.44 Magnum Bad for Self Defense? 

depends on defense bears are here so id carry it

How about .44 Special use instead of .44 magnum is that good round for home defense? Any Advice is help ? My gun will S&W 629 4 inches 0r 5 inches ? What’s your refer ? Thanks guys

@@charleswynn9920 factory .44 special tends to be loaded fairly "light" due to the old guns on the market. Obviously in a 629 you can use higher-pressure rounds. Many .44 special +P rounds are energetically very similar to .45 Colt and .45 ACP, both of which have good records in self-defense use. I usually have some .44 special +P self-defense rounds on hand for my 629 and I wouldn't hesitate to count upon them in a self-defense situation. Even a relatively hot .44 special is quite manageable in a 629.

.44 mag likely has a sample error. Not enough samples to give a true indication of effective. Minimum number needs to be 30

i have a set of 1858 remingtons made by ubirty that a colt gunsmith went over them and they shoot perfect then i mix a little modern powder with the black and it gives it a lot more power plus i have extra cylinders to trade out and a few converters to 45 long colt . i even have used them for hunting deer because i can use them in bow season were i live. so far everyone that has shot them all say they are perfect everyone has fell in love with them . i can hit a target every time at 100 yards they do have the 8 1/4 inch barrel. with mix powder they feal like a 44 mag when u shoot them and when u use very soft shots it leaves a big hole. the best part is that it cost next to nothing to shoot them as cap and ball when i mold the bullets and make black powder caps i just buy them but could make them if needed have all the tools to do it and have 1000's of caps to use for it

Interesting…

44 magnum works for just about anything with proper load.

A man can be a god if he handloads 😂

Just re-read (to my wife) my copy of “Hell, I was There!” Keith’s autobiography, then searched for a reprint for a friend. No luck. That book is worth a lot more than when I bought it in 1979. But you can get a reasonable reprint of Sixguns by Keith.

He surely does, a little bit in every 44 mag owner.

And THAT will separate the little dogs from the big dogs. Only a big alpha leader will continue the fight. Once he's down, morale will destroy the party.

​​@@redfaux74 wtf. Immaterial much?

@Kirk yes, cops have observed that .357 sig, .357 mag, and .44 mag had higher stoppages from Psychological factors alone. Many attested to the fact the large fireballs produced just caused criminals to buckle and cave and drop to the ground in fear. .40 also has a good reputation with stoppages, just not as much as .357 sig due to this reason. It's why I wish .357 sig took off more. I still carry a .40 since I can find ammo for it.

​@@taasch2505it had a lot to do with when you fired a shot inside a building or an alley between brick buildings the 38 special was a gun shot and the 357/44 were FUCKEN DEAFENING EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Well no........... but you might line up 2 or 3 perps and get 'er done in one shot. That's not a one-shot-stop, that's like a one-shot-three-stop.

With the size of the individuals that get shlepped on our stainless tables these days, I'm not surprised he carried a .44.

If there were a 6-shot Ruger GP-100 or S&W L-Frame .41 Magnum with a 4-5" barrel, I'd be on it in a heartbeat. The problem I have with the .41 is that in any major offering, you don't get an extra round going down from .44 Mag and you don't even get a smaller frame size like with .357 Mag... all you get is supposedly lower recoil. Well, yes, but since .41 is mostly a handloader's cartridge at this point, why not just hand load the .44 down to .41 mag levels and also keep the ability to readily find factory ammo?

Thank you.

Thank you. She slept through everything like always lol

Thank you.

For housing defense inside an apartment in my opinion the 357 is too exuberant with regard to noise and flash maybe at night in semi-obscure

In a city .22 is enuf.

@@Andy-cd1dy .357 rounds are tremendously loud when fired inside a dwelling, not to mention the overpenetration it can generate even with hollow points. So I load it with .38+p instead.

@@alexmcgregor2854 Agreed, though shot placement is of utmost importance with that caliber.

In my opinion .357 magnum is the most versatile firearm available. You can load it with anything from tiny "snake shot" up to stuff that will stop a mountain lion or a black bear and everything in between. If I could have only one handgun, it would be a medium-frame .357 magnum with a 3" or 4" barrel. The high pressure of the .357 magnum round does create a serious ringing in the ears when fired indoors, though. A good .38 spl +P should serve well for home defense with good shot placement.

How is the recoil with .44 special? I am looking for S&W629 5 inches ? Thanks

@@charleswynn9920 so I've only shot 1 box of factory .44 Specials and they were some garbage Magtech Cowboy Action loads. The recoil with those was basically nothing. Without intentional exaggeration, I remember it barely being a step above shooting hot .22LR from my Ruger SP101. My lightest handloads have been 240 grain bullets around a book velocity of 750-800 fps. That's along the lines of a normal .44 Spl. I would let anyone shoot it who was ready to graduate from .22 LR and I could shoot them all day. The only problem with .44 Special is that if you don't reload, it costs just as much as .44 Magnum and I've found that stores are less likely to have it in stock than Magnum. I think that's why Gun Sam mentioned that he doesn't know why people overlook it. I think the answer to that is because it's not especially common, and unlike .38 Spl which is almost always cheaper than similar quality .357, .44 Spl is just as expensive as its big brother.

Are you a sasquatch? How the hell do you pack A 5" 629 iwb?

@@samwalker1461 Hahaha, far from. If anything, I'm short. I'd say it's 70% the holster (Simply Rugged Sourdough Pancake with IWB straps worn at the 3 o'clock position) and 30% the clothes. It conceals easy under a baggy flannel, a hoodie, or a coat. In the summer, it conceals fine under a baggy t-shirt in my usual size. Anyway, I don't carry it on normal days anymore. I only used to do it because I like the gun so much, but it's too slow to draw being so long. Now I only carry it IWB when it's the only handgun I'm bringing to the range or on my way to and from the woods to go hunting. When I'm actually in the woods, I wear it OWB on my hip or in a chest holster.

@@cristianespinal9917 much love sir you're a better man than I I am 6 ft 250 I can't do it!!!

Thank you.

Thank you.

Maybe chipmunks should be Sams new testing medium. 😊

@@C8Z51Scott - I would pay to see that.

Thank you.

Thanks for watching

I may be the exception but I love the pain I get in my hand from a full power 240 grain holow point. The feeling of pain is a simple showing that you have a huge amount of power in your hand.

@@joshuathomas8529 8" Dan Wesson Vs 4" S&W Model 69 5 shot , big difference in recoil . Match your ammo to best fit your 44 .

Even if used to it? I can shoot 240 grain JHPs the "bare-minimum" full-power .44 Magnum rounds all day. One of the advantages of being 6'3" 315 lb. I also shoot .454 Casull fairly regularly when I can afford it.

@@joshuathomas8529 with proper grips it shouldn't hurt you. Admittedly I'd think a Model 69 is a little light for .44 Magnum preferring bare minimum a 4" 629 half-lug preferably 6", 8⅜" half-lug is the way to go if you want to stick with Smith and Wesson. Super Redhawk Alaskan, 5½ Redhawk,, 7½ for regular Redhawks, Super Redhawks and Super Blackhawks. ideal is 9½ for Super Redhawk and 10" for the Super Blackhawk. Magnum Research BFR basically are Rugers on steroids and the latter is plenty strong. If you want smooth triggers, refinement and willing to be content with factory loads and Clint Eastwood purists, Smith and Wesson is for you. If you are willing to live with thickness, clunkier action but can be smoothened but get strength to handle loads that will blow up most other handguns save single-shot pistols, then Ruger is what you want. If you want double-action and swing-out cylinders and that kind of power, Ruger is the only way to go If you want both of what S&W and Ruger's best to offer but willing to live with Single-Action only and get rifle calibers, and custom-made quality but still factory support, Magnum Research is the way to go. If you're willing to live with Single-Action only and want best S&W, Ruger and Magnum Research offers and money is no object, Freedom Arms, Hamilton Bowen, Jack R Huntington and other custom shops are what you want.

Thank you

Thanks. I read how it's accuracy was great, making history for it's accuracy out of handguns.

@@GunSam , I assume that you've read or have a copy of SIXGUNS in your library. The only thing that bugs me within that work is Elmer referring to himself as 'We' in so many passages throughout that book. Some items may be dated, however the bulk of it is still applicable in the 21st century. Looking forward to the eventual 'publishing' of your masterwork, Jeff

I currently prefer to load my model 69 4.25" with Buffalo Bore lead free hollow points. They are right about 500 ft lbs and loaded in such a way that the overall length is the same as a .44 Magnum round. I feel this bridges the gap for a decent .44 defense load.

I think .357 and .44 Mag have the same db of sound at 164. I didn't mention it, but .44 Special is actually lower than .38 Special I think, yet more powerful than most cartridges.

Carried wad cutters in my Smith back in 1983' thru 86' Carried a full combat load of 12 more 38 wadcutters in my two drop pouches! 😁🤣

Thank you.

Thanks a lot!

Yeah I just bought some on SGammo, just a box to do a video with. I saw .44 Special on Midwayusa last night, but I didn't need any, as it was cowboy loads.

@Lewis Thompson I have shot 44 russian from hunting shack munitions and from reed's custom ammo, neither load was loaded with black powder they were both using smokless

They have an up grade for that

@@danoneill2846 Yeah, affter years of me complaining about it, and selling it; I was made aware of the aftermarket fix. Too late now, I'm cured!

@@Win94ae The Rugers I shot were very accurate .

i gpt the 44 new super black hawk 1977 model love those pistols

Thank you.

@@GunSam yw

My main point has always been, that if you can get a smaller .44 Mag and load it with warm .44 Special ammo, you have power close to .357 Magnum but also better options to go up if you need it. The .357 Magnum is a good choice, and probably more practical if you want to shoot a lot of rounds, but .44 Mag revolvers have a greater option of power levels.

Is that the Silvertip?

Gun Sam _Revolver Aficionado_ No platinum tip I did a video on them when I first start doing videos.

Thanks!

Nice. I always wanted one. Ten years ago I went to get one and could not find one so I got the model 629 with the half lug barrel. Only difference was grips, finish and the 629 was 6" not 6.5".

8" 3/8 bbl for the win! My first revolver, was a model 28 at age 18, next one was the model 29. Of course I had a leather shoulder rig for it.

Model 29 😁

Thank you. I have some RA that causes some hand pain, so I deal with it and that's the reason I got an X frame 500 Mag grip on my model 69.

@@GunSam my 29-2 has Pachmayr on it. It feels nice with the big wood target grips but it is punishing.

The 327 allows you to shoot 5 different cartridges. The 32 S&W which is the smallest and least powerful, the 32acp, the 32 S&W long, the 32 H& R magnum and the 327 Federal Magnum. Energy varies from about 56 foot pounds for the 32 S&W to over 500 for the 327. Ruger has the LCR and LCRx in a 6 shot snub, the SP101 in both 3 inch and 4 inch guns also six shots in a j frame size gun. They also have the GP100 in both 4 inch and 6 inch barrels in an L frame size gun sporting a 7 round cylinder. For single action fans Ruger makes the single seven, a seven shot single action revolver in several barrel lengths and grip styles. The only problem with this caliber is currently finding ammo for it.

@@rorybybee5937 finding the gun at a fair price these days is as hard as finding ammo. Thanks for the info on the gun and caliber. I’ve followed Gun Sam for a long time, I know a lot about the .327s versatility from his videos. It’s going to be a 2" LCR in .327 Federal Magnum for me when I find it.

Have 3 of them. A Ruger LCRx snub, a 4inch SP101 and a 5.5 inch Single seven.

@@rorybybee5937 .327 SP101 4" here too. LRCx is in .38 though.

Thanks!

That's a scientist

I like you already!

You need to reconsider in this time. It is not too late to learn to protect you and yours. "OGs danger show" is another good one. When it hits.... it's on you. No one is coming. There will be no 911. The new powers that be will push chaos, disable the military, defund the cops, sell our countries resources for personal gain without your knowledge. The rich in control are buying $BILLIONS$ of bunkers in other countries. Billions! $$$ I wonder why Bill Gates would be spending billions on bunkers in other countries. Hmmm..?...

The data is a condensed version of the one shot stop statistics. It's is not gel based, but the gel testing was also included to what the round does in gel, but the actual percent's are not estimated, they are from recorded shootings.

@@GunSam that I have but not the gel data that went with it...I've said 125 fed sjhp penentarated just a big father than Remington in vids and that backed it up. I dont know where that data is w the gel data that goes w it. A link would be greatly appreciated if u can find it plz. Thnx

@@DanTheWolfman This is the link: www.chuckhawks.com/handgun_power_chart.htm , what makes it interesting is it is not a one data set from one source. Now, the actual one shot stop statistics are 100% legit numbers from actual shootings, but there happens to be other sources of information added to each cartridge row from other sources. Like most have a gel penetration number and a goats at Strasbourg number included to go along with the actual real word stopping power numbers. What makes that interesting is this allows one to cross reference data to make a guess of what the real world stopping power might be. Take for instance this line: ".38Spec. (Load Glaser Blue +P) ( Bullet 80gr.Frag.) (MV 1667) (ME 494) (penetration 10% gel 7") ( AIT goats at Strasbourg 4.72 sec.) (One shot stop 84%est.) (barrel length 4" S&W"). With this load, the Glaser Blue, there is no actual stopping power number from real world encounters, but with the ability to incapacitate a goat, it's energy number etc, one can estimate it would do well, and they estimated 84% one shot stop.

@@GunSam OMG thank you I just had a nerdgasm! I like all data

Nice. That's the one where in Dirty Harry they used the longer barrel version when he shot the creep on the football field, and they used that longer model 29 to make it look huge.

@@GunSam I thought it was the 6 1/2 inches. I get one of those model 29 made in 1980 :-)

@@GunSam . I had this one restored at Fords. It had lost some of the blueing on one side from sitting in a drawer for decades. It's better than brand new. I had them go over all the stampings also. Looks like it belongs in a museum. Beautiful, classic revolver.

@@holaadios9958 The 6.5" was what was used for most of the movie, but for the football field scene they used the 8 3/8" version to make it look bigger when Harry said "halt!"

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--GvNc24yQZA.html

Thank you, same to you.

First off, I do not trust Underwood's claims for that velocity out of a normal handgun. I tried some of their .357 Magnum loads in my 4" 686, first was the Xtreme Penetrator 140 gr rated at 1,550 FPS, I got only 1,315 FPS. Then their 180 gr Hard cast rated at 1,400 FPS, and I got 1,221 FPS. Compared that last one to Buffalo Bore, they both have a 180 gr hard cast .357 Mag rated at 1,400 FPS, Underwood's gave me 1,221 FPS as where Buffalo Bore's gave me 1,387 FPS. So, my educated guess is that this "1,800 FPS" load, would be like 1,400 FPS if you're lucky out of a normal handgun length barrel. That's my guess why the recoil felt manageable, as if they really were 1,800 FPS it would be painful. As far as an Xtreme Hunter fluted design being good for self defense, I really have no idea. Personally I do not trust them, as people will say the flutes cause hydrostatic shock, but then in the same breath people say hydrostatic shock does not happen below 2,200 FPS. At least with an expanded hollow point, you know what you are working with. Hydrostatic movement will not ultimately cut things like arteries, but expanded hollow points will. Not saying it won't work, just saying I think it's mostly hype.

I have heard some unconfirmed stories from my subscribers that XBP and TAC-XP makes a mess of attackers. More so than older bullet technology that was thought of as great back then like SJHP, lead HP .44 Specials and the like. Even 9mm Barnes HP's fully open in an actual human body. In .44 Mag, that is something I would not want to be hit with unless I was hoping for an instant time travel trip to resurrection day.

.44 Magnum and .357 Magnum have about the same db level of 164, a 9mm is 160. I believe that .44 Special was something like 153 or 154, much quieter than most. I doubt disorientation would be an issue as far as hearing, maybe with flash if it's not a defensive load, as most defensive loads are backed off on power and use flash suppressed powder. I cannot comment on long term hearing damage. I mean, if your ear drums are not blow they are not blown and vice versa. At arms length pretty much no firearm will blow the ear drum, but it can if inches from the ear. If the eardrums are not blown there a potential for a small amount of hearing loss, but it's not something I worry about. Alive and tinnitus vs dead because you didn't shoot is easy to decide in the moment the best choice.

@@GunSam Its something I have been thinking about. A friend who passed away recently had an accidental discharge with his Glock 45 years ago. Thankfully only the ceiling was harmed but he did tell me he stumbled around for several minutes after the shot went off trying to get a ladder to inspect the damage. His equilibrium was affected .Agreed life is more important and most would agree i suspect but it does give one pause .

I would say .44 Special would be your best bet currently with like a Charter Arms bulldog, but I also know there's a few .45 auto snubs out there. I'm not experienced with all of those, but if I had to pick big bore in the most likely to find snub, i'd say .44 Special Bulldog.

I have pondered that movie quote for decades. I mean, he said something like "light specials", but he didn't specifically say .44 Special. One might say, well because the other cops asked what he carries in that "44", and he said light specials, that this automatically means .44 Special. However, when the rookie cop shot his revolver, the recoil and sound was NOT that of .44 Special. One might say Harry lied to the other cops to make them surprised when he shot it, or maybe light specials means a special .44 Magnum load, as my Buffalo Bore light magnum, is a special load, and it does have lower recoil. Harry's statement of more control than a .357 Magnum with wadcutters does though, indicate .44 Special. I know this is a lot of thought about a fictional movie quote, but...I have had that movie quoted to me, and that very scene quoted to me, like 50 times on this channel. So naturally, I put thought into it and have responded my thoughts about it a few times.

@@GunSam back in those days, any .44 mag bullet under 240 grains would be a light bullet; today 200 grain and lighter bullets are common. It sure does make one wonder. 🙄

Thanks for watching. I liked TNouutdoors9. Funny thing, is I took a lot of inspiration from him when I started getting into doing better videos. What's funny is people for whatever reason would come to my videos and be like "this guy, look at this guy trying to imitate Paul Harrell", and I had never even heard of Paul Harrell when people were saying that, but truth is at one point I really wanted to imitate TNoutdoors9 or Hickock45.

@@GunSam Who the heck thought you tried to imitate Paul? You've got your own thing going that is vastly different. I guess it's youtube and everyone gets a portion of weirdos with their channel.

@@GunSam You use the same intro music as another guntuber that tests rounds. I've been trying to find his videos but I'm not having luck. I always thought your intro was an homage to that earlier guntuber. Edit... It's ScubaOz. He changes up his intro music. The video titled "380 sucks?" has the same intro music.

Sounds like a bad .357 Magnum load. I see this a lot, someone will compare rounds but trust 100% the box. But there should be very few .357's that travel slower than 10mm.

@@jorgesolis9468 A law of physics states that the higher the speed of an object of mass, the more it will resist a change in that speed, so that's why I was surprised to find that a magnum round going about 1250 fps penetrated about 30% deeper than a 10mm going about 1350 fps. I figure it's because the 10mm had a larger diameter, and that made the ballistics gel more effective in stopping it. I don't recall if the bullets where hollow points just solid shaped bullets, but at those speeds, either one would expand fairly well.

J-frames rule

So true. It's a dam cannon.

Like any other cartridge, bullet design matters more than anything. Some .44 Special will over penetrate, but light hollow points should not.

Yeah. I have always assumed that lets say a shoulder shot would be similar to the actual Dirty Harry move at the end, where the creep literally drops his gun from an arm shot. I don't typically like to go into movie "ballistics" as it's usually way off, but I would think that would be close to reality. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kYxwTuCtQMU.html

Interestingly enough I am currently the age Clint Eastwood was when he filmed Dirty Harry.

Thank you. It only took 14 years lol.

If all a prosecutor has to go on is caliber, than he don't have much. But if that was a true concern, than I might carry Gold Dot .44 Special, as Gold Dot is what cops carry to do nothing, but stop a threat, nothing more.

It's a good round and the noise level is below even a .38 Special.

44 Special was an awesome round in it's own right until Uncle Elmer got a hold of it.

@Gengar you kinda missed the point of my comment. I'm talking about MY CHOICE for "carrying". I choose to carry what I can easily carry concealed and what I can draw and fire in no more than one second flat. I'm sure you are larger than me but I would challenge you to time yourself drawing and firing a .44 Magnum. If you can draw, fire and hit a target at 7 yards then you are doing fine.

I have fired that .460 revolver, and with the right ammo it's not bad. To me the .454 Casull was bad for recoil, the lighter 200 gr Leverevolution .460 Mag had less recoil. But when we shot .45 Colt in it, it was basically like shooting that 686 with .38 Special for recoil. My friend owns the gun and I just offered him a grand to buy it lol. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-C3b0NNdqZxk.html&t

I don't think there are any .44 Magnum revolvers smaller than the S&W model 69.

@@GunSam I'm pretty sure you're right. Oh well, hard to go wrong with S&W anyway.

It's very cold, plan to go out tomorrow. Not warming up for a long time. But, that's not why I didn't go out. I just haven't got my supplies all in order yet.

Wasn't around back then. Assume it's around medium good jhp 9mm..better than .38...not as good a best 9mm 124 plus p hsts and certainly not .357 mag best etc...less tissue crush but Louder bang (psychological) w best .327 like gold dots.

Probably not enough data.

No way to know, so basically what you have to do is make educated guesses based on expanded diameter, energy, ballistic test penetration, velocity and all of that. My guess is that it would be somewhere around 9mm+P numbers. Probably 85% +/- depending on barrel length.

I have some of the Barnes all copper hollowpoints but I also have some hard cast 240 grain bullets not concerned with the penetration looking for the most hate per round on a bear if I have to.

I been there. My first was a 6" model 629. Miss it.