44... Did you get the Rossi 1892 Trapper? Do you love it? I think the trapper size is awesome. I bought a Marlin 1894SS which has a 20" barrel, but I'm thinking I might have it cut back to 16.5" (Trapper length). I would only use the gun as a fun gun, camp gun, possible defense against badguys or possibly, defense against animals. I just want to use factory ammo, not reload my own.
I'll bet there are quite a few of us with .44mag rifles who would like to find a medium (not hot) loading in .44mag for defense purposes. Since nearly all the factory rounds I looked at had given ballistics based on pistol lengths, I arbitarily added 400 fps to the factory listed fps to try to estimate what might be expected from a 16" barrel. Of course 400 might be a little high or low as a modifier, depending on the specifics of each load... but I had to use something to get a general idea of the velocities and energies which might be obtained from a carbine.
I think a light (let's say 180 to 210 gr.) JHP bullet in .44mag might tend to almost explode on impact at rifle velocities, whereas the heavy 300 gr. JSP cartridges might not expand nearly enough before penetrating through... so I'm guessing that perhaps the mid-weight 240gr. JHP with bonded jackets (like the GoldDot, Supreme Partition, or XTP) might be the best compromise for defense use against human adversaries. Most likely, full penetration in heavy-set, heavily clothed targets is practically assured and that's a very good thing as long as the remaining energy is not too great after exit. I'm no expert, that's for sure., but seeking educated and experienced opinions.
And to those who would suggest it, yes, I agree that a 12-gauge is ideal for close range defense and I've got a Mossberg 500A Persuader which I really like.