A powerful side arm for those that want to take down the enemy in the least amount of shots. Like most revolvers, it holds only 6 rounds. The Magnum is capable of a high rate of fire. The .357 Revolver is unlocked at level 49. Compared to the Desert Eagle in Call of Duty 4, 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 comletely miss. Because the gun is so powerful, aiming down to the chest or gut will produce a kill in two to three shots with stopping power. Over all this gun is more ideal for many classes unlike the Desert Eagle Mark XIX in COD 4.

It is a fine sidearm, no matter how you play. Those with sniper rifles will find that the .357 can easily take out anyone that's in your way while traveling to a location, while SMG/MG users will find that the .357 is a trusty sidearm for when your magazine is empty, but you still need 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, you will be forced to reload often. Thus, it is best to pair it with another weapon with slow reloads and use Sleight of Hand.

Possibly a reference to Band of Brothers, Floyd Talbert is given a .38 Special Colt new service revolver in the episode "Currahee". Also at that time, Privates in any branch of the military were allowed to purchase and carry their own side arm so it wasn't uncommon to see soldiers with a .38 or any other type of side arm whether it was a Colt .45, a stolen Luger, or any other type of pistol. It should be noted that .357 Magnum is based off the design of the .38 Special cartridge, but loaded to higher pressures and with a lenghtned case to prevent accidental chambering of .357 Magnum cartridges into .38 Special caliber firearms. At the time, revolvers chambered in .357 Magnum were rare, as the cartridge was only recently introduced in larger frame revolvers as a hunting caliber. .357 Magnum revolvers at the time were larger, heavier, and more expensive than .38 Special revolvers. The Nambu Type 26 revolver was an amalgamation of many contemporary revolver  designs, though it shows little influence from swing-out cylinder revolvers.

In Nazi Zombies, it is quite powerful being able to kill two zombies in one shot. It is extremely common to find in early rounds to rack up points for a better gun. The recoil is reduced compared to multiplayer and the reload time remains unchanged. It is an ideal backup gun for Hellrounds. The only drawbacks are that it reloads every six shots, possibly costing you your life and its one shot killing power is lost at round 15, after that, begin your search for a Ray Gun.

Trivia