I dont know about .44 mag ammo, but I use .44 spl hornady critical defense in my model 29, there used to be a speer gold dot load and I dont know if that was discontinued but that one offered me great expansion in a doe I shot with it. I used to use the winchester Silvertip line but it offered extremely subpar performance in my tests, through a crono I was getting 724 avg out of a 10 rd test in a 5 inch barrel when the box said to expect 900 fps, though to be fair I don't know what test barrel they used.
ANTI-PERSONNEL 44 Special Pistol and Handgun Ammo-- Buffalo Bore
Not really, to get that title it would need to be the most powerful cartridge in that size gun. 454 casull is considerably more powerful and has a wider range of available bullets, same concept but once I got into 454 I didn't have any use for 44 mag anymore and got rid of the one I had. I was already a ruger revolver guy so the switch was an obvious one. S&W fans have to deal with the fact that the most powerful normal sized revolver they make is a 44 mag, not the case for the more robust designs.
Buddy has a Super Redhawk in .44 Magnum. He loads *hot*, heavy for caliber rounds. Ruger didn't offer a .454 Casull when he bought his, according to him. I fired a few. No more. I'll stick with a .44 Spl or standard .45 Colt, from either a double action or single action.
Ruger has chambered the SRH in 454 since 1997, so that possible.
He bought his when Ruger first introduced I think, because he shook a S&W Mdl 29 to pieces with his handloads. He says "I was young and dumb, loading stuff I kick myself for now. By God's grace I'm still here and not blown to pieces by a hand grenade of my own design. I'm still dumb, but I'm older now, and have that Redhawk. It's tougher than any Smith ever dreamed of."
I have loaded 200 grain hard cast 357s for deer and bear (bear for an emergency, not for hunting) and 110 grain .38 special FMJs for small game - that's something a .44 can't do. Also, if you are a petite woman, or simply small in stature, you may not like the .44 mag (I know, I know - Elmer Keith was little in stature, but he was small like a wolverine is "small." That being said, my wife had no problem emptying a cylinder of full powered .44 mags into the center of her target (and you should have seen the looks she got that day at the range!")
Out of curiosity, is your "go to meetin'" clothes a suit, overalls, or etc ?
I'm easy to please. The .44special Charter Boomer. The key words being "self defense" in the question. It moves a lot of lead per shot, at moderate to low speeds, which is fine by me.
Sometimes.
