Korth Ratzeburg Combat 4 Inch .357 Magnum

Pick this one up and the first thing you notice is the weight, then the polish. This is a Korth built in the original Ratzeburg shop, the small West German operation that made these revolvers one at a time, by hand, before the company ever moved to Lollar. The barrel address tells the story plainly. Stamped along the frame it reads Made in W. Germany, Waffenfabrik Korth, Ratzeburg / LBG. That marking is the line that separates the early hand-built guns from everything that came later.

The Combat configuration in a 4 inch barrel is the one most shooters reach for. It carries the presence of a duty gun while keeping the balance that makes a Korth handle the way it does. The barrel wears a full underlug and a vented top rib, with .357 Magnum rolled into the side in crisp lettering. Up top sits a fully adjustable target rear paired with a ramp front. The deep blue runs almost black in the right light, with the kind of surface prep that shows every flat and edge cleanly.

The grips are checkered walnut with a warm reddish tone, hand fit to the frame with sharp diamond cut points and a silver escutcheon on each panel. They set off the dark steel without fighting it.

One detail worth a close look: the Korth cylinder release. Instead of a thumb latch, you press the knurled button ahead of the hammer and the cylinder swings free. The action is the heart of these guns, and this one locks up tight with the timing Korth built its name on.

It comes in the original brown Korth box marked Die Stahlgewordene Prazision, along with the factory manual. For a collector chasing genuine Ratzeburg steel, this is the configuration and the era that matter most.