Poll: .44 Magnum viable self-defense cartridge, yea or nay?

[OldBroad44]

Myself, when on a solo road trip, I carry a .41 mag Blackhawk and a big loop .41 Henry. When the spousal unit comes with, 2 .357 revolvers & 2 .357 Rossi 92 levers. When chillins are accompanying us, 2 .22 pistols or revolvers. I have 9s and .45s but only use them in deer camp. PAX

If I had a choice of getting into a duel against either a guy with a .41mag or a guy with a .44mag I'd choose the guy with the .44mag every time. There would be a decent chance that he had barely shot his .44mag and chose it for its macho appeal. Not so with the 41 guy. He's figured out exactly the balance between power and recoil that is optimal for his needs and preferences, and is unimpressed by the perceived macho factor. Very likely he is thoroughly familiar with the gun and shoots it well.

 

[JustSomeGuy]

"Yes, with the proper loads, and training, it is a fine option."

@CountryGent phrased this response perfectly. Both are critical to mastering not only the 44 magnum, but any caliber carried for self defense.

As I've said here numerous times, I EDC a 4" model 29, and have been doing so for 40+ years. I train with it regularly. I can go from holstered to empty cylinder with all rounds inside the 8 ring on a B27 at 10 yards in a hair over 4 seconds. Not blindingly fast, but more than acceptable in my opinion. SD load of choice is a 180 grain jacketed hollow point averaging 1423 FPS per Lab Radar. That's giving me a muzzle energy in the low 800 range, and average penetration in 10% gel of 14.7 inches, with an average expanded diameter of .801.

"a fine option" indeed.

 

[oremike]

If I had a choice of getting into a duel against either a guy with a .41mag or a guy with a .44mag I'd choose the guy with the .44mag every time. There would be a decent chance that he had barely shot his .44mag and chose it for its macho appeal. Not so with the 41 guy. He's figured out exactly the balance between power and recoil that is optimal for his needs and preferences, and is unimpressed by the perceived macho factor. Very likely he is thoroughly familiar with the gun and shoots it well.

While I don't shoot either my 41 or 44 as often as I do my lessor calibers I shoot the 44 more than the 41. I think it has to do with the grip. the Redhawk looks at home with the Houge grip where the Blackhawk's Houge grip looks like a gob of goobers. I've got a set of Altamont grips on order that I hope will fix that look and allow it to not buck as much as the smooth wood grips.

 

[CLT65]

What kind of holster is that, @CLT65 ?

An embarrassment actually. I don't know why I included it in the photo. It's just a cheap pancake holster I picked up that happened to fit it, at the same place I bought it a quarter-century ago as I recall. It's just something to protect it from dings in the safe, as it never gets carried.

 

[Spitpatch]

I can't say this is an "EDC" gun (did I get that right?). More of a horse pistol. In horse camp it certainly becomes a self-defense gun.

Ruger 3-Screw Blackhawk .41 Magnum with the Bianchi-commissioned flap holster. Contrary to public opinion, a 210gr XTP will break both shoulders and exit on an average Black Bear, or penetrate diagonally on a Pronghorn or mature Muley buck.

 

[echo1]

I think it has to do with the grip. the Redhawk looks at home with the Houge grip where the Blackhawk's Houge grip looks like a gob of goobers. I've got a set of Altamont grips on order that I hope will fix that look and allow it to not buck as much as the smooth wood grips.

I have the Hogue rubber grips on my newer 2 screw Blackhawk. They work but aren't as beautiful as wood can be.

I can't say this is an "EDC" gun (did I get that right?). More of a horse pistol. In horse camp it certainly becomes a self-defense gun.
View attachment 1492501
Ruger 3-Screw Blackhawk .41 Magnum with the Bianchi-commissioned flap holster. Contrary to public opinion, a 210gr XTP will break both shoulders and exit on an average Black Bear, or penetrate diagonally on a Pronghorn or mature Muley buck.

I had a 3 screw 6.5" with over molded wood grips similar to the ones pictured. Looked sweet and functioned as needed. PAX

 

[Dillon1000]

Nobody happened to mention the fact that it may be OK to use as protection outside, but not in the house. It goes thru walls and could take out one of the family.

 

[Spitpatch]

Nobody happened to mention the fact that it may be OK to use as protection outside, but not in the house. It goes thru walls and could take out one of the family.

Quite easily a neighbor.

 

[Spitpatch]

I have the Hogue rubber grips on my newer 2 screw Blackhawk. They work but aren't as beautiful as wood can be.


I had a 3 screw 6.5" with over molded wood grips similar to the ones pictured. Looked sweet and functioned as needed. PAX

On the "EDC" (as long as you have a horse) gun, those are Herret grips, Hogue rubber was comfortable, but looked like a donkey phallus. My hands are larger than average, and the Herrets fit just right (probably not a good choice for someone with an average-sized grip).

Ruger standard grips on a .41 or .44 will very often allow the gun to roll excessively in the hand with recoil, finishing pointing at the sky. Not good for followup, and the web between thumb and index may end up taking a thrashing. Also, the Herrets (and the Hogues) include extra material behind the trigger guard for the "bird finger" to rest on, helping to elevate the barrel while holding and sighting. Kinda like the little crescent-moon spacers (Tyler?) that used to be sold for handguns for the same purpose. A great aid to shooting these guns.

 

[OldBroad44]

On the "EDC" (as long as you have a horse) gun, those are Herret grips, Hogue rubber was comfortable, but looked like a donkey phallus. My hands are larger than average, and the Herrets fit just right (probably not a good choice for someone with an average-sized grip).

Ruger standard grips on a .41 or .44 will very often allow the gun to roll excessively in the hand with recoil, finishing pointing at the sky. Not good for followup, and the web between thumb and index may end up taking a thrashing. Also, the Herrets (and the Hogues) include extra material behind the trigger guard for the "bird finger" to rest on, helping to elevate the barrel while holding and sighting. Kinda like the little crescent-moon spacers (can't recall the brand name) that used to be sold for handguns for the same purpose. A great aid to shooting these guns.

Hello @Spitpatch -- Could you elaborate on that last four sentences? I don't understand, and this sounds like stuff I would like to know about.

 

[Spitpatch]

I believe the little crescent-shaped thingies were called, "Tyler's T grips". They show up on ebay occasionally. They (and the extra material on some aftermarket grips) fill up the space above your middle finger and below the bottom of the frame behind the trigger guard, naturally causing the shooter to elevate the muzzle.

A great aid especially on longer-barreled, heavy muzzle pistols.

It is somewhat tragic that these peripheral firearm accessories like the Tyler T grip and trigger shoes ("Ace" which can change the feel of trigger pull dramatically), etc. have faded away as lost technology. Much like seatbelts on the Starship Enterprise.

 

[OldBroad44]

Ahh. Thank you @Spitpatch . Yes, I remember seeing the Tyler T grips on old used J frame revolvers that had tiny grips that just covered the grip frame and didn't fit a normal human hand at all. And I normally put aftermarket grips on my revolvers that completely enclose the grip frame and fill in the area above the middle finger between grip and trigger guard. (I have large hand size for a woman. I wear mens gloves, medium size.)

Thank you.
Carol

 

[wjv]

.44 Mag. OK, Ok, ok.....so, my mind went back to that time when......

police said Manuel Alvarez Hyde, 28, shot Jicha with a .44-caliber revolver. Jicha and another officer returned fire and killed Hyde.

Aloha, Mark

Wonder is it was a 44 Mag or a 44 Special or a 44 something else. . .

 

[ma96782]

As far as I can remember.....it was a 44 mag. Then, I don't recall hearing about what brand of ammo or other specifics on the firearm.

But, YES. Finding details.....about/the shooting that took place back then.....is difficult (in 2023).

Aloha, Mark

PS......BTW, I was working as the "Desk Sgt" in Wahiawa (same sub station as Jicha-back then).

 

[echo1]

On the "EDC" (as long as you have a horse) gun, those are Herret grips, Hogue rubber was comfortable, but looked like a donkey phallus. My hands are larger than average, and the Herrets fit just right (probably not a good choice for someone with an average-sized grip).

Ruger standard grips on a .41 or .44 will very often allow the gun to roll excessively in the hand with recoil, finishing pointing at the sky. Not good for followup, and the web between thumb and index may end up taking a thrashing. Also, the Herrets (and the Hogues) include extra material behind the trigger guard for the "bird finger" to rest on, helping to elevate the barrel while holding and sighting. Kinda like the little crescent-moon spacers (Tyler?) that used to be sold for handguns for the same purpose. A great aid to shooting these guns.

I'm pretty sure mine were Herret grips. Those grips and a trigger shoe made the already nice trigger even sweeter. I think lawyers killed off the "shoe". PAX

 

[echo1]

Ahh. Thank you @Spitpatch . Yes, I remember seeing the Tyler T grips on old used J frame revolvers that had tiny grips that just covered the grip frame and didn't fit a normal human hand at all. And I normally put aftermarket grips on my revolvers that completely enclose the grip frame and fill in the area above the middle finger between grip and trigger guard. (I have large hand size for a woman. I wear mens gloves, medium size.)

Thank you.
Carol

i use over molded grips on the revolvers and finger groove grips on the pistols but only on the center fires, no .22 handguns. PAX

 

[Brassy Bill]

I was thinking these days, there might be a legal angle to it when used in a defensive shooting situation. Meaning, a legal opponent might argue that by using a .44 Magnum, the shooter was out looking for trouble by carrying it.

Good point, there's a stigma associated with the caliber. On the otherhand, when we have drug induced rage, that several police officers can't handle one tweejer, the argument of over kill may not hold water. Can you practice with 44 special in 44 magnum? I know the caliber is inherently accurate.

 

[Brassy Bill]

My current EDC is a .357 mag, a SW 686 snubby. I'm thinking I might prefer a .44mag SW 629 Mountain Gun loaded with .44sp as an EDC. It would weigh only 2 oz more than my 686, would give me a 4" vs just 2.5" barrel, and would fit in the same fanny bag I usually carry the 686 in. With a more powerful .44sp load I could have .357mag power level with a fatter subsonic bullet that has about the same noise level as .38sp or 9mm. The .357 mag can shatter an eardrum in confined spaces such as indoors or in a car. After I found that out I dropped down to loading my 686 EDC with .38sp instead of .357 mag. I think I'd rather carry .44sp in an EDC than .38sp. (I wouldn't load with .44mag, because that would get me back to noise levels that could do me permenent hearing damage if I used Dec in house it car.)

As for woods carry, back when I was last doing much woods carry I prefered my Anaconda 6" .44mag for that. Loaded it with mild .44 mag loads, something at or under 1000 ft lbs. Flat nose or Keith style hard cast bullets. That's the most I can handle easily with one hand and with either hand, criteria I consider essential for SD.

I reject the idea of considering SD against people only unless you live in a large city and never go anywhere with wild animals. I live near MacDonald Forest. We get bears and cougars in our neighborhood. Cougars are fairly lightly built and can be handled with the same SD calibers as work for people. But to stop a charging black bear instantly with a handgun round you have to shoot it in the brain or spine. And the brain is the bigger target and conceals the spine when the bear is charging. The bear skull is very thick and sloped. So you need a hard cast non expanding non-deflecting bullet such as a round nose flat tip or a Keith style semi wad cutter bullet. And you need to incapacitate bear instantly because he can easily kill you while dying. You can't count on any 9mm load to do the job reliably. You need a .357 or 10mm or better. And it needs to carry penetrating bullets, not jhps.

I've lived in my current home for 30 years and never had any bad guys present themselves . But I did have one bad bear turn up in my backyard and go after my ducks and refuse to leave when I spotlighted and yelled at him. (He did leave when I put a shot in the ground next to him. Quite quickly.)

I also, before my .44mag era, spent nearly 8 months camping in the coastal mountains. In that and other camping and hiking in Oregon, Idaho, and Minnesota, I never had a tense moment with any other human. But I had a very tense half moment when my dog and I surprised a bear at very close range. And I stood there looking at the bear, only about 22' away, across the sights of a 6" Security 6 loaded with 158gr jhp, perfect for SD against people. Against a charging bear...well...glad it decided to run. Never again.

Of course a .44mag is not the revolver for anyone to start with. A .22 or .38/.357 loaded with .38sp wadcutters is better for that. Partly because of recoil, partly ammo expense.

Going to a 44 magnum that fits your carry holder just as well is a great idea. I don't know why you wouldn't carry a magnum load. Practice with the special. Foe bear, I hot a 454. Casual in a Taurus Ragging bull. That was dead on at 50 yards. And the benefit of practicing up close with 45 colt 240 grain cast loads. I was shooting cowboy action, so I had plenty on hand. Guess what, you get older. Isold all that and went to a 38snub for a vest, 9mm in the belt. I even went to 357 sixguns hoping they would be lighter, they're not. Very accurate, cost effective. Btw, when you retire, you have to watch your spending....I've been told. Over and over and over

 

[CLT65]

I finally made it out to the range this afternoon. Just for fun I brought along several different handguns to compare, shooting for speed at close range.

I'm not a competitor. I can hit whatever I aim at at most reasonable distances, but I'm not terribly fast. I've never really practiced for speed, and I'm also not used to shooting at 7 yards, so close. I had my daughter time me with my phone; she started the timer with the gun on the table, and hit stop at the sixth shot. I'd pick up the gun and shoot six rounds as fast as I could get them on target, inside 6" or so at 21 feet.

I took along the 3" .44 Magnum, a 6" 586 .357 Magnum, a full size Beretta 92 9mm, and my trusty old Ruger Standard .22 lr. Of course the .22 was the fastest, five seconds to pick up the gun and get six rounds on target. The Beretta was almost as fast, but it's pretty mild since it's so big and heavy; a compact 9mm like my Shield might have been a better test.

The 586 was a little slower but still not bad. Even full-load .357 Magnum is fairly tame out of a heavy, full-size revolver. When it came to the full-throttle .44 Magnum loads though, I'll readily admit that I'm a bit out of practice. To reliably keep all six shots on target, I had to slow down to about ten seconds, to pick up the gun and shoot six. The first shot was quick and accurate as any, but that .44 really bucks and it takes a little extra to hold it. When I took an extra second per shot I'd easily hold them all in the middle, but it was definitely slower. Yeah I know, these times are probably super slow for some of you guys who shoot for speed. I've seen Youtube videos of those competitions and I feel like a snail. It was fun though, so I'll practice more next time.

So, I think I'm fairly competent with the big .44, but I'm not a serious competitor. As far as the poll options, I'm firmly "Not my first choice, but it certainly would work."

 

[echo1]

I'm not much of a pistolero either but I also usually hit what I'm shooting at. PAX