Korth Firearms?

Again, its all about opinions, but I'm not sure what's ugly about a Korth revolver.
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Ugly is probably too strong of a word. To me, "very well engineered and very precisely built but with all the soul of a precision surgical instrument" is probably the best way for me to describe them. As the Germans do most things. Completely lacking the soul, elegance and grace of a Triple-Lock, New Service, 1860 Army, 1851 Navy or Model P. Its only saving grace is that they are blued. If they were stainless, they would leave me completely cold.

For the record, this is not me looking down my nose at something I can't afford, like a lot of people do. As some sort of reverse snobbery.

The Germans are capable of making some very lovely firearms and I love my Merkel 28ga.
 
I understand what you're saying. I guess in a way they are too perfect to have the "personality" of some other revolvers.
 
Dean Koontz must have been given one at some point. I say that because a huge percentage of his characters seem to own one without regards to the price or avalibility.

I find the combat magnum very attractive. I doubt I'll ever have the money necessary to actually own one, but - because I'd want to shoot any gun I spend money on a lot - I'd probably even take one over a similarly priced python.

The auto, on the other hand, doesn't do anything for me.
 
The auto, on the other hand, doesn't do anything for me.
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I think that would change if you held one. Quality is amazing and fitting is second to none.

Its a unique design and its a big, heavy pistol machined from blocks of solid steel. The auto weighs 43oz unloaded.











You can see the slide to frame fit here. :cool:




 
On the Korth revolver

Is the white metal button on the right side of the frame and above the trigger guard the cylinder release?
 
The lever next to the hammer releases the cylinder. The button allowes you to pull the entire cylinder arm and cylinder from the frame.
 
A few pictures of a Korth.

The cylinder removes easily for cleaning. Some come with seperate cylinders for 38 Spl. and for .357.



As mentioned, the lever to the right of the hammer is the cylinder release latch. Not a bad place for it. Takes getting used to.



Here is a Korth next to a S&W M28. The small button just above the trigger guard and to the front of it, when pressed, allows the cylinder to be removed.



The recessed cylinder.





That's what a Korth looks like.

tipoc
 
I just asked my wife if we could put a second mortgage on the house so I could get $12,000 to buy a Korth revolver. She went into the bedroom, returned with her fully loaded Sig Sauer P238, expertly aimed it at my forehead and said, "Over my dead body."

One can always dream. :rolleyes:
 
Korth has closed their shop in Ratzeburg shortly after I had visited it in 2008. They have moved out of Northern Germany and have re-opened shop after having been closed for about a half year and are now in Lollar, close to Wetzlar. That is the town where Zeiss and the other optical companies are. I doubt that their old master gunsmith moved with them. I am a registered Korth owner and get their fleirs once in a while.

I shoot my Korth regularly and it has seen ten thousands of rounds with no appreciable wear.
 
robhof

I see there's a dragline on the cylinder, I would think for the price they could time the bolt to stay up til the slot starts, the early Colts and the factory customs(a lot less than a Korth) were timed to not leave a ring.
 
Korth was sold by the original owner a long time ago and they started cutting corners with sleeved barrels but made the guns sleeker and did not compromise quality. They went out of business in late 2008, moved and re-openened under new ownership in 2009. They still have enough frame forgings and other parts to continue for a few decades.

It was never a factory but a small custom shop, many of their customers from the Near and Middle East had ordered custom engraved presentation models and they kept almost no stock of finished guns.

My Korth is a 24/ series that was made in 1969 and that has seen substantial use over the six years that I own it.

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I see there's a dragline on the cylinder, I would think for the price they could time the bolt to stay up til the slot starts, the early Colts and the factory customs(a lot less than a Korth) were timed to not leave a ring.
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You're gonna get a dragline on any DA, even a perfectly timed one, unless you're careful to close the cylinder with a bolt notch over the bolt. Most just close it and rotate it to lock, which causes the ring.

Colt SAA's, replicas and Old Model Ruger single actions should never get the ring if properly handled but that's another matter entirely.
 
s3779m said:
Do they shoot as good as they look?
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jsust posted a link to a review video I just uploaded. In my opinion, they are flawless shooters - perfectly precise/accurate, good ergonomics, great trigger, utterly reliable, and so ridiculously strong that you needn't worry about breaking them. I have a German-language book about Willi Korth and his guns, and the author tells a story about a gun that was returned to the factory with EIGHT (8!) squibbed bullets lodged in the barrel. The barrel showed the slightest bit of a bulge, but the rest of the frame was completely fine and was totally range-worthy after replacing the barrel. We're talking STRONG.

That said, as I note in my video, they aren't magically better than a good Python or older Smith. In fact, the Python's DA may be a little nicer. All of these top-shelf revolvers are more accurate than any of us, though, so at a certain point, diminishing returns at the range set in and you're left paying for the jaw-dropping build quality, fit and finish, and exclusivity. These things are worth it to some, and not to others.

My 4" Combat is possibly my favorite revolver for rangework, having surpassed my previous go-to, the MR73.

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