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I think .44mag truly comes into its own at six inch barrel length. And longer. You lose so much of the round's potential in shorter barrels it's like buying a 747, knocking the wings off, and running it on the highway. Possible, but why?
I think those who buy and carry snubby and short barrel .44 mag revolvers are usually advocates of practicing little with such guns at all but just carrying them, or practicing with low power loads (.44 special) and carrying high power. I'm not a fan of either. For me, any handgun, even my 9.5" Ruger Super Redhawk--bought primarily for recreation and hunting (and because it whispered seductively to me when I tried to walk past it in a gun show thinking I wanted something else)--must also be great for self defense too. And for self defense what gives me the most confidence is a gun I've fired a lot loaded with ammo that has a trajectory and recoil close to what I carry for real. And fact is, I will only shoot a gun/load combination a lot if I enjoy it. If recoil is so heavy the gun twists and tries to leave my hands entirely, or hurts my wrists, I don't enjoy it. So make my .44mags 6" or longer, with heavy barrels and muzzle-heavy balance to soak up the recoil. And if that's not macho enough for ya, hey, I don't gotta be. I'm an old broad, after all.
I think those who buy and carry snubby and short barrel .44 mag revolvers are usually advocates of practicing little with such guns at all but just carrying them, or practicing with low power loads (.44 special) and carrying high power. I'm not a fan of either. For me, any handgun, even my 9.5" Ruger Super Redhawk--bought primarily for recreation and hunting (and because it whispered seductively to me when I tried to walk past it in a gun show thinking I wanted something else)--must also be great for self defense too. And for self defense what gives me the most confidence is a gun I've fired a lot loaded with ammo that has a trajectory and recoil close to what I carry for real. And fact is, I will only shoot a gun/load combination a lot if I enjoy it. If recoil is so heavy the gun twists and tries to leave my hands entirely, or hurts my wrists, I don't enjoy it. So make my .44mags 6" or longer, with heavy barrels and muzzle-heavy balance to soak up the recoil. And if that's not macho enough for ya, hey, I don't gotta be. I'm an old broad, after all.