my 357 or my 44 Special?

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Hickok44

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I carry a Ruger Speed Six in 357 as a ccw. I also carry a Rossi 720 or a Taurus 431 in 44 special as a ccw. I love all three guns. Each shoots great, reliable, and the all conceal real well.
I love all equal. I am a huge fan of the 357. But I am thinking for a ccw the 44 may be the better caliber. I shoot Remington 125's out of the Ruger. And I shoot Blazer 200's GD out of the 44's.
Input and thoughts are appreciated.
 
A matter of personal preference. The .44 will make bigger holes, but in my never humble opinion, full house loads in .357 will definitely get a BG's attention.
 
The .44 Spl. will be way more user friendly in confined spaces if you value your hearing.

rc
 
The .44 Spl. will be way more user friendly in confined spaces if you value your hearing.
Click to expand...

This.

The other side of it, is that if you ask the bad guy which caliber he was being shot with, do you think he'll notice the difference? Don't worry about which caliber is going to be more effective, as they are both perfectly adequate.
With the Speed Six, you do get an extra shot, for whatever it's worth.

I carry a Speed Six, but would have no problem with a 431 or similar. They are great guns.
 
Test your bullets for expansion when fired through short barrel .44Spcls. I bought a S&W M696 NG (scandium L-frame 5 shot .44 Special) for the same reasons as the OP. However, at reduced velocities, JHP bullet expansion was VERY unreliable.

Now, I only load hardcast WFNs for the 696 and carry it as a BUG at my place, next to wilderness, or on the trail. :)
 
I'm thinking if you are shooting someone, how much noise the gun makes will be the least of your worries!

I have both, personally i like the 357 better...

DM
 
The one you hit most consistently with. If you need to use a CCW, hitting your target reliably is paramount, so that would make my decision. All due respect to rcmodel, but I can get fitted for a hearing aid if I'm alive, and a .44 (or .357) miss is no more useful than a .22 miss.
 
Given the lack of consensus, perhaps the hair splits along the line of opinion and preference, as opposed to an elusive truth.
 
Gold Dot and Buffalo Bore .44 Special ammo is pretty impressive.

.357 is a fantastic load, when loaded to it's full original pressures.
I'm nowhere near as impressed with the current ".357 light" ammo put out by most ammo companies.
Not impressed with their .38+P or .44 "Magnum" offerings, either.

Even with the modern, wussified (K and J frame friendly) ammo, .357 is still a good load.
I just prefer my magnums to actually be magnums.
My GP100, Dan Wesson, Dan Wesson, and 586 don't mind the hot stuff at all.
My 66-1 gets the .357 wussified loads, and .38 "+P".

My Charter Bulldog gets Gold Dot .44 spl.
I used to run some pretty stout .44 Spl loads through my 431.
I wish I'd never sold it.


The real question is why would you carry a revolver for self defense?
Don't you know they're outdated, obsolete, don't hold enough rounds, and aren't Tupperware enough for "serious" self defense use?
Geez. Get a clue.


Yeah, I'm just kidding. I frigging love revolvers. I feel just as secure with my Bulldog .44 as I do with my SR9 or 1911.

Sometimes, I go really old school and carry my Ruger Blackhawk .45.
Talk about obsolete and outdated. It's so obsolete, I can't believe it's as accurate and reliable as it is.

Yeah, I'm a dinosaur.
I'm happy to be.
I love revolvers, especially old ones.


BTW, .357 and .44 Spl will both ruin a bad guy's life.
Difference is, .357 will ruin your hearing.
I love .357. I'd better, I have enough of them. But, the temporary deafness, ringing ears, and hearing damage just aren't fun.
Outdoors, not so bad. Still bad, but nothing like indoors.
 
If I had to trust my life to one of the three, it would be the Ruger and 357 magnum combination. Ruger definitely has the edge with reliability and 357 is the proven #1 manstopper. Does that mean the others are poor choices? No.
 
Why choose? Carry both at the same time. You should have a backup when you carry a revolver and either one is a great backup for the other.

I'd prefer if you upgraded both the Rossi and Taurus, but that's your call based upon their performance.
 
For years I carried a 2 3/4" SS Ruger Security Six 357 as my ccw. That is, until my wife tried it at the range and then it became her CCW! I currently carry either a S&W M12 snub .38 IWB or a 3" Taurus 431 44 special OWB. The 431 is a fantastic CCW. Even though I loose one round compared to a 6 shot K frame, I never feel undergunned. I carry the Underwood "Bull Dog" gold dot load in my 431.

If I were the OP, I would feel very comfortable with a 44 special revolver on my hip.
 
By all accounts the .357 gained its reputation because of violently expanding, light-weight bullets. I like to think of large caliber bullets such as "pre-expanded". I also much prefer subsonic loads because they're so much more gentle on the ears.

When decided to try handgun hunting this year, it never entered my mind to use one of my .357's. Instead I unhesitantly chose one of my .44 Specials and it didn't let me down either time. As such, I'd select a .44 Special for self defense.

35W
 
I am going to have to go with the .44 as well, based on personal preference.

But the real answer is "which ever is most reliable". I like Taurus, own two and one is my EDC. My next wheel gun will probably be a .44 special, for no reason other than I like it.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Ruger or the .357, so whichever works best for you, carry.
 
Me thinks either one will cause a BG to have a Bad Day. I prefer the .44 SPL as I like big bullets, but the .357 Mag will not let you down.

:evil:
 
DM~ said:
I'm thinking if you are shooting someone, how much noise the gun makes will be the least of your worries!

I have both, personally i like the 357 better...

DM
Click to expand...
Yeah but considering the .357 Magnum and .44 Special will both stop the bad guy it would be nice to be able to hear well when it's all over.

The OP could always carry the .357 Magnum loaded with a good .38 Special +P SD ammo.
 
Give me the .44Spl any day of the week and twice on Sunday. The .357 is dependent on proper jacketed bullet performance. The .44 is not. Given the choice of stopping the bad guy AND keeping my hearing, I'll take both. Gunfight or not, I'm too young to spend the rest of my life with tinnitus any worse than it is now.
 
I'm with CraigC.
I've fired both .44 Spl and .357 mag without hearing protection.

.44 Spl is loud.
.357 Mag is LOUD!!!!

IF I ever have to shoot a bad guy with a handgun, I'd prefer it be .44 Spl, .45 ACP, or .45 Colt.

High pressure rounds are very painful to the ears.

And I prefer to NEVER have to shoot another human.
 
Given a choice between the two calibers I would go with the .44 Special as well. Wouldn't mind having a Taurus 431 either.
 
How many times you guys going to shoot someone in your house?? Once a week? Once a month?? Once a year??

I don't figure i'll have to do it even once in my lifetime, BUT, if i do, i don't think hearing loss is going to be something i'll need to be worrying about!

NOTHING you fire in your house is going to do your hearing any good!!!

BTW, chances are, i'll have a shotgun in my hands, not a handgun...

DM
 
Shotgun very good. With revolvers I practice with my 44 or 45 the most and on game including large ones the 44 works best for me. I have had to defend myself and my family and the large bore did the job.
 
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