.44 magnum SD?

Back on topic: if you handload, a 44 magnum DA revolver is very good SD medicine. A 180-200 gr hollow point at 1100 fps nearly duplicates the 45 ACP +P and is controllable in rapid double action shooting, while being a lot more accurate than most semi-autos.
 
My 44 mag turns heads in the desert. They have ear protection on also. Apparently it sounds like a cannon or something. But I carry it every day full of 240g white box and love it

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The .44 was designed as a HUNTING cartridge. It was NEVER designed for personal defense usage against humans.

There are numerous reasons for this. Even Detective Harry "Dirty" Callahan of the San Fransisco PD, carried .44 Specials in his .44 Magnum S&W Model 29.
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Not to pick bones here, but I read this and thought there are many popular guns that were never "meant for" everyday carry, especially concealed, until there was interest in shortening the barrels below 4" or any legal hunting or Canadian minimum length. There are also a number of cartridges that are in common usage that originated for some other purpose, especially military or law enforcement, where the sales numbers were there to justify and fund development. There are other guns and cartridges that seem to fit the niche of simply "build it, and they will come", gun nuts on both ends of the proposition, guys who like to blow stuff up.
 
Due to the likelihood of discharging your self defense firearm indoors, I always recommend and practice carrying only subsonic loads in whatever caliber I am carrying.

9mm: 147 HST
40SW: 180 HST
45ACP: 230 HST

In a 44 I would probably look at a 240 at about 1000 fps.

While not indoors, I have taken advanced close quarters training and learned first hand that my 357 SIG and 10mm were not good choices for self defense for me.

Subsonic loads are still loud in a closed area but the lack of a sonic boom and less muzzle blast makes a real difference.

YMMV.
 
.357 magnum has a very loud and SHRILL report. I find it much harsher than 44 magnum.

Even something like .22 magnum out of a handgun is very loud.

What? Can you speak up?
 
So, wouldn't the same thing hold true for a .44 magnum whether it was for SD or large predator defense? I don't know. Also, where does .44 special fit in this question about loudness?
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Yep, but short of wearing a pair of earmuffs, the electronic kind, that's the price you're going to pay.

Last night I was reading one of Mas Ayoob's articles in which he said he kept a pair of muffs on his night stand for SD/home invasion use and claimed they took very little add'l time to put on. Don't know if I agree with that, or even if I'd remember they were available if the SHTF at 3am, but it's something to consider.

I did wear a pair of electronic muffs this year while hunting deer from a stand on our lower pasture. I found that they increased my ability to hear deer moving behind me! Hell, I could hear the wind in the Johnson grass again. That's not happened in 30+ years. Seemed like a good idea, and they kept my ears warm too!

BTW, a .44 Magnum is no slouch as an SD weapon, given the right loads, read reduced to .44 Special levels. Any good HP, like Hornady's 200 gr XTP, pushed to 1000 fps ought to do the job if you don't have any reservations about using handloads for CC. The guns are not petite, however, and will require an OWB holster as well as a stout belt to make them comfortable, but if you live where your clothing choices allow that size of a revolver, I'd say you'd be well armed.

HTH's Rod
 
Taylor the load to the mission as long as your skill level is appropriate the 44 magnum is a fine SD revolver. I load my 69 Smith with 180 grain JHP's from PMC as they still use the Remington JHP or 200 grain 44 special gold dots over win 296.

If you were to use a bullet designed for big game hunting I could see a problem. As for those who say it is no more effective than a round with 1/2 the energy, you have never seen anyone shot with one with the appropriate bullet for the task.
 
I used to carry a 3" 629-1 loaded with 200 grain 44 specials. It's a good rig and shot very well. It got replaced by a 686+.
 
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