I don't shoot my 329PD with 44 Special length cases, so I can't say about erosion, but given the fact that the coating on these cylinders apparently can be damaged by aggressive cleaning, I've always avoided the shorter cases. If you use the materials for cleaning that S&W recommends, I don't think you have anything to worry about, but my experience in cleaning steel cylinders is that the shorter cases can make more of a mess than I want to handle with the suggested equipment.
329PDs have a bad rap that is not necessarily fair. With the right modern 44 Magnum ammunition, they are not nearly as hard on the hand as a 340PD, IMO. I shoot Blazer 200-gr and 240-gr JHPs and can manage it OK. I would not want to shoot anything heavier than those loads, but they are no big problem.
I have the S&W 500 stocks on the gun. Most people who shoot it are pleasantly surprised that recoil is not much worse than it is. It is no K38, but it can be managed.
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