.44 magnum for ccw?

Why not, a 3-4 incher would be great. I've got a 629 mountaingun that would be as good as any other N frame.
 
I do not (yet) own a .44 magnum, so the following thoughts must be viewed, at best, as “uninformed”. I regularly carry .357 magnum revolvers (sometimes loaded with .38 Special +Ps), .45 ACP autoloaders, and 10mm (in a S&W 610-3 revolver), so I am not concerned with either larger-bore handguns or magnum loads. Yet, I am troubled that the .44 magnum may be too much:
> Too much recoil, in a concealable revolver, for rapid follow-up shots;
> Too much energy/velocity, with adverse carry-through, over-penetration, and missed-shot implications;
> Too much power, more than is really required for personal defense.

Without doubt, .44 magnums are a devastating defensive round, but my worry is they are too potent, when other alternatives (those listed above plus several more) will essentially do the job just as well with fewer negative ramifications.

I will now done by Nomex flame suit and await education.
 
Why not a 44 special instead...the muzzle blast will be significantly less, recoil too and will make followup shots much faster if needed. Have you ever shot a short tube 44 mag?? Its not plesant let me tell you and follow-up shots within a reasonable amount of time are boarderline impossibe to still be accurate. Charter Arms makes a fantastic 44 special snub nose, the BullDog...its light, 5 shot and pretty small. I have one, havent carried it in a while, but its a great wheelgun! Nothing wrong with the 44 mag for conceiled carry, i just think its a little overkill.
 
I'd agree.
More blast & recoil than you need, more penetration than you need.
Quick followup shots are hard for most of us to do, and yes- you can use a lower velocity load like the Silvertips, but why bother when other lighter, more portable, and effective calibers & loads are easier to carry and shoot?
Denis
 
If a four inch barrel .44 Magnum is your field gun and you are intinmately familiar with it, sure, but otherwise not as a first choice.

165 grain Cor Bon good idea.
 
.44 mag........

Not my first choice for CCW. Too heavy of a caliber, too much recoil, too much muzzle blast, too heavy of a gun, not enough shots, too much penetration, too hard to conceal. There are better weapons out there for dealing with the 2 legged variety of predator.
 
I regularly carry a .44 mag Ruger SuperBlackhawk with a 6 1/2" barrel... Ok, not for regular CCW, but on days when I head for the hills and it rides beneath my coat, it counts. I'd feel just fine carrying it in town if my main CCWs were unavailabe, but do readily admit they are more concealable and thier higher capacity make them better choices.
 
Why not just carry it with moderate .44 Magnum rounds or even .44 Specials? With Specials you have a 6-round equivalent to the .45 ACP. Nothing to sneeze at. My way of thinking is that moderate-velocity Magnums are better for the increased stomp, but I imagine either would work.
 
Real world? I think it would be as beneficial as a 22 Magnum. I have witnessed shootings with both. The usual result was a through and through. Two holes are better than one but, until the hypvolemic shock takes effect (bleedout) the BG is still capable. I have seen one Glaser 44 Magnum result. The BG is now out on parole. I think a 44 Magnum is just NOT the "killer" that people think it is. I have read of 3 rounds of 41 Magnum required to incapacitate a BG before. They bled out, eventually. I cannot suggest a 44, 41, 10MM or even 40 S&W +P+ as they simply don't have a chance to bloom the mushroom. I would consider a 44 Magnum loaded with 44 Russian lead. The better choice is a 357 Magnum with 180 gr JHPs. I carry a BHP with 115 gr Hydra-Shoks.
 
A light weight ,short barrel 44 mag using 44 special loads. There are some excellent 44Spec loads on the market now.
 
I agree with Abelew, to big and heavy, to much penetration, to few shots. Why would you handicap yourself with 2 much gun for the job. You can hunt rabbit with a 44, but smaller calibers are more appropriate.
 
I don't think it's the optimum choice. But I don't it's a bad choice either. Full sized revolvers with 40+ sized bores have been used for self defense for 132 or so years. Did they suddenly stop working? Obviously you would'nt want to carry 300gr. loads for criminal maggot repellant. A little common sense will help you find a suitable carry load in just about any reasonable caliber or cartridge. Many, many people go forth with short 1911's every day . Are there any real differences in ballistics between any of the self defense 44's or 45's?

As far as too heavy or hard to conceal. Weight is subjective and depends a lot on what you are doing and /or wearing. I can and have concealed a 3-4 inch N frame on several occasions over the years. I'm 5-9, 185, with a 32 inch waist. I used to carry a S&W 25-2 with a 2 3/4 inch tube off duty. I had an El Paso pancake, a Galco SSII, and a Bianchi IWB holster for it. I had no problems concealing it.

I currently usually carry a Glock 23 on and off duty, and a S&W 360 when I need something smaller. I'm not saying his choice is for everybody but it makes a lot more sense than some peoples current carry that I know.

One other point that I'd like to make, mostly to the cops. A CCW holder is likely to be in different situations than off duty cops. As a cop you would have more reason to get involved it situations that as a CCW you would not.
As a cop you don't have a choice in most cases, on or off duty. I like to think I am somewhat progressive as a 40 year old veteran firearms instructor. but I don't see it as a neccessity to carry 40 rounds of ammo off duty. Usually I feel confident with just the Glock, a spare mag in the car. A couple of speed strips for my J usually go with me if I'm packing the wheelie..
 
.44 mag

I used to have a Charter Arms 5 shot , 4" with decent grips, I loaded it with 225gr, soft lead wc's at about 950fps, only thing shot with it was a feral hog of about 150 lbs, went through and through and made an exit wound big enough for 3 fingers to fit in, hog made about 10 feet, I would think something about that type would make any .44 a decent carry gun.
The recoil was present but not distracting.
Don :)
 
I don't see why not. There are plenty of ammo choices out there that are good for personal defense. However, the .44 Magnum might pass through the BG and hit someone else. So this might be a concern if you live in a populated area.

I would probably stick with the good ole .45 for a CCW.

Good question !!!
 
If you practice enough to be able to hit the bg in a high stress situation then it makes a lot of sense. This is especially true in cold weather when a big dude is wearing lots of clothes, or when some guy is really jacked up on some illicit drug. There's no substitute for good penetration to the vitals. Don't worry about "over penetration", that's just a bogeyman.
 
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in 23 yrs as a cop saw- by that I mean arrived just after festivities were over-quite a few .44 hits. Old heads and bgs like it- everything I have seen man or beast hit with the full power .44 Magnum was torn to pieces. Livers pulped, one kneecap hit that ripped leg to pieces. unfortunately, one home shooting in which man shot fellow he was arguing with, killed him that instant, but bullet sped through and hit is wife in the shoulder
coudl of happened with 9mm
 
I love to get a .44 mag w/ a 6" barrell for a range gun. It would be fun once in a while to shoot it. I do much better w/ .357mag. I shot a 4" 629. It was beyond what I expected.
 
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