What is your tolerance level?
I only "bash" brands that I have had personal (and poor) experience with, and I have never owned a Taurus. I don't hear great things about them, overall, though.
A 2" .44 Magnum? My first reaction is WHY????
apparently some folks have what they feel are valid reasons, but I don't see them...
Lets look at a few points for consideration, and you can draw your own conclusions..
The bulk of a revolver is in the frame/cylinder and in the grips, An inch or two, even 3 of barrel is the least important factor in concealed carry.
Short barrel revolvers are as mechanically accurate as longer barrels. However, they are less easily USED accurately, however.
PART of the reason is the shorter sight radius is less precise than a longer one. But the main reason is the general situation that snub nose guns usually have "cruder" sights, and less than the best trigger pulls, AND also the smaller size of the snubnose makes it more difficult to use with target level accuracy.
This may not apply to a short barrel .44Mag, as they are generally NOT made on the smallest frames, and don't usually use fixed sights. If the .44 you are looking at is the regular gun, just with a 2" barrel (and maybe a slightly smaller, rounded grip??) then most of the snubgun drawbacks don't apply.
That being said, size and weight are real world things you CANNOT get around. There is no free lunch. To get an advantage in one area, you must give up something in another.
For example, even a relatively low power round will kick the snot out of you when its is fired in a very small, light gun. And a larger more powerful round will be a stick of dynamite in your hand in a small light gun.
Magnums with short barrels are very popular, because people THINK they are getting a more "packable" or concealable gun, and its still a magnum!
Except, in most cases its still only a magnum in name only, despite keeping the magnum blast, flash and recoil.
I've shot a 3" .44Mag S&W. I have .44Mags with barrels ranging from 6.5" to 10".
Regarding the short barrel in particular, it makes a HUGE difference what ammo is used. Shooting the 3" with a tailored .44Mag load using a moderate charge of a certain powder it was not bad. Stout, but neither painful nor unmanageable.
The SAME GUN shooting my standard full house load, 240gr over a case full of 2400 powder was a completely different experience.
Tremendous flash and blast, very heavy recoil just below my pain level ONLY due to the Pachmayr rubber grips, and the torque was extreme, the gun actually twisted 90 degrees to the left in my hands with each shot.
If you want a .44Magnum, and you want it to BE a .44Magnum, don't bother with a short barrel. 6" or more barrels, otherwise, you are "shorting" yourself.
if you want a big bore snub gun, the .44Mag chambering will give you slightly more out of the short barrel than the .44Special, but there is a cost involved, one which can make the gun in your hands less "shootable".
Also while the magnum still beats the Special in short barrels, look at the actual difference, a lot of us don't think the difference is significant in terms of self defense effectiveness, while the blast and recoil to get that small advantage outweighs the gain.
IF at all possible, find the smallest, lightest .44Mag you can get a chance to shoot, and shoot it. It might give you important personal insight.
