6 rounds of .44 or 7 rounds of .357/38?

[Hookeye]

I detest .357.
Am a hunter and grew up shooting .44 magnums.
Love a 629 Smith, and think for field and HD a 4" regular is very cool.

HD only? I'd still vote for a higher capacity .357.

Esp if the frame a little smaller (N frames are too big for me to run DA).

Many moons ago I was in a spooky situation, with N frame .44 magnum, screaming hot 180 JHP handloads. No speedloaders, just the 6 in the gun. And 3 fellas that looked to be of serious threat.

They left without shots fired.

Terrible feeling.

1911 bought soon after. I much prefer the idea of 8+1, plus another quick 8 if need be.

 

[Hookeye]

Performance comes with a price.
How much one is willing to spend for that performance?
And what level is enough?

Personally, I'd rather have too much than too little.

 

[Tallball]

44 special is not a high pressure round. In my experience its recoil is very tolerable.

 

[VanGoghComplex]

I've fired .38sp, .357 mag, and .44 mag. I can fire full house .357 in my Taurus 66 6" all day and have no hand problems.

My brother in law's .44 mag, however, left my wrist hurting after two shots. I have no interest in firing that gun again.

It was an awesome gun, a big, skeletal, cavernous Smith and Wesson; blued with dark wood grips. I don't think I could ever fire it well, though... and that exempts it from my consideration as a defense weapon.

 

[grter]

I would choose either but must admit I would lean toward a .44 special.

I don't think I would want to deal with the recoil, muzzle flash, and earshattering boom of the magnums in a situation that involves humans unless part of my plan is barrier penetration which also brings up the subject about whether there are innocent people likely to be around who may get hit by rounds that fly through your walls.

If not I may pick hotter loads and have barrier penetration as part of my plan, if yes then I would probably stick with either .44 special or .38 special loads designed not to stray too far.

I like revolvers, everything about them, I dislike new plastic guns, I know this is a revolver thread but I would most probably pick 14 to 18 rounds of 9mm (can be loaded with hot penetrators or mildly) out a plastic auto with with a couple of spare magazines and a revolver handy for backup.

That being said I firmly belive it's the operator behind the firearm that makes it formidable and some people are very proficient and may do just as well with a revolver or two (I would recomend two if you insist on wheelguns only.)

Unfortunatly I just saw on the news yesterday another incident where an innocent bystander was hit and killed by a stray bullet from police gunfire during a shootout. It's something to keep in mind.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

7 of .357 magnum.

 

[GBExpat]

Seven .38 or six .44?

Easy choice ... .44.

I have the 3" 629-1 that I bought in the '80s and two 5rd 2½" .44spc Bulldogs that I bought last summer. I roll my own ammo, including SD ammo.

So in the winter while wearing a heavy coat it is easily possible to be carrying the 29, crossdraw, in my Simply Rugged Holster and one/ea Bulldog in the side pockets.

 

[Hammer059]

This has been a pretty interesting thread. If price wasn't a factor, I'd definitely go with the .44. But considering I'm a college student, I already have a 686+, and price is a factor, in reality my choice is and has been the 7 rounds of .38spl (or in my case, light-moderate level .357 hollow points)

 

[Deaf Smith]

If one thinks one extra shot is critical, just remember which shot is the most important one.


And the answer is.. the first one. Don't depend on the 7th, or 15th, or others. The first shots are,always the most important ones. Always.

Deaf

 

[Barry the Bear]

before you hit the floor , fire that .44!

 

[weblance]

I recently decided the same thing for my carry gun, a 5 shot .44 Special, or a 7 shot 357. I wasn't convinced I would get good expansion with 44 Special from a 2.5" barrel. Add in the fact that 44 Special ammo is expensive, and difficult to find. Since my 7 shot revolver is a .357, and I know I can depend on its performance from a 2" barrel, 38 Special isnt a consideration.

If the guns in question were 4" barrels, and the choice was 7 shots of 38 Special only(not 357) or 6 shots of 44 Special, then I would take the .44

 

[Old Fuff]

One of the things I take as a given is that a large diameter bullet makes a bigger primary channel then a smaller one, and temporary cavitation is mostly a myth, jelly tests not withstanding.

So in my modest collection of carry pieces I go from .38 Special to .44 Special and skip the .357 Magnum on anything that doesn't have at least a 4" barrel.

Otherwise what you get is a muzzle blast that looks like a jet taking off. Looks impressive, but powder burning outside the barrel isn't producing any performance where you need it.

What others do is not my concern.

PS: Concerning cost. My .44 Special is a Taurus model 445 (5-shot/2" barrel/blued steel). Works fine and didn't cost an arm & a leg.

 

[Hookeye]

Sometimes it takes more than one good shot per target, and targets may be in multiple.

Geeesh, folks act like shooting a .44 magnum with hot loads is impossible. Nobody said we'd be shooting like crap with whatever rig we had. If one buys a .44 mag and can't shoot it worth a darn they'd be a fool to continue using it.

So for the sake of the OP's argument, we'll just assume that the pistolero is indeed capable of landing his shots on target.

BTW, there is a big difference between launching 300 grainers and 180's max'd recoil wise.

You shoot some chucks and deer with .44 magnum and you'll see that it works, but isn't magical.

The hot .357 load has a good track record for stopping badguys. A 7 or 8 shot w 4" bbl for a nightstand rig seems kinda smart IMHO.

My 6" Python was stoked with Hornady 140gr LeverEvolution. I felt fine having it lay on my nightstand.
So did my kid (who can shoot it decent). And that's why it was there.

The women in my house can't run the bigger stuff.

I found the 140gr factory .357 ammo to be rather wimpy, compared to my .44 handloads
It did however shoot very well. But then when shooting .44 magnums I have found the faster you push it, the more accurate they are.

 

[Hookeye]

FWIW I run WW296, .44 mag are compressed loads.
Yup flash is bad (followups) with the 180s. 200's a little nicer.
Sure, with under 240 grain bullets some powder isn't being burnt as well as it should be.
That doesn't mean that shooting a hot load doesn't offer some performance gain.
The increase in V might not be worth the added flash and roar.
It might not be as efficient ..........in V gain for all that other stuff, or the less rounds per pound of powder.

But you'll never throw a double charge and blow your stuff up

 

[Hookeye]

Nightstand gun, size doesn't matter.
Carrying concealed? To shave a little size, one might have to go with different chamberings or capacity.
Nothing is perfect.

 

[srtolly]

A nice 125 grain hp in .38+p will do a very nice job and is manageable. If I had a shot over 10 feet in my house I'd be outside.

That being said, that's what's in the night stand and my wife can handle it well, I carry a 1911 in .45 acp normally.

 

[JERRY]

cutting through the bull and getting back to the question of special vs. special, I'd take 7 38s over 6 44s.

 

[Manny]

I use to be a devotee of the big bore club, but age & finances have a way driving one towards practicality. 5 or 6 shots of .38/.357 for me. I have faith in good loads and like the trimmer size of the small & medium frame revolvers ask well as the reduced weight of both gun & ammo.

 

[RKRCPA]

I've never felt "under-gunned" while carrying my S&W 696, can't say the same about a .38spl.

 

[Dain Bramage]

I pondered the same question a few years ago when S&W had their Night Guard series of revolvers available. Since that line could be carried concealed, it devolved to L-frames for me: 5 shots of .44 Spl vs. 7 shots of .38/.357. I never did answer that question, and am still kicking myself for not buying one.

Now, as for your question. Self defense? You don't say whether that's carry or home defense. For the latter, I would be looking at an N-frame, so 6-44 or 8-38. Considering other people in my family might have to use it, I would go with 8-38, maybe in a nice R8 or TRR8. Looks like I'm on your friend's side for the cheeseburger.

 

[Sean Edmunds]

I settled on 5 rounds of 200 gr Blazer Gold Dot HP in my 696 as a house gun.

That will get me to the AR or the Model 94. Remember, the purpose of a handgun is so you can fight your way to your rifle.

 

[TimSr]

We're talking indoors self defense against humans, as already stated in the OP

Are we talking about something you carry around all day, or something in your night stand? `

If the answer is carry around, my answer is "neither". If the answer is nightstand, my answer is "either".

 

[GEM]

Buy both. Then shoot each in a few IDPA matches or similar venues. See what works in terms of hitting the target and time to get good hits.

Sell the one that you don't like (I'd keep both). Decide which is primary.

 

[Confederate]

A number of years ago, some guy took a perfectly good stainless Ruger Speed-Six 357 and turned it into a 5-shot 44Spc. It amazed me that someone would actually prefer the 44Spc enough to ruin a great gun with a superb caliber and end up with a caliber with the trajectory of a bowling ball...and with one less round. In fact, if I had had to choose between six 44Spc rounds or five 357s, I'd have taken the latter without a thought. Now I'm a bit more diplomatic and open minded. If someone's more comfortable with a 44 or a 45, they're more likely to do well than if they had a round they weren't confident in. I still think a 357 125gr JHP has much more stopping power than any 44, but both calibers are formidable and some feel the big 44Spc packs more of a punch with human beings.

Who's right?

Who knows?

 

[tipoc]

I'll take the 44 Spl. 6 rounds and a speed loader.

The ammo is readily available. If not in your local gunatorium, then online for commercial ammo: see here...

http://www.midwayusa.com/44-special/br?cid=21819

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/ProductListing.aspx?catid=717&pcid=78

http://www.corbon.com/corboncart/pistol-calibers/44-s-w-special?SID=c41e5dfc4af743158592a4890a68848c

http://www.doubletapammo.net/index.php?route=product/category&path=303_347

You can order it online, get it at a gunshow, have the local gunatorium get some for you or roll your own.

Not hard to get, not rare.

Bigger hole and hits harder than the 38 spl. plus P.

tipoc