I'd see no reason not to buy a .44 Magnum if you're prepared to freight the cost of magnum commerical ammo or if you reload.

As for recoil, it is MUCH more than a .40 S & W semi. It can be tamed, however. You just need to find the right set of grips. Shoot with the wrong grips and the experience will be miserable. With the right grips, it will be a pleasure, albeit a very noisy pleasure.

What's right? That depends totally on you, the way your hand is shaped and how you grip the gun. There are a few people on this forum that swear by the big wooden target grips that Smith used to put on their K and N-frame square butts. For me, shooting with those grips in anything more powerful than .38 is sheer agony because the wood at the top of the grips digs into the base of my shooting hand thumb.

I do best with Pachmayr Grippers or Decelleraters. These are phenominally ugly grips, about as ugly as anything out there. But, they fit my hand perfectly and allow for extended pain free shooting sessions. I say function over form, and that's why I shoot with the Pachs.