.357 Magnum


 * For the similar weapon featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops, see Python.

The .357 Magnum is a revolver featured in Call of Duty: World at War.

Multiplayer
In multiplayer, the .357 Magnum is unlocked at Level 49. It's a powerful side arm for those that want to take down the enemy in the least amount of shots. Like all revolvers in the series, it holds only 6 rounds. The Magnum is capable of a high rate of fire. Compared to the Desert Eagle in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, the .357 seems to have more accuracy and not as sloppy of recoil, however the recoil from each round pushes the nose of the gun up quite a bit before resting back into position. When firing rounds as rapidly as possible, each shot is pushed up into a distinct straight, vertical line. In a burst of six aimed directly to the head, it is possible that five will completely miss. Because the gun is so powerful, aiming down to the chest or gut will produce a kill in two (from short distance) to three (from long distance) shots while using Stopping Power. This makes it statistically the same to the .44 Magnum Revolver from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Overall, this gun is more ideal for many classes.

It is a fine sidearm, no matter how the player plays. Those with sniper rifles will find that the .357 can easily take out anyone that's in the players way while traveling to a location, while SMG/LMG users will find that the .357 is a trusty sidearm for when the players magazine is empty, and the player still needs to engage a target.

Reloading this weapon is slow; it takes approximately 3 seconds. It should also be noted that this sidearm only holds 6 shots in its cylinder, and as such, the player will be forced to reload often. Thus, it is best to pair it with another weapon with slow reloads and use Sleight of Hand.

Nazi Zombies
In Nazi Zombies, it is a powerful weapon being able to kill up to 3 zombies in one shot. If the player does so he or she will receive an achievement or trophy called Rough Economy. It is extremely common to find in early rounds to rack up points for a better weapon. The recoil is reduced compared to multiplayer and the reload time remains unchanged. It is an ideal backup gun for fighting Hellhounds. The only drawbacks are that it reloads every six shots, possibly costing the player his or her life and its one shot killing power is lost around Round 15.However before round 15 it is a good pistol to kill zombies with one shot.

It is one of the greatest weapons for covering windows whilst camping. In multiplayer the player can fire the .357 Magnum Revolver with very short delays (5ms per shot), but in Nazi Zombies the fire rate is lower, though this is changed with Double Tap Root Beer.

When upgraded via the Pack-a-Punch Machine in Der Riese this weapon becomes ".357 Plus 1 Kil-u" and gets an increase in damage. Overall it is a good weapon for starting, but it would be ideal to trade this weapon after Round 15, also it is not a good idea to upgrade this weapon, because its clip size and the overall amount of ammo given doesn't increase at all, the only thing that is gained from upgrading it is its slight increase in the firepower.

Trivia

 * There is a dot barely visible on the Magnum's iron sights, much like the orange line on the Springfield.
 * The iron sights on the Wii version of Call of Duty: World at War are slightly unclear, thus producing some problems when aiming.
 * The reload animation shows the player character dumping all of the cartridges (which are always shown as empty casings) onto the ground and inserting a speedloader, even if there are still unfired cartridges in the cylinder.
 * This is the only handgun in the Call of Duty: World at War multiplayer that does different damage compared to the other pistols, as the TT-33, Nambu, M1911 and P-38 all are very similar, with only reload speed being different.
 * This is the second revolver of four to appear in the Call of Duty series. The others are the Webley seen in Call of Duty: United Offensive and Call of Duty 2, the .44 Magnum in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and the Python in Call of Duty: Black Ops.
 * .357 Magnum was the name of the Python before Call of Duty: Black Ops was released.
 * All of the pistols in World at War for the Wii have the Magnum's firing sound.
 * The Mutiplayer and pickup icon show the hammer cocked, or in single action mode, yet when you fire it, it is always in double action mode, with the hammer down.

.357 Magnum