Bronze Supporter
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.357 does quite well out of shorter barrels, one of the many reasons I love the caliber. .44 suffers below 4-5 inches so I too prefer longer .44 wheelguns.Before my .44 mag era I had two Ruger Security Sixes, one 2 1/2" and one 6". The 2 1/2" was for carrying concealed in urban settings indoors or when gardening, which involves lots of bending over. In these situations I sometimes need to be able to put the snubby in my fanny-pack. For everything else I carried the 6" concealed, including for hiking, camping, general woods carry, home defense, walking in Corvallis day or night to go to grocery store or exercise dogs, or when driving anywhere, in which case I carried the gun on my left side. If I had been handgun hunting deer in that era I would have used the 6" for that too. A 4" would not have been workable because it wouldn't fit in my fanny-pack. And the 6" carried in an inside-the-belt slide holster much better than did a 4". (I slipped a thick cutoff sock over the gun barrel to protect my skin from the gun barrel and vice versa.)
The first time I ran into a 686 was the beginning of the end of my Security Six days. Loved the muzzle-heavy balance. And the superior SA and DA trigger pull. After I started shooting .44 mag I switched to .44 mag for my 6" or longer revolvers but retain my 686 snubby in the 2 1/2" niche.