Going Magnum - .44 or .357??

[Zip7]

Got the 357 already...

Next I want the same gun in 45 Colt, and THEN the SBH in 44 mag, just because you never know when you might need to blow some punks head clean off!

Some guy was shooting a 454 casull redhawk at the range the other day. Makes a big boom, but I think he said it costs about $6 per shot, or $.06 per decibel to shoot it.

 

[ranger335v]

I have and enjoy both. If big game is not an issue, I'd go with the .357 as the most versatile, easy to shoot, easy to carry (less weight), and less expensive ammo - even if you do reload!

I have no idea what people mean when they say the .357 is too "whippy". Taking into account the reduced weight and lighter bullets, it is no harder for me to shoot my .357 well than the .44, likely easier.

Practice counts with anything. It's easy and inexpensive to shoot .38 special cases with great accuracy in the .357 because brass is still pretty easy to come by from police departments and security "rent-a-cops". If anyone thinks it's easy or inexpensive to find .44 Specials they have a better source of brass than I have found!

My old M29 is a joy to hold and shoot but it's heavier than most .357s so carrying it all day gets to be a drag. The big Ruger .44s are even heavier, plus they have a really slow hammer fall making them harder to shoot. For me anyway.

If you cast, as I do, .357 bullets are kinder to the lead pile than .44s (150/170 gr. vs. 240/260 gr.) .

I'd get the .357 now, for general purpose use and enjoyment. Save the .44 for later.

And a .45 ACP wheel gun with moon clips? NOT ME! Certainly not while good 1911s and .45 Colts are alternatives.

 

[c.r.a.]

hawk45, Here's the way i look at it. Since you reload, recoil is not an issue at all in the .44mag. You will be able to load it light, medium, etc. If you choose the .44, you may never load for full power loads, but you will always have that option.

However, most ruger (you mentined you like ruger) .357 revolvers are lighter their .44 counter part (GP-100 vs. Redhawk........blackhawk vs. super blackhawk).

(I'm about to say the following, and I don't mean it with any sarcasm or trying to be a smart aleck) With some of more recent discussions, i'm surprised nobody has suggested the .41 mag. This might be the perfect scenario for one. especially since you reload. A 4 and 5/8" barreled blackhawk?

Just my 2 cents.
c.r.a.

 

[DKA]

I was trying to make the same choice, so bought both, and love them.

 

[.41Dave]

Given the 2 choices you present, I'd probably go with the .357 mag. BUT... You might want to consider a .41 Magnum. The .41 Magnum has a lot to offer, especially for a reloader. If I only owned one magnum revolver, it'd be a .41

 

[Virginian]

I like 357s. I have a couple. But, I have more 44s. If you get the 357, you are still going to be pining for a 44. I recognize the symptoms. You cannot hide it. If you get a 357 you will be back in a few months asking about 44s already.
Get the 44. Then, down the road, you can make a nice leisurely informed cool decision on a 357.
You think about a 357 and all the logical reasons it should be okay, but a viscereal part of you deep inside is stirred by the thought of a 44. Give in.
I am only partially joking. Once you have the bug for a round like the 44, there is only one cure, and that is to get one.

 

[Sun195]

If I wasn't looking for a bear/hunting gun, then I'd go with the .357 Mag. I find these easier and cheaper to shoot.

I'll echo .41Dave's .41 Mag advice. Not the easiest (or cheapest) gun to find ammo for, but I really like shooting these better than the .44 Mag. A friend has an old Ruger Blackhawk 3-screw .41 mag and it's just a pleasure to shoot.

I do have to admit I've also been lusting after a S&W 629 5" for a number of years now. Maybe someday....

 

[Snapping Twig]

Between the two, I'd go with the .44 and never give it a second thought.

Truth be told, both are standard in your armamentarium, so like has been said, get the one you want first, then get the other.

You reload, so I don't suppose casting is out of the question and that being the case, cost is further nullified.

As you are aware, big bullets do more work at slower speeds, so a midrange 44 is a far sight more useful in the woods as a general duty weapon and recoil is far less than you might think making it pleasant to use.

 

[mnrivrat]

I can't make a good argument for or against two very good choices - realy you should choose the gun you want - if it happens to be in either of those calibers you will be just fine.

That said, I have owned and shot a lot of .357 Magnum guns . They are great weapons and I used mostly Model 19's and 66's from S&W which are K-Frame guns. When they came out with the L-frame I bought a couple of those and perhaps they may stand up better using hoter loads, and I liked them - however not quite as nice to carry as the K-Frame guns.

Last time I started looking for another revolver for general purpose I came across the idea of the L-Frame S&W in a .44 caliber thinking that would be great. Well, the cost was as great as the idea and they don't make them any longer. Instead of spending near $1,000, what I ended up with is a Tuarus Tracker in .44 Magnum. This is an L-Frame size gun with the ability to shoot .44 Magnum ammo.

That appealed to me, and so I have to say that it may also be something you might consider as well. I have no regrets - my Taurus Tracker is a stainless 4 inch model and it is a joy to shoot with .44 Spl ,and managable with middle of the road .44 Magnum loads. It carries well and fits nicely into a S&W L-Frame holster . I consider it the best of two worlds in a way . The power of the .44 Mag. in a .357 Mag. frame size. The quality of my particular Tracker is very good, and I have had no problems with it at all - it is also very accurate.

 

[Stainz]

A .44 Special is nearly the same as a .45 ACP from a revolver. Please note - a .45 ACP has a little more push from a revolver than from a semi-auto, if the barrels and weight are similar - there is no action to absorb energy in the revolver. A good friend at the range discovered this when he bought a 625JM like mine a year or two back. He has a mix of 1911-ish race guns - but the revolver's recoil was more than he wanted. Compounded by his being LH-ed - and couldn't reload fast - he sold it quickly.

The best .44 Special you can buy now, IMNSHO, is the 629. Sure, I've had 24s... but I hate blued guns. SS is serviceable - and just looks dirty - easily remedied. The first time you pull the trigger on a blued S&W, you start a drag line on the cylinder. I can look at a blued revolver and it will develop scratches. Cleaning is a chore. I love SS! Of course, the added benefit of the 629 is that they will stand up to Keith-level .44 Specials - and even Magnums. My two, similar partially lugged 4" & 6" 629s, sport the made-for-S&W Hogue .500 Magnum grips - great recoil control for when you go 'nuclear'. Wood works for Specials (and Russians!). Oh, I have had a 296 & 696, 5-shot .44 Special L-frames, for going on six years. The 296 is a great pocketable protector. The 696 is cute - as is the new 396NG - but a six ounce heavier, sixteen ounces for the 396NG, standard 4" 629 is far more utilitarian - and cheaper. An L-frame's front leaves little room for a forcing cone for a .44 Special.

I guess my suggestion of a larger bore (.451 vs .429) .45 ACP/AR launcher wasn't well-received. It has the obvious advantage that you can buy 250 rounds of hard ball plinkers - in brass - at Wally world on a Sunday afternoon for <$82. Compare that to anyone's .44s... the only local source for .44 Specials I am aware of are the 'Academy' chains - and that's $30/50 of the 200gr Gold Dot Al-cased Blazers. GA Arms loads the same bullet for about that price - in fresh Starline brass. I had one of those Blazers split in my 696 - so I won't use them anymore. The 180gr UMC .44 Maggies are an 'experience', to say the least.

I have stayed away from the .357Ms for a reason. I found a box of such Blazers in the trash one day, missing six, when I was 'testing' my BHG Vaquero. I found the recoil to be not much more than the .38s I load - that was a heavy revolver - it was just 'loud'. I have never bought - or shot - any other real .357Ms. I do own a few .357Ms - but they have never seen anything leave their bores over 900 fps in my ownership, although I know S&W ran real ones as a test. They are just great plinkers - with .38s or .38-ish in a .357M case loads. I do keep .38s loaded - 158gr LHPSWC +Ps - as HD/PD.

I hope my rambling has helped.

Stainz

PS Something about .44s - even the .44 Russian - cute round. I load a 240gr LSWC at 692 fps in .44 Russians from my 3" 696 - real ferret-flatulance 'poof' load... but it makes 'major' power factor (PF>165)! From that 6" 629? Fun!

 

[22-rimfire]

Getting back into revolvers, so I would suggest a good 357 mag FIRST and a 41 or 44 mag second.

 

[batmann]

I really like the .44Spl/.44M better than a .357M. You can download a .44M to .357 levels, BUT you can't get a .357 to .44 levels.
Another thing to think about, if you go with a 'full size' revolver, the weight will be about the same.

 

[tblt]

go 357 cheaper to shoot

 

[azhunter122]

I like .357's but depends what your going to use it for.

 

[theotherwaldo]

I prefer my old and well-broken-in Super Blackhawk .44 mag - if I don't have to pack it too far. I'm more accurate with it off-hand with slightly de-tuned handloads, keeping it to a hand-sized target at fifty yards. Then again, I've got big hands.
My sister prefers her Service Six in .357 mag - again, with lower powered reloads and heavy cast bullets. She's as accurate with this gun as I am with the .44. She doesn't care for the big grips of the .44, I don't like the small, slick grips of the .357.

It's all personal preference.

 

[Hook686]

I can download my .44 magnum to .357 magnum performance, but I have yet to upload my .357 magnum to .44 magnum performance.

 

[gruesomenewsom]

I've had Rugers - RH & SRH - and they are all gone now... make my choice S&W, please!

Absolutely! My father always told me if I bought a handgun to make it a ruger. My first .44 mag was a vaquero ss and that thing couldnt hit the broad side of a barn. Couldn't be happier with my 629 smith, its my only .44 and its the only one I need. (the vaquero got traded in on a colt 1911 gold cup-much happier). However I like .357's better, i don't know why. I have a ruger gp100 and a python and neither are going anywhere. So long story short id say go with a smith. either .44 or .357 you cant go wrong.

 

[MCgunner]

.357s carry a lot easier, .44s shoot a lot harder. Up to you. If you need .44 power, go .44. If you want to carry, go .357.

There are few handguns as versatile as a .357 magnum 4-6" medium frame revolver. It'll take most any critter around here, good in black bear country for hiking, and it's a superior firearm for self defense, especially if you're carrying it concealed.

 

[BigBlock]

My first .44 mag was a vaquero ss and that thing couldnt hit the broad side of a barn.

Man, you must be a really bad shot. Rugers, especially Blackhawks and Vaqueros are well known for their superb accuracy right out of the box. That would be why they are the absolute king of the single action and CAS market.

 

[loplop]

I went through a similar thought process recently. I actually already had a 45ACP wheelgun; I am a big fan of the 45, found a nice S&W M22, and bought it. I don't shoot it much, though. I find I like the 45ACP through a 1911 much more; the recoil of the M22 is a little much with the slim stock wood grips. I'd probably like it more with some better hand-filling grips, but I can't bring myself to swap out those pretty wood stocks, so it just sits in the safe save a few range trips a year.

Anyway.. I decided I wanted a 357 or 44. I reload now, as well, and figured I could deal with either calibre. I went scouring the local gun shops, and a 4" S&W M27 in nickel grabbed me and asked to come home. So the 357 it was...

Boy am I happy I grabbed that gun! It has the same frame/stocks as my M22 but it's much more pleasant to shoot. And since I reload I can shoot anything from a mouse fart 38spl. wadcutter to a ridiculously boomy and fire-spitting 357. All are fun, out of that gun! And as a reloader, I can load up 38's for around $3.50 a box of 50... Nice. 357's are more, but still less than 9mm factory ammo. What a superbly versatile gun. 44 mag is also quite versatile, but everything about it is more expensive; brass, primers, powder (more of it), and bullets...

I don't hunt much, but have friends who do. I live in OH, and they all claim a 357 is as much as you need here. 357 should do you just fine in our neck of the woods...

THAT SAID... I'd still like a 44. I do travel to big bear country once a year, and if carry is allowed in national parks, I sure would like a 44 on the hip. But in OH? If I go hunting with my buddies, I think I might pick up a 6+" 357...

HTH, YMMV.

 

[gruesomenewsom]

Man, you must be a really bad shot.

http://www.gunsandammomag.com/ga_handguns/ruger_110507/index.html

read this article and tell me again about the out-of-the-box accuracy.

 

[MCgunner]

(I'm about to say the following, and I don't mean it with any sarcasm or trying to be a smart aleck) With some of more recent discussions, i'm surprised nobody has suggested the .41 mag. This might be the perfect scenario for one. especially since you reload. A 4 and 5/8" barreled blackhawk?

Well, I thought about suggesting the .45 Colt, but that wasn't in the original OP choices.

 

[woodsltc]

Why limit yourself ??

Get Both!!!!!!!!!!

Don

 

[Lady with a Gun]

A .357 makes a better carry gun, since it is lighter. However, the .44 makes a better hunting handgun.

 

[Master Blaster]

The reason the .357 is snappier is because you are probably shooting it out of a k frame size gun, and the .44 is being shot out of a heavier N frame size gun. Full power .44 magnum loads have more recoil than .357 rounds all else being equal.

If you dont plan to reload, .38 specials can be had much cheaper than .44 specials for range plinking.

I have and shoot both, and since I reload I can make up loads that meet my needs for power or recoil control cheaper than factory ammo.