The Korth Mongoose: .357, .44 Magnum and the 8-Shot

Everything German engineered comes with a reputation attached: finely tuned, no wasted motion, built like a machine that will outlive you. Korth revolvers carry that reputation harder than most. For years, all I ever heard was how amazing they are and how smooth they are.

They were not exaggerating. Not even a little.

The fit and finish, the way it sits in your hand, the way it works. Top notch, over the top, and worth every penny in my opinion. It lived up to every bit of what I had heard.

What the Korth Mongoose is

Korth revolvers are built in Germany and brought into the United States by Nighthawk Custom in Berryville, Arkansas. The frame and components are machined from billet steel, the barrel is hammer-forged 416R, and the finish is a DLC coated black. Single and double action, a roller trigger, a wide-swinging cylinder, a fully adjustable rear sight and a 14k gold bead up front.

The Mongoose is the model with the widest spread of configurations in the Korth line. It comes in .357 Magnum, in .44 Magnum, and in an 8-shot .357, with barrel lengths running from 2.75" up to 6". The .357 guns can be ordered with an interchangeable 9mm cylinder.

The Mongoose is the one Korth that covers the whole range. It starts at a 2.75" .357 and runs all the way up to a 6" .44 Magnum, and every step in between earns its place.

At the short end you have an easy six shot .357 you can conceal. At the long end you have a .44 Magnum that rides on your chest through grizzly and black bear country. And if big critters are not your concern, the 8-shot .357 puts two more rounds of hard hitting .357 in your hand for the same trouble.

Concealed carry, something to show off, or a working gun you actually count on in the backcountry. The Mongoose line covers all of it.

The three Mongoose configurations

Mongoose .357 Magnum

• Barrel lengths: 2.75", 3", 4", 5.25", 6"
• Capacity: 6 rounds, .357 Magnum and .38 Special
• Optional interchangeable 9mm cylinder
• Weight: 33.6 oz in the 4"
• Overall length: 8.86" in the 4"
• Height 6.1", width 1.54"

Mongoose 8-Shot .357 Magnum

• Barrel lengths: 4", 6"
• Capacity: 8 rounds, .357 Magnum
• Optional interchangeable 9mm cylinder
• Weight: 50.5 oz in the 6"
• Overall length: 11.54" in the 6"
• Built on the .44 Magnum frame
• Ventilated rib

Mongoose .44 Magnum

• Barrel lengths: 3", 4", 6"
• Capacity: 6 rounds, .44 Magnum
• Weight: 43.04 oz in the 4"
• Overall length: 9.41" in the 4"
• Height 6.45", width 1.70"
• Turkish walnut grips

What a Korth Mongoose costs

• Mongoose .357 Magnum: $4,149 base, plus $100 for the 5.25" and $200 for the 6"
• Mongoose 8-Shot .357 Magnum: $4,924 for the 6", $200 less for the 4"
• Mongoose .44 Magnum: $4,724 base for the 4", plus $200 for the 6"

Nighthawk notes that Korth pricing includes tariffs. Prices current as of the date on this article.

How it handles

The grip is the first thing you notice. It fills your hand like it was built around it, and everything else on the gun feels matched to it.

Then you squeeze the trigger. It feels like it runs on bearings. The double action is exceptional and the single action is what dreams are made of. Swing the cylinder out, give it a spin, and it keeps going, smooth as anything I have had on the bench.

The cylinder release deserves its own mention. On a Smith you push a button forward. On a Ruger you push one down. On a Colt you pull one back. With all three you end up shifting your grip to work it. The Korth uses a lever up by the hammer that you push forward, and it sits exactly where your thumb already wants to be. No repositioning, no reaching. Push the lever and the cylinder swings out. I am not knocking the others, but this one was thought out, it is in the right place, and it is smooth.

For a 6" .44 Magnum it carries its weight well. It does not hang muzzle heavy and it does not feel lopsided, and there is no extra beef on it for the sake of having extra beef. The grip is sized to support the gun properly, so you are not fighting a muzzle that wants to tip down. I cannot find anything negative to say about the way it feels in the hand.

One last thing, and it is a spec, but it is a good one: the front sight bead is 14k gold. There is a little piece of gold riding on the front of your Korth.

Carrying a Mongoose

People ask me this all the time. Hey, I bought this gun, what is the best holster for it? Before I can answer that, I have three questions of my own: which model, what barrel length, and what do you plan on doing with it?

Say it is a 2.75" or 3" .357, or the 3" .44 Magnum, and you tell me it is your concealed carry gun, your everyday carry. I am going to point you at a Classic Pancake holster on the belt. It has a 15 degree forward cant and rides between the 3:30 and 5 o'clock position on your hip. It is comfortable, and it conceals well under a loose shirt, more so in a climate where you can get away with a hoodie or a bigger shirt.

Say it is a 4" .357 or .44 and you tell me it is your barbecue gun, that you want people to see it. Then I am going to build you an Outdoorsman hip holster. It sits lower, so the draw is straight up and down instead of pulling the gun up and off your side, and it is the better looking holster of the two. It carries beautifully on the hip. It does not conceal well.

Say it is the 5.25" or the 6" and you are taking it into the backcountry. That is a Draekan chest holster every time. It gets the weight off your belt and off your hips and puts the gun in the center of your chest where you need it.

A couple of limits worth knowing. I can build a chest holster for any Mongoose, 2.75" all the way up to 6", and every one of them works. The 4", 5.25" and 6" are the ones that are really something on the chest. I do not build pancake holsters over 4", so that is where that one stops. The hip holster I will build in any length in the line.

It comes down to what you bought the gun for. Concealed carry goes in a pancake. Showing it off, range days and hiking go on the hip. Bear defense while you are hunting goes on your chest, every time.

Every holster I build is wet-molded to one specific firearm, so whichever Mongoose you have, it gets built to that gun. The rest of my leather for revolvers is in the leather revolver holsters collection.