.357 mag or .44 mag That is the question...

[davidwilso78]

.44 is stupid soft shooting out of a long gun. Not a whole lot of trigger time on the revolvers, but anything carryable is gonna be a handful.

It really comes down to how absolutely married you are to primary/secondary ammo sharing. I only went 45LC because I wanted to be a walkin talkin rootin tootin cowboy shootin meme human. Outside of that, I think it's mostly dumb to obsess over. Get a rifle in a rifle caliber, if you're gonna carry one around, not a jumped up pistol cartridge that drops like a rock.

Although, within Indiana's public land restrictions, .44 mag would be my long gun choice for deer.

I do consider the ammo sharing for sure. My AR9/Glock, .22lr SAAs/Henry lever action and the several .38/357 revolvers and the lever action. If only there were practical 12 gauge pistols then I would have perfect matches all around outside of the rifle calibers I have.. although there is a .30 carbine SAA so maybe I should put that on my Christmas list

 

[davidwilso78]

Lever actions can be problematic in thick underbrush in bear territory , A lot of guides carry 44mag pistols because of that.And its better to stay with the 44mag because you can get lighter loads for a 44mag and be at 357 power ,and thats my opinion . I shoot a 44mag with 240 grain hydro-shoks , its a potent pill for sure,it makes my 14inch barrel jump and roar.

Problematic because of size/weight I would imagine. I mentioned in a previous response that many of the .44 mags I have seen would really be more practical in a chest holster.. and those are just cool too

 

[Amishman44]

Thanks for adding this caliber. The basis of the conversation is my girlfriend has a 3in .44 mag in my safe and now that I have shot it a few times I am tempted to buy a rifle and/or a matching revolver with a longer barrel ... But the why is my hesitation not to mention it might cause me to need a bigger safe

Bigger safe... sounds like a win!
Game on...

 

[Mongo59]

My biggest concern is I have issues collecting what I like. I have one .44 mag in my safe. Several .357s and 9mm... I will not stop at one I will get something smaller and larger and likely rifled...

I don't see a problem...

 

[Leadeye]

For the 45-70 fans.

 

[xwing]

.357 is more versatile. Less expensive to shoot. Available in mid or large frame revolver (also small frame but those are painful to shoot.) Packs enough punch to take down any 2 or 4 legged menace in most areas of the country (including Indiana). Easy to carry OWB if you want. Good for home defense as well.

I have a .357 revolver. I enjoy shooting it. Friends who come over enjoy shooting it. Even though it's an inexpensive brand, it is quite accurate.

I have a S&W .500 magnum revolver. (yes, I know, bigger than a .44). The only time it ever comes out of the safe is if a friend wants to try something crazy. And when they do, one round is usually all they want. In having it for over a decade, I've shot less than 100 rounds total. It's a fun safe queen and conversation piece. But unless I regularly trekked the Alaska wilderness (or similar), it will never be anything else.

 

[walt o]

Pick a middle of the road and get a 41 magnum
although the gun is still a N frame same as a 44
but less recoil than 44 and heaver to absorb the 357 loads that surpass the by the 41 mag

 

[Combat Engineer]

,I've got to go with the 44 magnum.Ive killed two deer with it since I bought the last one. Accurate,powerful and to me the recoil ain't that bad.

 

[Judge]

Fellow gun patrons,

I have gone through the research and I have my own opinion on this topic but thought I would open it up for discussion. .357 vs .44 ... Carry weapon, home protection, muzzle flash wow factor, big animal protection while in the wilderness, lever action and SAA western shooting... Bring what you have for opinions and experience!

I like the .357 mag vs the .44 mag… the .44 is too much power and I flinch too much when I pull the trigger for good shooting. My .357 with a 8 3/8” barrel S&W model 27 is my favorite piece. Too large to easily carry but very accurate.

 

[Leo]

Like 92FSTECH, I have and like both.

If a person could only have one, the .44 Mag has a definite edge for a reloader. Once a person puts his hands on a thousand or so .44SPL brass, you always have a really easy to shoot lower power weapon that costs a couple cents more to shoot than a .38. Plus it is sending a 240 grain bullet. There is some advantage there. Then you have the option of filling the Magnum case with AA#9 behind a jacketed bullet and slapping a target with over 1/2 a ton of energy. That is a nice advantage to have available.

Pretty hard to conceal carry a .44mag, and they are not light in a duty holster.

 

[warren5421]

Best Pistol probably .357 Mag. Best rifle .44 mag. You can load soft or hard in either caliber. My pick is the .44 WCF but it is more of a hand loading round. Any of them can be hotrod enough that it can hurt to shoot. The .357 mag can kill anything native to North America but maybe not before it kills you, same for the .44 mag though it is a little better than the .357 mag. Bigger weight bullet has a better chance of penetration based on Russian Bore hunting.

 

[Whip_McCord]

Like 92FSTECH, I have and like both.

If a person could only have one, the .44 Mag has a definite edge for a reloader. Once a person puts his hands on a thousand or so .44SPL brass, you always have a really easy to shoot lower power weapon that costs a couple cents more to shoot than a .38. Plus it is sending a 240 grain bullet. There is some advantage there. Then you have the option of filling the Magnum case with AA#9 behind a jacketed bullet and slapping a target with over 1/2 a ton of energy. That is a nice advantage to have available.

Pretty hard to conceal carry a .44mag, and they are not light in a duty holster.

Those that suggest .357 must not reload. As Leo mentions, the 44mag is best if you reload. I consider it the most versitile revolver cartridge around, for a reloader. I have 8 handloads for the 44mag myself. Bullet weights from 165gr thru 300gr. There are also larger than 300 grains, although I have never tried any. For years I shot handgun silhouettes out to 200 meters with 240gr magnum loads. I differ with Leo only on use of 44 special brass. None of my loads, no matter how light, use special brass. I only use 44 mag brass. You can load the light rounds accordingly. I have a 2 1/2" Ruger Alaskan, 5" S&W 629, and a 7.5" Redhawk. Different guns for different uses. Same with the loads.

 

[TomWR]

The expense, discomfort and successive shots are what concern me with the .44.

My buddy and I both have Ruger SRH .44 pistols of various barrel lengths. We both have Alaskans. I have the Alaskan and my favorite, a 9.5 barrel SRH. He has several different barrel length Super Redhawks. All our firearms are stainless steel.
Now in reply to da..vidwilso78, reload if you can, and if you can't for various reasons, gun clubs have members that will reload for you in whatever load you wish. If not, you're in the wrong gun club. My friend and I started that way, getting our rounds at way less than retail, while helping the member have his reloader pay for it's self. We graduated to buying his rig to continue reloading our own rounds.
With loading your own, the cost goes way down and as I said, you can farm the reloading out. You may need a legal disclaimer for doing this. That said, reloading a .44 round with max load rifle powder and shooting it at night is a sight! Don't be afraid of .44 magnums. They can be made docile, or a dragon!

 

[warren5421]

I have a 4 1/2" and 5 1/2" Old Vaqueros that were setup for SASS. My hands can not do full house loads though. A S&W N-Frame .44 Sp. Most of my pistols are .44s, either Army cap and ball's or .44 WCF. Colts.

 

[Michigan Slim]

My little girl likes a .357 but carries a .44 at the cabin. Bears, a confirmed cougar, and REALLY BIG dog tracks. I like the .44 and carry the .44.

 

[92FSTech]

The real benefit to the .357 is carryability. You can cram it into a much smaller package, and it's still pretty shootable. There are times where I want my .44 and am willing to haul around the extra mass, but I can't stick it in a pocket and carry it around all day and forget it's there like my 640. If the potential threats can be handled by a .357, it's a much more convenient option.

A few photos for comparison...the 640 is 22.13oz unloaded, while the 69 is 33.49oz. I think the picture from the rear is particularly demonstrative of the size difference.

 

[D.R.SCOTT]

.357 for anything other than game. The ability to also shoot .38 special helps with ammo scarcity and means you can shoot a wider Varity of loads from the range of a low recoil .38 up to super hot .357. Bullet tec has a huge impact in performance so the rule is more choices is more better, and that applies to all calibers.

The .44 is overkill for CC and HD imo and unlike in war scenarios, overkill is bad. But my home is not the home of others. Home for some people is a small apartment or home can be 40 acres. If you spend time on your land and can benefit from the extra range and power in case you meet wild animals the .44. But if civilized animals are you concern the .357 is proven to be enough to handle them.

As for the lever gun, I say get which ever caliber your revolver is. I am big on ammo sharing and loadout variability.

Seems like the choice for me boils down to do you want more of a versatile gun, or a heavy hitter that is higher in power and range but is behind in other aspects.

Aesthetically, having your wrist in a cast or a big hunk of iron poking out of a beer gut is a bad look.

All that said, I have used revolvers in a few SD situations back in the day and I was definitely undergunned. 2 moving cars with 4 people each is not a good situation for any revolver. The .44 is only for when I go into the woods and the .357 is only for the range now.

 

[chadm]

357 for lighter carry option and 500sw for wow factor, self defense, best defense, T-Rex defense, car engine defense, barrier blind defense, and basically any other defense.

 

[Creeker]

I was always a 44 guy but the older I get the better I like the 357. It's a excellent, flat shooting varmint round.

 

[Frontiersman]

.44 is stupid soft shooting out of a long gun. Not a whole lot of trigger time on the revolvers, but anything carryable is gonna be a handful.

Hmmm. What kind .44 rifle are you shooting? I have a couple that will rattle your teeth real good.