kimber and Chiappa.
Kimber just started making the K6 .357 magnum. Good reviews, more modern looking design than any others we've discussed.
Chiappa makes a very unconventional, ultra-modern .357 called the Rhino. The barrel is in front of the 6:00 cylinder chamber, not the 12:00 (top) cylinder chamber like other revolvers. Again, finding a 3" isn't going to be trivial, and these ain't cheap. They aren't Freedom Arms expensive, but you'll find Rugers for a lot less. Google it for lots more info.
New vs. used? Very much up to you. You can save a lot of money with used, especially if you're going to use it in ways that might produce some rub marks or (gasp) scratches, and don't mind that work being done by a previous owner. Ideally, you should check it out in person, using a checklist like this.
http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/taurus-revolvers/15648-revolver-buyer-s-checklist.html Lately, I've been carrying a Colt Cobra more than anything else. Bought it used on Gunbroker based on photos and the seller's rating. It arrived with a good, square cylinder, tight gap, and tight lockup. But of course caveat emptor. So buying used is a perfectly viable option.
Hope this helps! Stick around and let us know what you end up with!
