44 Special vs. 357 Magnum

And unfortunately, how many new hunters today didn’t have the benefit and experience of learning how to hunt from their dad.
 
Ligonierbill: "I'm not much of a pistoleer, but sometimes I carry a general purpose revolver in the woods."

For general woods walks, either is good...but depends on what you want to shoot....thistle tops and toadstools, dirt clods, defense against predators of two or four legged type, or maybe large game like deer.

I'm a long time fan of the .44 Spl, but will readily agree that to be versatile whatsoever, you must handload. Your choice of at 5.5" Ruger Flat Top is a good one. It's very strong, but not to full-house .44 Magnum levels. Light to medium level loads with 240 gr LSWC's that approach 1000 fps perform well with non-punishing recoil.

The classic is perhaps Skelton's favorite 7.5 grains of Unique for just under 1000 fps. Another good choice is Hornady's excellent .44 cal. 200 gr. XTP. This can be pushed to over 1100 easily with a variety of powders and makes for an excellent defensive round with superb accuracy. Again, handloading is necessary to make the .44 Spl. useful. It's my favorite in a 6.5" Smith M-24, and a tio of Ruger Flat Tops in both 4-5/8" & 5-1/2" bbl. lengths. Both of the bullets listed above will give me sub-2" groups at 25 yds from a rest in any of the four listed.

The .357 Magnum is also a great choice as it offers versatility right out of the box...anything from .38 Special wadcutters to full house magnums...and do it without resorting to handloading. In that sense, it makes more sense as an all around woods carry piece.

In my own use, I find that as I've aged into my late 70's, arthritis has made it a far better choice with it's lighter recoil using target loads. Accuracy is equal to the .44 Spl. and I handload for both so ammunition costs are about equal. I also cast my own LSWC & WC bullets making either caliber cheaper to shoot than a .22 LR at current market prices. Three cent primers, two cent powder charges and bullet molds purchased well before the turn of the century allow substantial savings.

Given one choice, and discounting my age and foregoing handloading, I'd pick a .357 of the DA revolver persuasion. HTH's Rod Here's one of my .44's and a seldom seen 5" bbl'd Smith M-60 with a holster I made up for my #1 son's Christmas several years ago. It's a hellofa carry piece for woods loafers with great accuracy and light weight.



 
I can take deer with a good 22 pistol, if I wanted to wait on a shot of both distance and angle that would make reasonable kill shot. That don’t make it a deer gun. There are two kinds of deer guns. The deer hunting gun which is capable of making a humane kill on a deer which may be at random ranges in random cover. The other is a killing gun. Doesn’t make a lot of difference what it is. Deer is killed from stand while stationary , presenting
the optimum shot. The only variable being the shooters skill.
One of the old gun scribes made the statement to use a gun big enough to get the job done if conditions don’t turn out to be perfect.
 
Honest question.

What is the bullet people are using that makes either 44 or 357 different performers?

If it's all XTP, okay. But FMJ is FMJ. It doesn't deform and drag equalizes all the handgun loads pretty much equally.
 
wild cat mccane said:
Honest question.

What is the bullet people are using that makes either 44 or 357 different performers?

If it's all XTP, okay. But FMJ is FMJ. It doesn't deform and drag equalizes all the handgun loads pretty much equally.
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All FMJ is not equal.

Bigger FMJ does more damage than smaller.

Faster FMJ does more damage than slower.

FMJ that hits bone does more damage than FMJ that does not and larger, of course, will cause profoundly more destruction than smaller--same with faster vs. slower.

Same with hitting organs and variations of tissue.

When a bullet hits there are many variations and possibilities in damage that ensues.

Animals are not made of ballistic gel.......they are hair, fur, hide, skin, fat, flesh, sinew, muscle, cartilage, tendon, ligament, water, blood and bone.
 
Use the bullet and caliber that makes you 'feel' better and that will work for intended use. The human race has been using lead ever since the gun was invented. Seemed to get the job done down through the centuries. Animals haven't changed body armor that I know off :) . There are a 'lot' of references out there of those with experience that did that/been there to draw conclusions from. Whatever you use, hitting the target and placement is the most important thing. A 1000gr heavy Uranium bullet wouldn't help you much if you miss....
 
Either revolver is a solid choice. If you were limited to factory ammo I would say .357. But you being a reloader the .44 Special is incredibly versatile with less muzzle blast. A modern SA ought to handle 1000fps loads which would be very effective. Choose a bullet according to the worst anticipated threat.

As was mentioned earlier, which revolver you shoot best and fastest is another factor to consider. Can’t go wrong with either option you have!
 
44 AMP said:
Personally I've always felt the factory .44 special loads to be on the weak side.

I would (and did) go with a Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt. Got the convertible so I can shoot ACP, too. (almost never do, but I can)

I don't run the heavy for caliber bullets the internet is in love with these days. Don't have a need or a use for them.

I load 240s/250s in .44s and .45 revolver rounds and 158s in .357s. Those are the slugs that made those calibers reputations, and they don't work any less well today.

In the same calibers the SA revolver is usually lighter than the DA revolver. For a woods gun on your hip or under your shoulder, that matters.

Forget the high round count and blazing speed of Hollywood movies and TV, only hits count, only good hits matter and good hits require aiming. The SA revolver is fine for anything in the woods, even two legged predators, once you're skilled with it. Nothing wrong with a good DA gun, nothing at all, its just different. Different feel to the recoil due to different grip shape and weight, ITs all a matter of how you train yourself, if there is any advantage to one over the other.

No, I wouldn't choose an SA to go into a gunfight, but as a gun I would be wearing all day, and one I could count on to get me out of a gunfight (providing I did my part) I think its a good choice.

.44 SPL and .357 Mag is not an apples to apples comparison. I persoanlly prefer the bigger beefier guns in .357 and .44 Mag or .45 Colt. I don't run any .44 Special guns, I have .44 Magnums and load them down a bit for comfort and plinking. I load my .357s hot, shoot .38s when I want something less.

Choose the gun that appeals to you the most. Either caliber will be entirely adequate, if YOU are.
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Good post, though I do like the 45 ACP/AR in a good revolver.
 
Ligonierbill, you said you loaded the .44 Spl just shy of Skeeter's load. Why? It should be just fine in your revolver. I run his load in an S&W 624 6.5" handgun and recoil is not all that bad. The load is accurate and has sufficient power for my desert and mountains hikes.
Paul B.
 
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