First, I've never been a big fan of the .44 Magnum. But, over the years I've owned and shot both S&W 29's and Ruger Redhawks. I never really warmed up to the Rugers. There was nothing wrong with them. I just simply never found one that I liked. It's that simple. I liked the S&W's. But, here in the southeast, I never found much use for them. All the talk about how effective it was on deer and hogs was true. But, I never had any problems with the .357 Magnum on deer and hogs. Black bear... never found one to shoot. Targets... a hole is a hole is a hole. And when it comes to making holes... the .38/.357's and .45ACP's were way cheaper to shoot... and generally more accurate.
So... nowadays I own a 21-4... just about ideal in every way possible for a handgun. It shoots big bullets, which I like. It makes big holes in targets. It is cheap to reload. It is light enough to carry easily all day long in a common hip holster. It has fixed sights that are perfectly regulated to 240 gr. LSWC ammo. And... if I want more power, I can just heat things up with handloads to where no deer or hog is safe on the downrange end of the muzzle.
For the more common purposes that people today associate with handguns... i.e., SD/HD/CC, the .44 Magnum is an also ran. Of course that is the case also with any of the other larger calibers. They simply are not what anyone commonly considered. That market is dominated by semi-automatics firing rounds such as the ubiquitous 9mm, the .40 S&W (excellent idea and development) and the .45 ACP. Anyone carrying a revolver for such purposes will with justification be looking primarily at the J and K frames... maybe a L frame very occasionally.
Meantime... the shock and awe crowd will be attracted to the latest whatever that is being produced by whoever, be it a .450, .460, .500... you know... whatever. Some of those whatever's will be shot. Most will sit on a shelf... like some .44 Magnums. Gee! Maybe they all have something in common... people who buy them. Cool.
