I wrote many times before why I like the .44 special. Rather than retype it, I dug some of it up and copyied it.
MY IDEAL FIELD HANDGUN
Let`s walk through my choice, the 4" s&w model 24 - 3 in .44 special.
First the weight. It weighs about the same or even less than my s&w 66-3 or 4" colt python. They are in .357. Also less than my colt saa,s in any caliber.
The .44 special will do 95 % of what we really buy the .44 mag for. Except for a mag in a mountain gun the model 24 is less weight and easier to pack than a heavy barreled model 29.
The 24 has adjustable sights, my colt saa`s doesnt. I have a flat top .44 special ruger single action with micro adjustable sights that is nice, but even that one is noticeably heavier to pack than my colt single actions.
The 44 special is more pleasant to shoot than a .357, more knock down, less sharper kick and less sharp muzzel blast. The .45 colt is about the same as .44 special, yet the .45 colt in colt saa`s, colt STILL hasnt got it right in the size of their chambers. Unbeliveable! I also own a s&w 25-5 4" in .45 colt that is nice, but still feels "clubby" in comparasion to the 24 because of the heavy straight barrel.
I sometimes carry a old m&p 4" 38 special in the boonies as it is light and I aint scuffing up my more exspendsive classic`s and its almost as good as it gets too.
So there it is. The 24-3 4". Now I dont own, but admit that a s&w mountain gun with the pencil barrel should be as good of a choice in any caliber, also stainless would be more practible, but I get along just fine with what I have. By the way, I like the compact smaller magna style standard service grips on my 24. The oversize targets changes a lot of my argument.
44 SPECIAL and 45 COLT VERSUS .357 MAG
For over 60 years elmer keiths load of 21 grains of 2400 powder under a 240 grain bullet will push it along at 1,200 feet a secound! Now days I think there may be hotter loads yet! We arent talking factory 760 fps loads built for 100 year old triplelocks here. The .45 colt can be cooked up hotter than or as hot as a .44 mag too. The trick is because the special and the colt cases is so much bigger area wise it does it with far less pressure on the clyinder walls than the .357. Without researching and pulling up a lot of numbers, thats why both are far better stoppers with a heavy bullet than a .357 mag that operates with double the pressure. The 357 mag has a more annoying ear ringing loud muzzel blast, a sharper, stiffer kick. It MIGHT get a little more FPS, but with a far lighter bullet. Besides that, downrange that bullet is loseing it`s velocity faster than the larger, heavier bullets. Class is over. Oh, by the way, that .45 auto can not match the huge heavier slugs that you can load a 45 colt with at more MV. Here again, that shorter case has to operate at higher pressure and you dont have the room for both the heavier, longer bullets and powder and case area of the longer colt. Just eyeball the auto against a 45 colt. I bet there is twice or more area in the case to work with at less pressure.
The beautfull part of .44 specials besides the almost perfect round, is they are lighter guns in the s&w`s, as they have the tapered "pencil" barrel as opposed to the heavier straight unweildly barrels of the model 29s, yet can be loaded up to do what 95% of people buy the mag`s for! They are a real sweetheart. In colt saa`s the .45 colts just dont have enough meat in the clyinder to suit me and they always are overbored! I have one in .45 colt. You can safely hop up the special in them because of the extra clyinder wall thickness. Elmer keith got his start doing that! I also have a s&w model 25-5 in .45 colt. There again, that gun has the same straight heavy barrel as the model 29. So I do have the 24-3 and 25-5 both in 4" barrels. I prefer the handier 24-3 in ,44 special because it is lighter and handier than the 25-5. Both calibers are very comparable the way I load them.
I think it`s intresting to note that while Keith was big on the special, once the 44 mag came out, he didnt mess with the special. Still, I like the marrage of the cartridge and the guns made for them. They are traditionaly lighter and I dont need the more powerfull mag 99.99% of the time.