Does 357 Mag offer anything 44 Mag doesn't?

[DaisyCutter]

Effectively, other than a new (to me) cartridge to handload for?

I have a big Ruger Super Blackhawk that I hand load for, and it does a lot for me. I don't have a 357 Magnum. Some of the platforms (S&W 686+, Vaquero) are appealing to me, but a new revolver chambered in a new cartridge, needing new dies and ammo to shoot & reload is probably a $1000 venture. So I'm searching for a justification of some sort.

Does the 357 Mag offer any benefit the 44 Mag doesn't? Flatter trajectory? Inherent accuracy? This is in the context of a big 6" barreled revolver, not a CCW or Lady Smith piece.

Unlike some, I really find the 44 Mag to have a high degree of versatility. So it's been my go-to revolver (hand cannon) cartridge, and I've never strayed.

What makes a fella reach into the safe for a 357 Mag instead of a 44 Mag before going to the range?

EDIT: This is for primarily handload shooting. I'll only shoot factory ammo for the brass.

 

[Bullseye]

Pros: Cost of components, a wider variety of firearms available to choose from, lighter and smaller framed firearms. For me, I think I can load a more accurate .357/38spl load than a 44Mag/44spl load.
A 44 Mag can knock down a bigger barn than a .357.

 

[Tophernj]

As a reloader I'd say, as above, cost and availability of components. Less powder.

Heck, in a pinch you can use 9mm bullets for 357mag.

Besides that, reduced recoil. And, it's new. I love new.

C

 

[gotboostvr]

If you want just as much flash and noise, but less recoil is about all I can think of.

Cheaper component cost is a thing too.

38 special brass is practically free and lasts forever. I always seem to bring home 50-100 more than I came with when I hit the range.

I load both, but mainly just because I have such an affinity for K frame smith's. I step up to a 44mag for hunting. My 357 loads are just a little hotter than one should load in a 38 special. If I had to settle on one revolver and calibre, it'd most likely be a 44mag, but I'd need ALOT more 44 special brass before I'd feel comfortable enough to make that change.

 

[Macchina]

Pros for me with 357 is my range guns and carry guns are combined into one cartridge (and one gun in some cases). One of my first guns was a 44 Mag Marlin 1894 and I really considered going that route for my revolvers as well. I ended up getting a long barrel 357 and LCR and love that I shoot the same guns at the range as I carry concealed. With a 44 I couldn't do that and I wouldn't have the familiarity with my carry guns that I do. Reloading costs are MUCH cheaper for 357/38 and range ammo can be downright cheap for 38 Special if you buy it online. I don't regret not going with 44 Mag (aside for the rifle) one bit!

 

[tipoc]

Effectively, other than a new (to me) cartridge to handload for?

I have a big Ruger Super Blackhawk that I hand load for, and it does a lot for me. I don't have a 357 Magnum. Some of the platforms (S&W 686+, Vaquero) are appealing to me, but a new revolver chambered in a new cartridge, needing new dies and ammo to shoot & reload is probably a $1000 venture. So I'm searching for a justification of some sort.

Does the 357 Mag offer any benefit the 44 Mag doesn't? Flatter trajectory? Inherent accuracy? This is in the context of a big 6" barreled revolver, not a CCW or Lady Smith piece.

Yes it does. But a good deal of that depends on what you want to do with it. Ask if the same questions about the 44 Spl. and see what you come up with.

It sounds like the primary reason you have the 44 Mag. is for range use and possible for hunting. Also sounds like the guns you are discussing are the 6" and longer barreled N frame S&Ws and the Ruger Super Blackhawk or Redhawk. Given the guns, it doesn't seem that self defense (even against animals) is a concern for you in regard to the place these guns play in your personal arsenal.

Because the 357 is a 38 caliber in other wise the same size guns and type, a gun in .357 will weigh more than a 44 caliber gun. More material in the barrel and cylinder. This is a plus for the guns in 44 and 45 caliber across the board.

It is generally, for the majority of shooters, much easier to shoot the .357 Mag more accurately and faster than the .44 Mag. This has advantages. From a levergun .357 Mag is also quite pleasant to shoot.

In an N frame size revolver it's possible to have 8 rounds of .357 available to you. 7 round .357 guns are available in an L frame sized gun.

The L frame with a 6" barrel will be lighter on the hip than an N frame of the same caliber.

Mostly the loss will be for you not to learn one of the most common and useful rounds yet made. The .357 is a great round.

tipoc

 

[CraigC]

The .44Mag will do everything the .357 will and more. From light .44Russian, .44Colt and .44Special loads to monster masher 355gr at 1250fps.

 

[CraigC]

The L frame with a 6" barrel will be lighter on the hip than an N frame of the same caliber.

If the L-frame has a full underlug barrel and the N-frame does not, the difference will be next to nothing.

 

[buck460XVR]

A .357 is cheaper to shoot than .44, whether you reload or not, and is more pleasant to shoot than a .44, in similar platforms. To me, .357 is a much better range and small game caliber. For shorter range times and deer size game, the .44 is well worth the extra recoil.

Hard to relate I guess, until you have both. Just sayin....

 

[CraigC]

Not a huge difference in cast bullets. 500rds of 158gr .358" SWC's are $35 from Missouri Bullet and a 200gr .44 is $42.50. Or a 240gr at $49.

There's nothing the .357 does that the .44 can't but the reverse is not true.Not that there's anything wrong with owning several of each but one can easily get through life without a .357Mag. Even a sixgun nut.

 

[Tallball]

Better for SD. Can be smaller and lighter. Cheaper and more widely available. When I shoot 38 specials out of my long-barreled Blackhawk the recoil is so mild that it seems to help my accuracy.

I love my 44's, too, but other than 22 I probably shoot more 38 special than any other caliber.

 

[Varminterror]

If you're used to .44mag, then .357mag will be a disappointment for anything beyond pleasure plinking. Trajectory is effectively the same, but the horsepower on the 44 is far greater than the 357. A 44mag has more energy past 100yrds than a .357mag has at the muzzle.

You asked what makes a guy grab a .357mag over a .44mag when they reach into the safe - for me, the only time that happens is when I am carrying a defensive pistol, in which case I take a small frame 357mag instead of a much heavier and larger .44mag. For any other application, I reach past a row of .357mags and pull out a .44.

Skip the pea shooter, spend that money on bullets and powder for your 44's.

 

[Dog Soldier]

I shoot the .357 revolvers and the semi auto .357 LAR Grizz. I also have a .357 pump action rifle. My load is a Max of W 296 under a 180 GC Hard cast bullet. This is a serious load. All that said, the .44 Mag/Special is far more versatile.
The .44 Spec originated as a target round and remains a very accurate round. I use the .44 Russian loads for small game. The 30-40 Krag brass shortened and turned loaded with shot using trimmed .410 wads is a hammer on grouse. I have taken Elk, Mule Deer and Antelope with the .44 Mag. The .44 Mag 4" has traveled with me through Grizzly country for 50 years.

 

[silicosys4]

.38 spcl cases for plinker loads in a .357 magnum gun are much cheaper to purchase than .44 spcl or magnum cases. As has been mentioned, .38 spcl plinker loads use about half of the lead and powder as .44 spcl plinker loads.
.357's are a tad smaller guns, usually.
A .44 size frame chambered in .357 can carry more rounds, but often that capability isn't used.
Other than that,
No.

 

[Barry the Bear]

As has been said before there is nothing the .357 can do that the .44 can't do better, its not as bad cartridge by any means and I have more than a few .357s but when my need for a powerful round in a handgun is calling , more often than not one of my .44's gets in hand first.

 

[Deaf Smith]

There are times I don't want to lug around my 4 inch barrel 629-1 .44 magnum. Hence the 3 inch GP100. And most times here in Texas a .357 is all you need.

Deaf

 

[gotboostvr]

My most shot 44 caliber loading is a pretty mild one. A 240gr SWC at around 1000fps.

I could argue that load is more useful than most 357magnum loads and with less flash and noise.

But in smaller guns for carry, you get more rounds of 357. On thin skinned targets it's equally effective. On heavier game, you can always step up the horsepower in a 44.

Their both fun, if you have the disposable income for sure get a well balanced 357 of your choosing!

 

[entropy]

Aside from the obvious size difference, they both do the same things well, except that a .44 can throw much bigger chunks of lead at near the same speeds as the .357. As a for instance, I had a nice Trooper MkIII, but when a moose hunt came up, I used my Redhawk with 300 gr. FTX's at @1300. My Dad wouldn't even shoot them from his 629 Mountain Gun. DIdn't get the shot, my Dad got the moose with his .300 WIn. Mag., but I didn't doubt the Redhawk was up to it. I also loaded some nice light loads like gotboostvrs's 240 gr. LSWC. SWMBO liked shooting those.

 

[DaisyCutter]

Thanks for the replies fellas. When I got into 44 Mag it was because a friend left me his whole reloading setup for 44 Mag. Then I bought the Super Blackhawk to have something to reload for... I cut my reloading teeth on 44 Mag.

My use for 44 Mag (or 357 if I get one) is just for range fun and the thrill of the hand cannon. No self defense, and unlikely to hunt. I have a lifetime of 44 Mag reloading supplies. No 44 Spl, everything goes into Magnum cases, even my soft 800 FPS loads. I separate them by bullet type. I know my round nose lead are wimpy, SWC are warm, JSP and JHP are hot.

Like mentioned earlier, "new" is fun, and some fun guns come in 357 Mag. It sounds like the 357 Mag won't cover any new ground capability wise, so it comes down to whether a cool new platform is worth the cost of dies, brass and bullets. Someday I may spring for that 686+.

The pic is a 210 grain Speer GDHP over 23 grains of 2400 powder. A screamer.

 

[PO2Hammer]

I'm a huge 357 fan, but if I was in your shoes I might put that money towards a DA .44, maybe the Redhawk?
I think Ruger's double action revolvers are nicer than their single actions. On second thought I might look for a carbine in .44.

 

[eldon519]

I shoot mostly .44 mag and .45 Colt +P. I used to shoot a lot of .357 magnums and still have lots of components around the house that I would like to use up. However, everytime I go back to .357, it doesn't give me the warm and fuzzies like the big boys do. It is kind of like when I begrudgingly practice with my 9mm SD/HD gun. I do it because I feel like I need to, but not so much because I want to.

The thing I think of when I get a wild hair wanting to buy some random new gun (especially a new caliber) is that the $1000 you mentioned will buy you lots of .44 ammo. If you want something different though, you could always get a DA .44 like a S&W 29 or 69 or a Ruger Redhawk of the Super or regular variety.

 

[luffy100]

they are almost the same thing, availability difference plus the 44mag is touted to be a higher caliber most people use fpr hunting big games.

 

[Propforce]

As has been said before there is nothing the .357 can do that the .44 can't do better, its not as bad cartridge by any means and I have more than a few .357s but when my need for a powerful round in a handgun is calling , more often than not one of my .44's gets in hand first.

Can I say this in reverse?

There is nothing in the lower 48 that you take care with a 44 magnum you can not take care of with a 357 magnum. 357 magnum does it with lower recoil.

One exception is the brown/ grizzly bear

 

[gotboostvr]

Propforce, at typical handgun ranges I'd agree.
But if the OP has skill to stretch out further, or typical carbine ranges there's a difference.

At 100yrds I feel much better served on whitetails with my 44's. Plus more blood to aid in tracking is never a bad thing.

 

[Virginian]

For your use I would say no. If you get the hots for a new gun, look for a S&W 629 Classic with a 6-1/2" barrel with the full underlug barrel or an old style Vaquero in 44 Mag. Both are very pleasant shooting with full house 44 mags, and my Smith was very accurate. Vaquero was too after firelapping the barrel. (Super Blackhawk gripframe was always hard on my hands)