Korth Carry Special Review: Revolver Royalty

The 2.75-inch Korth Carry Special is for those who trust their lives to be the best. Grandpa had a Smith & Wesson model 10 with him all the time. It was my first handgun. My cousin had either a Ruger Single Six, or Colt Frontier along with him on all of our adventures. They were used to shoot pop cans, kill rats, and even kill snakes. When I became a police officer, I was given a Smith & Wesson 686. It was my top gun at the Academy, while the rest of my class was using Glocks. The Korth StoryThe Korth revolver was made in Lollar in Hesse, Germany. Willi Korth, a former railroad engineer, founded the company in 1954. Each part of the Korth revolver has a cold-hammer-forged, billet-steel barrel. You won’t find any milling marks in the machine work. The fit is perfect; there are no milling marks. It’s a double action trigger, but it feels almost like you’re dragging your fingers through pudding. The trigger in single-action mode is so smooth that you only need to think about when you want it to go bang. There are some design elements that are different from other revolvers. The barrel of the 416R stainless steel is covered with a steel jacket, which also forms the extractor rod shroud. The barrel gap between the cylinder and the barrel is so small that it will be difficult to slide a piece paper between them. The cylinder release is in the normal spot. However, you need to push it forward with your thumb and not pull it to the rear. The revolver is not blued. It’s finished in DLC (diamond like carbon coating), which gives it an almost business-like appearance. These cylinders can be switched in a matter of minutes without the need for any tools. Simply open the cylinder by pressing the button on the right side. This will allow the crane and cylinder to slide out. You can then remove one cylinder and put the other in place. The Korth revolver can fire three cartridges at once. Nighthawk Custom, Berryville, Arkansas, imports them into America. I first encountered them at Gunsite Academy’s 40th anniversary alumni shoot, where Nighthawk ran one of the shooting stages. Each shooter had to stand up at a table and fire six shots. Nearly every competitor would remark on how incredible the trigger of the Korth was. Nighthawk Custom began imports of these German-made revolvers in 2016. The Carry Special is the cheapest version. It weighs 33.6 ounces and has a barrel length of 2.75 inches. It comes with a.38 Special/.357 Magum cylinder and a clipless 9.mm Luger cylinder. Full moon clips are not required. It also comes with a.38 Special/.357 Magnum cylinder and a clipless 9mm Luger cylinder. Full moon clips are not required. The front sight is a square-shaped black blade with a bead of gold that’s pinned onto a barrel shroud. However, it can be found holsters for Korth handguns. You can find holsters to fit Korth handguns. Rob Leahy from Simply Rugged can also make custom holsters. The 2.75-inch Korth Carry Special was compatible with a Galco Combat Master (Model #CM102B), which is designed for a 2.5 inch Smith & Wesson 686. The Galco Silhouette High Rider (Model #SIL104B) can also fit the Korth. Korth makes speed loaders for the.38 Special/.357 Magum and 9mm Luger. Nighthawk Custom also offers them ($50).Range time Three-cartridge uniqueness of Korth Carry Special required that three loads were shot: one in 9mm and one each in.38 Special and.357 Magnum. The gun’s short barrel is evidently a problem. However, after shooting three groups of five shots with each load at 10 yards from a sandbag rest, the average was 1.64 inches. Based on the defensive handguns that I have tested, this is a better average barrel length. A 3-inch Colt Python loaded with the same.38 Special or.357 Magnum loads was also tested. It averaged 1.75 inches. It’s more than enough for self-defense. You should be able to fire a shot within a 4-inch circle at around 12 or 13 meters. This is assuming you shoot twice as badly off-hand and under stress than you would from a bench rest. But, what I find more important is how well you can use a handgun to practice defensive drills. You won’t have a bench rest or sandbags if you are faced with an emergency situation where you need to shoot to save your own life. My Wilson Combat EDC X9 is my weapon of choice for tactical drills. Both were run against the Korth Carry Special on three drills at distances between 5 and 10 yards. I used the same 9mm ammunition and scored 10 percent more with the semi-auto. Two other shooters also ran the same drills with the semi-auto. The results were identical. They performed an average of 12 percent better using the Wilson Combat pistol. One reason is that single action semi-auto pistols are more efficient than double-action revolvers. Another reason was that the plain-black sight on the Korth Carry Special slowed engagement times on the 10-yard drill. It was just slower to pick the low-profile matte dark sight up. What sight is this? Yeah, good question. The Carry Special comes equipped with a bladed front view that features a gold bead, as previously mentioned. The revolver I received for evaluation was an early import, and was fitted with a plain, black, ramped front view. It performed well during accuracy testing. However, it was difficult to pick up the plain black sight on target during fast-paced drills at ten yards. On a three-shot speed drill at five yards, we had to make two torso hits, then hit the swinging head plate as fast possible. There was only a 5% difference in scores. The truth is that we were only indexing the gun at this distance and not using the sights. On that drill where the sights weren’t that important, the only real difference in performance–speed–was working with the double-action revolver trigger as opposed to the single-action trigger on the Wilson Combat semi-automatic.Rugged, beautiful and reliable, the Korth Carry Special is a revolver you can trust your life with.Is It Worth The Money?Well, $3,699 is a lot of money to pay for a handgun–any handgun. The prices of high-end 1911 handguns are not much different. Nighthawk sells custom 1911s for over $4,000. Nighthawk sells custom 1911s for more than $4,000. A Colt Python 3-inch revolver will cost you $1,500, while a comparable Smith & Wesson 3-inch revolver will cost you between $900 to $1,300. The Korth Carry Special is worth twice as much as other revolvers. The cylinder latch/release must be pushed forward on the Korth revolver to allow the cylinder out of the frame. This is a life-saving measure. The same could be said about most full-custom 1911s. Guns aren’t only for self-defense. If they were, everyone would just have a Glock. Shooters, like those who enjoy other sports, will sometimes want the best they can buy. If this is you, then you can get the best self-defense revolver on the market. If you have $3,699 plus taxes, you will know where to spend it. However, no one needs a $1800 Honma golf course, a $1500 Seigler fly reel, or a BMW M8. The Korth is available for purchase if you have the budget. The Korth is a great option if you can afford the BMW. Target grids and bullseye sizes can be downloaded in MOA. This is a great option for long-range shooting. Enter your email address below.