The 44 Mag is my favorite handgun round. [While a 1911 in 45 ACP is my favorite handgun].

The beauty of the 44 Mag is that you can go from 300gr+ bear loads, to Urban defense loads designed not to be TOO overpenetrative.

Think of the best 45 ACP loads, most people believe they are plenty good for Urban use.

So a 185gr bullet at @950, to a 230gr bullet at @ 820fps is "enough".

So with a 44 Mag "your job" is just to pick a load with the recoil that you can handle, that is suitable for urban use, with the bullet performance you believe in, that is equal to the 45 ACP.

Then switch to the best "field load" for the area you are in.

If I am on a hunting trip, and carrying my 4" S&W as my Primary, and it has to serve for Urban and Woods use I carry loads suitable for both.

A couple of years ago I went on a Grizzly bear hunt to Alaska.
Since I was flying in weight was a concern.

I knew that I was going to spend a couple of weeks in Nome helping the outfitter prepare the gear for the hunt, and after the hunt, I was going to stay a couple of weeks in Anchorage with another buddy.

So I took 6 rounds of Speer 200gr Short Barrel load. All my other ammo was 300gr Bear protection loads [I did have some Speer shotshells for small game].

I figured after the first 6 shots, most everybody would be hiding behind something..., or the original problem would be solved.

But I did not want to be walking around in the city with "Bear" loads.