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If the guns were equal in barrel length and it was 6 rounds of .41 mag vs 6 rounds of 44 mag, I'd say the two are sufficiently similar so that you can just carry either based upon which you enjoy carrying more. .41 mag is well known to over perform in self defense against bears or handgun hunting in the real world compared to theoretical predictions. A whole lot of very sophisticated old timers prefer .41 to .44 mag, claiming it can do anything the .44 mag can do with less recoil. I'm inclined to believe them.My question is do I carry the S&W 58 in 41, or the 6" GP100 in 44. Both are quite heavy.
However, the SW 58 is a 4", isn't it? And the GP 100, while a 6", is a 5-shot .44sp, not a .44 mag, isn't it?
For general woods for SD or handgun hunting deer or bears out to 40 yards I'd carry the GP 10O .44sp. I'd load it with the Grizzly Cast Performance 260 grain wide flat nose gas check hard cast that run at 950 fps. A review I saw of this ammo said it penetrated just over 8 inches of pine boards when shot from a 6" SW 29. The 260gr bullet at 950 fps calculates out to 521 ft. lbs. That's a .357 mg power level but with a much fatter heavier bullet. The medium sized GP 100 would be a comfortable size for me to carry. And I like under lugged barrels and their muzzle heavy balance.
If I wanted to hunt black bear or deer at distances beyond 40 yards at this point I'd be plum outta luck without a scoped handgun. Assuming younger eyes than my current editions or a scoped handgun, I'd prefer to have something in .41 mag or .44 mag to .44sp so there would be enough energy left to do the job after the bullet has traveled the distance. So my choice would be the SW 58. With a heavy hard cast flatnosed or Keith style bullet and a fast powder so as to get the most fps possible from the relatively short barrel. (I'm assuming you reload, as .41 mag guys usually do and must.)