Yep. SA handles .44 magnum recoil better for me.

To me, a backwoods gun isn't just for protection, it's for targets of opportunity, maybe a feral hog, deer if in season, coyote, and the ever- dangerous rocks, stumps, and prickly-pears.
A 4 3/4 - 5 1/2" barrel is about perfect for that, IMO. I carried a 5 1/2" SBH for decades on the family ranch in a belt/holster combo. The 5 1/2" is the longest I can carry while driving. Having its own belt makes adjustment easier and easy to take the gun off if I need to roll up sleeves & do something. I didn't just wear this rig riding in a truck, the majority of the time I was humping it through solid thickets of greenbrier, often carrying a Stihl brush cutter .

On a pants belt, a 4 3/4" .45 Colt rode very nicely in a Threepersons cross-draw and was what I carried if hunting with a long gun for dove or quail. It also broke the monotony nicely on days the doves didn't cooperate:-)

I guess if you're in the back country for a specific purpose like hiking or fishing where weight matters and big mean critters abode, a short, light DA makes sense since it is basically the same thing as an SD revolver, just for big four-legged animals. You don't want to have to cock when a moose is trampling you. I'd carry strong-side hip so as not to have to reach across my body in the event there's a 400-lb bear on my chest.

This is all theoretical for me , as I've never spent time in true dangerous game country.

Pepper spray would likely do the trick, but never waste an excuse to buy a new gun:-)