To comment on the detracting qualities of the .44 mag I most often hear voiced in this thread & others - Ammo is cost prohibitive) yes, if you do not load reload (I do not) it isn't a cheap gun to put in extended shooting sessions with. Neither do I have much disposable income, but it doesn't prevent me from shooting it with a fair amount of frequency. I guess it's all relative; the cost versus the amount of shooting one does, but it brings me deep joy and satisfaction to shoot it within the limitations of my means. The recoil is excessive) no, I don't find this at all personally. Although mine has a 6 1/2" barrel with full lug. This absolutely makes a huge difference in felt recoil as I've fired .357's in L frames with short barrels that were far more uncomfortable to shoot. They're unnecessarily over-powered) no. Especially if you ever have any intentions of hunting or using it for trail carry. A .357 will cover a lot of bases but not all of them when it comes to larger game and four footed adversaries. I bought one with the intentions of covering as many applications as possible. Same as I do with all my guns, rifle, shotgun or other; because I cannot afford an armory's worth of different firearms all suited to very singular/specific purposes, nor do I want that. In deciding to get a .44 mag revolver i sought a gun for hunting, trail carry, home defense, and even open carry where permitted. If I had to, I could shoulder strap it concealed under something, but it wouldn't be my first choice for concealed carry. You often hear that 44 mag is too much for home defense or CC. That it will over-penetrate and is thus a poor/unsafe choice, and I understand the logic behind this completely. As others have pointed out, 44 special or mild magnum loads could be the answer to this 'problem', but there is another thing to consider here - myself, God forbid, I ever find myself in an 'End Days' type of scenario, well if so I WANT to be able to shoot THROUGH walls, doors, car doors, refrigerators, etc. just my two cents.
