357 vs. 44 mag.

Ohhh alright. Allow me to show my personal bias ;). I'm a .44 guy, and the best wheel gun ever made is the 4" S&W 29 / 629. So there! :D

Honestly, a .44 doesn't have to be punishing. If you hand load you can easily make .44 mag loads, in mag cases, that are very pleasant to shoot. I actually conceal my 4" 629 quite a bit with a belt holster and an un-tucked shirt. The key is keeping the gun riding high. If my pants are too roomy it may sag and then the grip starts to lean out but usually it's high on my belt and not noticeable at all. Obviously I dont try this with shorts and a tshirt, but it's very doable during half the year and feel more comfortable with it as a defensive weapon either at home or in the woods that I do with my autos. So, for me, I'll take 240 grains of .44 magnum!
 
If I could only have one revolver...it would be a .357 Mag...

( I like the .44 Mag as well ) ....but in my view, the K, L or N frame S&W is quite a bit lighter than the N frame ( model 29's or 629's in .44 mag )...follow up shots with the .357 Mag are faster ( less recoil )...

If I could only have one revolver...it would be an older model 27 S&W - nickel finish - in a 4" barrel. Its heavy enough to be real effecitve...and the .357 Mag cartridge is very versatile.

I have a 3" in a model 629 ( .44 Mag ) and a 4" in the model 29 ( .44 Mag )...but I like the model 27's a lot more...

( I have about 25 S&W revolvers...different barrel lengths, different finishes ( some Nickel, some blued, some stainless ).. and 15 of them are in .357 Mag ( K, L and N frames -- model 19's, 27's, 28's, 66's and 686's -- in 2", 4" and 6" barrels...and I like them all ...but my model 27-2 in 4" Nickel is a must have ! ) in my view. The 29's and 629's are nice too..who doesn't love the Dirty Harry movies.../ but there is still something magical about the S&W model 27's )...
 
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Neither but......

I think that I have to make clear what
I mean by "go to" gun. I do not hunt.
Nor do I collect weapons of any type.
My original question was ( more or less )
if you could carry or have one gun would It be
a 357 mag. or a 44 mag. & why? Doesn't
matter if it's on your nightstand or as
your concealed or carry gun. I've never
fired a 44 mag. But keep reading about
them in this Forum. The info that I have
found here is usually accurate & very
informative.
Doc

I wouldn't use either because of over penetration. Also, severe hearing loss and temporary blindness if at night for both would be a problem. But I would take the 44 Mag if it was my only choice.
 
Over my many years of several hundred guns, I have settled into 44 Mag, 357 Mag & 9mm.
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I settled into 22LR-38spl/357mag-40S&W-41mag-480 Ruger.... so about the same deal as above except of course the 480 Ruger dangler at the end.
 
You might not have to restrict her to .38s! The ladies can be surprising sometimes.
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Meghan%20shooting%20skeeter%20skelton%20load_zpsq8gsnqou.jpg


My girl has no aversion to the recoil of a .357
 
If had to choose with my current experience level lots of 38spl and 357mag and no 44 or 45 revolvers. I would choose the 45LC, just from comparing data on weights/velocities and pressures, it seems like it would be a hard-hitting round that could stay within the needed energy to stop an attacker, while also having the benefit of staying sub-sonic and at pressures so low that it makes me think the concussive blast would be better tolerated for an HD weapon. but like I said, never shot one, this is just assumptions, but I do know that the shock and awe of a full-power .357mag could be devastating to me and m family in an indoor scenario, as does the 44mag appear to be. the 44spl seems to be lacking a little where the 45lc may well be the best of both for HD. school me if I am incorrect. But staying with standard pressure 45 Colt loads and sending a 225gr Hornady flex-tip at 1000fps with barely 13,000PSI just sounds like it would be a sufficient stopper and low-risk of damage to the dwellers of the residence, it may lack some the efficiency of the .357mag due to the lack of velocity, but hopefully the double-weight of the bullet will make up for the energy so long as bullet construction in the .45's are good enough to do the job at sub-sonic speeds, I don't feel the diameter of .358's vs. .451's are big enough to use that at a plus or minus towards either or for any pistol caliber .356-.451, although it couldn't hurt I think it's silly to think the extra tenth or less diameter is going to make a difference in the fight, so I try to not let that be a deciding factor between the common arguments of the .355, .400 and the .451's.

by the way, I do not want a 44mag for anything, again the 45 Colt used in an appropriate revolver that is made for the loads can handle bullets far beyond the ballistics of a 44mag, the only thing that the Colt suffers is a lack of handgun choice, hard to find an affordable DA option in 45colt, your pretty much deciding on paying a ton for a large redhawk or settling for the inaccuracy of the Taurus with oversize bore and shallow rifling(surely it's still accrate enough, but still). Even though geerally too pricey for a handgun in my opinion, I would have a tough time passing a 454/45LC Ruger Alaskan 2.5" for under 800$.

as to the ladies and the .357....my wifey shoots a 125gr loaded about 10% under starting load in her snubbie. Something she can handle well and outshines the 38+P by a good bit.
 
I love both calibers, and having to choose between the 357 mag or the 44 would be a difficult choice. In the end, I'd pick the 44 mag.

I'm a large guy, so concealing my 629 isn't difficult under an untucked shirt with a good IWB holster. For defensive ammo, Underwood Ammo makes a 44 Special round that fires a 200 grain Speer Gold Dot at about 1050 fps, penetrates 15.5 inches ballistic gel with 4 layers of denim, and expands to about 0.8 inches.

If you handload, it's a great caliber for plinking, defense, hunting, and just about anything you can reasonably ask a handgun to do. Not that the 357 mag doesn't do these as well, but when you get to the great outdoors and want defense against things with claws and teeth, that gives a slight advantage to the 44.
 
357 doies everything, but almost nothing well.
There are some 357 mags that conceal well, but they are generally small light and terrible to shoot full 357 mags out of.
You can hunt deer with them and squirrels, but there are better choices for both.
357 maximum does better with dee by extending range a little.

Not many people conceal a 44 mag revolver, but if that isn't in the plans it is all around better.
 
My vote, no suprise to most here, goes to the .44 Magnum.



True, none of these guns pictured make an ideal everday arm, but easily corrected if necessary. This .45 Colt Blackhawk could easily be a .44 Magnum as far as frame, grip and barrel is concerned, and I've carried it at times when my .44 Special was in the evolution process.


With a .44 Magnum, I can load a cast SWC bullet at 750~800 f.p.s., a 180 gr. JHP at a sizzling 1700 f.p.s., or a 300 gr. at about 1200 fps. I've made shots at longer ranges where a .357 poops out as its velocity falls off as momentum drops.

Just have a love affair with the .44 and .45 calibers.



Bob Wright
 
Neither would be my first choose ... But I'd pick the .44Mag in this case. I like big and slow, and slow (relatively) is the way it would be. As a reloader, I'd just load my .44Mag down to around 900fps or 1000fps and good to go. Actually, I load my .44Mag cartridges to around 1100fps, but that is because I have .44Specials that are loaded to 1000fps (Skeeter load) . I see no need for 'magnum' level loads for general purpose 'goto' gun. The .44Mag can do everything the .357 could do and more if needed... in my opinion :o .
 
I see no need for 'magnum' level loads for general purpose 'goto' gun. The .44Mag can do everything the .357 could do and more if needed... in my opinion
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Many share that opinion. The difference primarily is that the revolver platform on a 357 mag revolver is generally a smaller frame size and as a result easier to carry whether it be in Walmart or the woods/field.

I also tend to think that if you want a "magnum", then you shoot magnums. But honestly, I do like the 41 mag loaded to around 1050-1150 fps and wish that someone would load and sell them commercially in the typical bullet size (210 gr). Variety is the spice of life.
 
4" Model 19, .357 Mag.

Simply the best combination of power, ergonomics, portability, concealability, and utility ever put into a single package.
 
The .44 any day of the week and twice on Sunday. It can do anything the .357 can do and do it better, along with a lot of things the .357 cannot. Plenty of good defensive loads in .44 Special, plus lots of handloading options. The big .44 will get the job done without making your ears bleed. Same for field use.

The L frame model 69 nixes the arguments against it on the grounds of concealed carry.
 
Question? Let's say that the purchaser is like me and "DOES NOT HAND LOAD"?
I am fairly confident that there are a lot of us who don't do this.

Does this change your opinion? Also, I know that the 357 mag can take 38's, 38 specials, 38 specialP+'s and numerous 357 loads of different weights.

I am too old and really don't have the need nor urge to learn hand loading.
Also not a Sunday shooter. I like shooting and make no mistakes about this.

My question is fairly straight forward.
I don't know anything about the 44 mag. that's why I asked my question about the two. I'm trying to learn.
Doc
 
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.357 Magnum in a revolver. I would love to have a S&W 627 - 8-shot .357 with 2.5" barrel. I'll forgo the extra power of .44 magnum (which is unpleasant to shoot anyway) for 8 rounds of stout .357.
 
I don't know anything about the 44 mag. that's why I asked my question about the two. I'm trying to learn.
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Before I got my first .44 Magnum, I had a .44 Special Bulldog and had a lot of fun experimenting with various factory-loaded ammo in that caliber... and ended up kinda falling in love with .44 Special.

There is very mild .44 Special cowboy-action-shooting ammo up to strong self-defense .44 Special factory ammo available (especially if you're willing to google and spend a little time cruising the internet for online ammo outlets... who will ship it to your door via UPS or FedEx in most states... I always ordered with credit card and never had one problem).

Upshot was I decided I may as well go full-Monty with .44 Magnum guns which give the flexibility to shoot any .44 Special as well as .44 Magnum ammo!... I'm SO glad I did!

(P.S.: As I said above, I like .357's a lot too...)
 
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