Newbie wondering .357 mag or .44 mag?

J

Japes4

Inactive
Hey all, this is my first time to the site and was hoping to get your opinions. I am looking at getting a new wheel gun, and am torn between the .357 and the .44. This will be a gun that I take on camping trips and use for self defense in the house (along with my 12 ga). I was leaning toward the .357 (RugerSP101 in particular) due to recoil and cost of rounds. The only issue is I also have a Marlin 1894 in .44 and was thinking it may be nice to have one caliber for rifle and handgun...thoughts?

Not that it makes any difference, but for the .44, I was looking at the Ruger Alaskan.
 
Ah... basically, what your asking is, what do you like more, .357 or 44 mag.
I can see advantages and disadvantages for both with the broadly differing circumstances in which you might use the gun.

When you say "cost of rounds", I get the feeling you don't reload.

Do you carry the Marlin when you go walkabout?

Without knowing more, I lean toward the .357. If for no other reason than the capability of shooting .38 spcl.

Cheers,
C
 
Car camping or hiking camping? Planning on taking both the rifle and pistol at the same time? Any interest in hunting, or just for defense both at home and at camp?

If it were me I'd get the SP101 between those two choices. I owned a .44 magnum a long time ago and it was too much pistol for me.

If you really plan on shooting .357s out of it a lot, then I'd go with a larger gun. Ruger GP100 or S&W 686 or 686plus would be my choices out of new firearms with a 4" barrel or longer.

I do like the Ruger Alaskan in .44, though I've never shot one personally. Looks and feels good, though.
 
For ease of shooting and cost of shooting I would go with the .357 just because 38 spcl from light target loads to +p to heavy .357 loads with all kinds of bullets. The 44 mag can shoot the 44 spcl but you already know they are hard to find and expensive when you do find them. You already have a 12 and the 44 rifle so you are equipped with all the power you need. The smaller gun gives you a nice small game getter with target ammo if your marksmanship is up to it. Small game hunting is great practice in case you ever need to shoot something more robust and with bad intentions.
 
An SP-101 would definitely be easier to carry out in the woods.

But six rounds of .44 special would make for a perfect house gun too.

Flip a coin.
 
To answer a few questions...

- I do not reload now. Not say I won't in the future, but I just don't shoot enough now to justify reloading.

- Most of the camping is done from hiking or via boat on shoreline and barrier Islands

- I love shooting the Marlin, but only hunt with it once or twice a year...most of my hunting is via bow, so the handgun will not be used as a hunting weapon at all. I do carry a pistol when bow hunting though, mainly for hog/wild dog deterrence.
 
I'd be kind of tempted to go with a .357. I know a lot of people who have .44 magnum revolvers and those guns tend to be safe queens.

Don't get me wrong, I like the .44 cartridge, especially the .44 Special. But a .357, if you don't reload, is a lot cheaper to shoot, especially with .38 Special cartridges. From the "white box" .38s to heavy .357 loadings, I kind of think it's hard to argue the point that a decent .357 wheelgun isn't going to be good for shooting most of the things that are worth shooting.
 
If you have a notion to pocket carry you should go with that SP101. I always carry mine in a Kramer pocket holster in my jeans or shorts when I'm out in the boondocks.
 
I would go with the 357 mag, just for the ease of carry. But we all know which one Clint Eastwood would choose.
 
.357. The SP101 with a 4" barrel makes a good trail / home defense gun. I like being able to shoot .38 and .357 Magnum out of the same gun. I've shot plenty of Magnums out of it and it handles them well. The recoil is fun, but not bad.

The gun is good a pretty good general purpose revolver, but the 4" barrel makes it on the large side for CC. If you want something you can CC too, I'd consider a shorter barrel.
 
I have the Ruger Blackhawk .357mag 6 1/2" for target and light hunting (deer, etc.) Found a holster at Academy Sports that it fits. For hunting I use Federal SJSP American Eagle .357mag, great velocity and accuracy. It does mushroom. Also Federal Fusion is good.
For targets I use special .357mag reloads. I load .357cases to a .38special level, this reduces recoil and eliminates the carbon in the cylinder using std .38spec ammo....

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=495207

You must use care reloading this way and I got lots of criticism for it by an "expert" that didn't understand what I'm doing. Just check the link if you decide to try it.

og
 
Have you ever shot a .44 mag?

I wanted a .44 so I bought one. Then I shot it. Now I'm selling it.:o

It's a lot of oomph!

.357 mag has a little recoil too, but I could shoot it a lot more accurately than .44 mag. To me, that matters a lot.
 
In my humble opinion, the .44 mag is best for a reloader. You can play with everything from powder puff .44 special loads all the way up through full-house magnums. At this point, I only shoot .44 mag brass in my .44 mag revolvers, many loads very light compared to factory mag ammo. Great fun, and inexpensive, especially with cast lead boolits.

NOT a reloader? Then I'd opt for a .357. Although I reload for the .357, too, there are a lot more and varied .38 special factory loads than there are .44 specials. Cost of ammo and controllability both favor the .357 platform. And the SP101 is a great gun to boot.

So given your interest, I'd say .357.
 
I like the idea of rifle and handgun in same caliber...

...so I could sell your .44 Marlin and buy a Marlin in .357mag/38spl to go with your new Ruger SP101, GP100, or S&W 686. From what I have seen, not only is the .44 cartridge more expensive but sometimes it is a lot harder to find.
Of course you could go totally "Cowboy" and get a single action revolver like a Ruger Vaquero or Blackhawk.
 
While having both your rifle and handgun in the same caliber has its own appeal, for your purposes a .357 handgun will serve you better.
 
I have both, and the .357 is much nicer to shoot. The .44 Magnum hits your hand hard. The .44 Specials are nice though.

My friend also has a Marlin 1894 in .44 Magnum and while it is ok to shoot, he didn't like the .44 Magnums out of my 629 at all. He bought a 686 after shooting mine. He likes the .357 Magnums. I also had him shoot .38 Specials and .38 Wadcutters the same day. He said the .38 Specials were ok but felt the Wadcutters were more like a .22. :)

My wife LOVES shootings .38 Wadcutters.
 
I'm waiting for a 5 shot GP-100 chambered in 41 mag. with a 3" barrel, if this could be done on a security six frame that would be ideal.
 
Until I start reloading, I'm sticking with my .357 mags. One of the best parts of owning a .44 mag is being able to shoot the specials. Factory .44's, either special or magnum, are very expensive and don't do the round justice (most of the time). The .357 on the other hand, is widely available, reasonably priced and well suited for most situations. My favorite .357 round (Remington green box) is available at Walmart for about $25 per 50 and those things are monsters... Having the same caliber for both a rifle and handgun would be nice but unless I was reloading, I'd go with the .357 magnum.
 
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