.357 or .44

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Mark_Mark

Mark_Mark

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Alright my reloading friends. What’s more versatile of a for reloading? .44 mag or .357?

I do alot of fishing in the forest (woods if your from the south) and we have mountain lions and bears and all kidda stuff here in the pacific north west.
 
If your up north and have big bear then 44. If your dealing with mountain lions and little 200 lb class bears it doesn't matter. I'm assuming your talking pistol. Many choose 10mm in this situation currently. I never ran across anything in the cascades or anywhere on the peninsula.
 
The .44 Magnum was born of the .44 Special. And before that, the .357 Magnum was born of the .38 Special. Do you think you need to download to .38 Special levels of performance?

If you're only going to reload one, the 44 has a lot more up than the 357, and more down than you'll need. The .44 Magnum wins this one providing you're willing to carry the extra weight of a larger gun (or put up with the extra recoil in something like the S&W M69).

I'm not sure what your Grizzly/Brown Bear and Moose situation is, but I hear they have some large bears in the Cascades. Both of those animals would make me choose the .44 Magnum.
 
Thanks everyone, I been carrying a .460 mag in a 4”, 5” if you count the mussels brake. I’m looking for something lighter, because I’m only running into black bears and something else that smells terrible but I can never really see it.

Here my questions, what is better for a short barrel? something in the 3” range. I’m planning on loading hard cast for deep penetration.
 
A S&W L-frame or a Ruger GP-100 357 Magnum revolvers will be a bit easier to carry than the larger 44 Magnums.

Of course, you could get an S&W Model 69 and have a 5 round L-frame 44 Magnum.

But, as others have, you need to decide what you might encounter and plan accordingly.
 
WrongHanded said:
The .44 Magnum was born of the .44 Special. And before that, the .357 Magnum was born of the .38 Special. Do you think you need to download to .38 Special levels of performance?

If you're only going to reload one, the 44 has a lot more up than the 357, and more down than you'll need. The .44 Magnum wins this one providing you're willing to carry the extra weight of a larger gun (or put up with the extra recoil in something like the S&W M69).

I'm not sure what your Grizzly/Brown Bear and Moose situation is, but I hear they have some large bears in the Cascades. Both of those animals would make me choose the .44 Magnum.
Click to expand...
the deeper I go in the Cascades the bigger they get. We had a cougar eat a biker right off the trail a few years back.
 
What do you want to carry, weight is an issue. If a K frame is all you want to deal with I am sure as a hand loader you can make a 180 grain .357 sing that would cover any base. But if you like a bigger gun then why give up the ability of the .44.
 
cfullgraf said:
A S&W L-frame or a Ruger GP-100 357 Magnum revolvers will be a bit easier to carry than the larger 44 Magnums.

Of course, you could get an S&W Model 69 and have a 5 round L-frame 44 Magnum.

But, as others have, you need to decide what you might encounter and plan accordingly.
Click to expand...
I been eyeballing that Model 69, I would if that short barrel has enough to burn all that .44 mag powder
 
Mark_Mark said:
Here my questions, what is better for a short barrel? something in the 3” range. I’m planning on loading hard cast for deep penetration.
Click to expand...

A shorter barrel further complicates the situation. Obviously cartridge performance suffers from a shorter barrel. Which would only make me want the .44 mag (or a. 454 Casull) even more over the .357 mag. Heavier projectiles also seem to suffer less from reduced barrel length. And we've been recently discussing Redhawk and Super Redhawk ONLY .44 Magnum loads such as a 340gr WLN hardcast. The Ruger Alaskan can handle such loads, but has a short barrel of I think 2.5". This will get you quite a lot of power in a relatively small package.

Personally, I'd consider working up one of these +P loads with something like 2400, which will likely burn faster at those higher pressures, but still get you some additional velocity over a regular pressure .44 with a slower powder.
 
wcwhitey said:
What do you want to carry, weight is an issue. If a K frame is all you want to deal with I am sure as a hand loader you can make a 180 grain .357 sing that would cover any base. But if you like a bigger gun then why give up the ability of the .44.
Click to expand...
I should just get both. But that 180 grain hard cast sound like it will get the job done!
 
329:

index.php


https://www.smith-wesson.com/product/model-329pd
 
WrongHanded said:
A shorter barrel further complicates the situation. Obviously cartridge performance suffers from a shorter barrel. Which would only make me want the .44 mag (or a. 454 Casull) even more over the .357 mag. Heavier projectiles also seem to suffer less from reduced barrel length. And we've been recently discussing Redhawk and Super Redhawk ONLY .44 Magnum loads such as a 340gr WLN hardcast. The Ruger Alaskan can handle such loads, but has a short barrel of I think 2.5". This will get you quite a lot of power in a relatively small package.

Personally, I'd consider working up one of these +P loads with something like 2400, which will likely burn faster at those higher pressures, but still get you some additional velocity over a regular pressure .44 with a slower powder.
Click to expand...

my 1st and only revolver is a S&W .460 V. I’m really only good for 1 accurate shot then I flinch so bad I’m better off throwing that gun at a bear. I love the idea of a 340gr hard cast in a 2.5” barrel!

what’s the heaviest .357 bullet they make?
 
I go up in the mountains over in the Darrington area. U use to open carry a 357mag most of the time just incase of a cougar or bear encounter.
I switched over to a Glock 20 in 10mm. Good round and I have more then twice the amount of fire power at hand. Something to think about if you ever come across a meth cooking operation out in the woods.
And believe me they are out there.
 
Mark_Mark said:
my 1st and only revolver is a S&W .460 V. I’m really only good for 1 accurate shot then I flinch so bad I’m better off throwing that gun at a bear. I love the idea of a 340gr hard cast in a 2.5” barrel!

what’s the heaviest .357 bullet they make?
Click to expand...

I can't say for sure, but I wouldn't think 200gr was out of the question for a .357. Not sure where you'd get data, but maybe there's something out there. Or someone to help with quickloads.

I've never shot a S&W .460, but I know they're a powerful cartridge in a very large gun. I can understand you developing a flinch from that.
 
Highland Lofts said:
I go up in the mountains over in the Darrington area. U use to open carry a 357mag most of the time just incase of a cougar or bear encounter.
I switched over to a Glock 20 in 10mm. Good round and I have more then twice the amount of fire power at hand. Something to think about if you ever come across a meth cooking operation out in the woods.
And believe me they are out there.
Click to expand...
I 100% believe you. People don’t understand how wild the PNW is. Crazy people everywhere on all kindda drugs. In Seattle is camping season all year round. I carry when I take the trash out and I live in a good neighborhood
 
WrongHanded said:
I can't say for sure, but I wouldn't think 200gr was out of the question for a .357. Not sure where you'd get data, but maybe there's something out there. Or someone to help with quickloads.

I've never shot a S&W .460, but I know they're a powerful cartridge in a very large gun. I can understand you developing a flinch from that.
Click to expand...
the .460 is the best fun you can have with 2 hands! It doesn’t recoil as bad as people think... it’s just the loud and the concussion is like a 50 bmg. The heat from that guy! I bring extra 400g (i think) loads at the range and let everyone have at it.
 
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