Dammit!! I've gotten the bug for a hand cannon.

[Batcat]

The .44 magnum is more powerful than the .357 magnum. So I am confused here.

If your .357 S&W hurts to shoot but your .44 magnum doesn’t I would suspect there are other factors involved. Perhaps the size of the .357 mag vs the size of the .44 mag or the ammo you are using.

I carry a S&W Model 642, a light weight snub nosed revolver that I load with 38 +P ammo.

I went shooting one time with a cop. He tried my snubbie and said, “Damn. This thing recoils harder than my Ruger Redhawk .44 Magnum. I tried his Redhawk and I have to admit I agreed with him. (I suspect he was using midrange reloads.)

Not the case.

Projectile size is not the same as power.


357 Magnum Ballistics Chart | Ballistics 101

BBTI - Ballistics by the Inch :: .44 Mag Results

The .357 is a higher muzzle velocity and greater impact dispersion.

It carries more energy simply because the ratio of propellent to mass is greater.

Obviously we disagree.

State Your Case: .357 Magnum vs. .44 Magnum
BY JOSH WAYNER |

JAN 02, 2021 |

***snip***

When it come to a head-to-head comparison, there’s a world of difference between these two brother cartridges. The .357 is categorically less powerful in terms of available foot-pounds and bullet mass. But the .44 is almost too much to handle when it comes to the same two criteria. Given a similar gun and barrel length, the .357 will always be easier to shoot and generally more accurate. It could be said that the .357 has a slight edge in terms of firearm weight and capacity, with some models weighing only a bit over a pound and holding eight rounds.

A lightweight .44 Magnum is downright painful to shoot and hard to control. I know that most people, myself included, take no joy in firing a cylinder of Hornady 300 grain XTPs from a Smith & Wesson Model 69, but would happily shoot it with 200 grain .44 Specials all day long. The .357 never really gets painful to shoot, even in higher ft-lbs loads.

As far as general performance in a revolver, I have to give the edge to the .357 Magnum. The average person is much better suited to it and can practice readily with both 38 Special loads for less recoil and full-house .357 Mag hollow points. The practical end uses of the .357 are many and varied, such as hunting, self-defense (plenty of stopping power), home defense and target shooting. It’s also very forgiving to make handloads for. Guns as small as the S&W J-Frame are readily available and carry easily.

The .44 Magnum, on the other hand, struggles greatly in small guns. The aforementioned Model 69, shown above, isn’t even remotely fun to fire with anything .44 Magnum. It’s essentially a .44 Special revolver as a result. Bigger handguns do well with .44 Mag, but they lose practicality rapidly for every ounce gained. Where the .44 Mag excels is in rifles, such as the Ruger 77/44 I reviewed here. Even the most savage .44 Mag +P rounds are docile in a gun like that.

State Your Case: .357 Magnum vs. .44 Magnum - The Truth About Guns

It’s time for a faceoff between two of the most popular magnum revolver rounds out there: the .44 Magnum and .357 Magnum cartridges.

www.thetruthaboutguns.com

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

The .44 magnum is more powerful than the .357 magnum. So I am confused here.

If your .357 S&W hurts to shoot but your .44 magnum doesn’t I would suspect there are other factors involved. Perhaps the size of the .357 mag vs the size of the .44 mag or the ammo you are using.

I carry a S&W Model 642, a light weight snub nosed revolver that I load with 38 +P ammo.

I went shooting one time with a cop. He tried my snubbie and said, “Damn. This thing recoils harder than my Ruger Redhawk .44 Magnum. I tried his Redhawk and I have to admit I agreed with him. (I suspect he was using midrange reloads.)

Not the case.

Projectile size is not the same as power.


357 Magnum Ballistics Chart | Ballistics 101

BBTI - Ballistics by the Inch :: .44 Mag Results

The .357 is a higher muzzle velocity and greater impact dispersion.

It carries more energy simply because the ratio of propellent to mass is greater.

Obviously we disagree.

State Your Case: .357 Magnum vs. .44 Magnum
BY JOSH WAYNER |

JAN 02, 2021 |

***snip***

When it come to a head-to-head comparison, there’s a world of difference between these two brother cartridges. The .357 is categorically less powerful in terms of available foot-pounds and bullet mass. But the .44 is almost too much to handle when it comes to the same two criteria. Given a similar gun and barrel length, the .357 will always be easier to shoot and generally more accurate. It could be said that the .357 has a slight edge in terms of firearm weight and capacity, with some models weighing only a bit over a pound and holding eight rounds.

A lightweight .44 Magnum is downright painful to shoot and hard to control. I know that most people, myself included, take no joy in firing a cylinder of Hornady 300 grain XTPs from a Smith & Wesson Model 69, but would happily shoot it with 200 grain .44 Specials all day long. The .357 never really gets painful to shoot, even in higher ft-lbs loads.

As far as general performance in a revolver, I have to give the edge to the .357 Magnum. The average person is much better suited to it and can practice readily with both 38 Special loads for less recoil and full-house .357 Mag hollow points. The practical end uses of the .357 are many and varied, such as hunting, self-defense (plenty of stopping power), home defense and target shooting. It’s also very forgiving to make handloads for. Guns as small as the S&W J-Frame are readily available and carry easily.

The .44 Magnum, on the other hand, struggles greatly in small guns. The aforementioned Model 69, shown above, isn’t even remotely fun to fire with anything .44 Magnum. It’s essentially a .44 Special revolver as a result. Bigger handguns do well with .44 Mag, but they lose practicality rapidly for every ounce gained. Where the .44 Mag excels is in rifles, such as the Ruger 77/44 I reviewed here. Even the most savage .44 Mag +P rounds are docile in a gun like that.

State Your Case: .357 Magnum vs. .44 Magnum - The Truth About Guns

It’s time for a faceoff between two of the most popular magnum revolver rounds out there: the .44 Magnum and .357 Magnum cartridges.

www.thetruthaboutguns.com

While I am a big fan of Uncensored he is wrong in this case.
Dont ride his ass too hard.

 

[Batcat]

The .44 magnum is more powerful than the .357 magnum. So I am confused here.

If your .357 S&W hurts to shoot but your .44 magnum doesn’t I would suspect there are other factors involved. Perhaps the size of the .357 mag vs the size of the .44 mag or the ammo you are using.

I carry a S&W Model 642, a light weight snub nosed revolver that I load with 38 +P ammo.

I went shooting one time with a cop. He tried my snubbie and said, “Damn. This thing recoils harder than my Ruger Redhawk .44 Magnum. I tried his Redhawk and I have to admit I agreed with him. (I suspect he was using midrange reloads.)

Not the case.

Projectile size is not the same as power.


357 Magnum Ballistics Chart | Ballistics 101

BBTI - Ballistics by the Inch :: .44 Mag Results

The .357 is a higher muzzle velocity and greater impact dispersion.

It carries more energy simply because the ratio of propellent to mass is greater.

Obviously we disagree.

State Your Case: .357 Magnum vs. .44 Magnum
BY JOSH WAYNER |

JAN 02, 2021 |

***snip***

When it come to a head-to-head comparison, there’s a world of difference between these two brother cartridges. The .357 is categorically less powerful in terms of available foot-pounds and bullet mass. But the .44 is almost too much to handle when it comes to the same two criteria. Given a similar gun and barrel length, the .357 will always be easier to shoot and generally more accurate. It could be said that the .357 has a slight edge in terms of firearm weight and capacity, with some models weighing only a bit over a pound and holding eight rounds.

A lightweight .44 Magnum is downright painful to shoot and hard to control. I know that most people, myself included, take no joy in firing a cylinder of Hornady 300 grain XTPs from a Smith & Wesson Model 69, but would happily shoot it with 200 grain .44 Specials all day long. The .357 never really gets painful to shoot, even in higher ft-lbs loads.

As far as general performance in a revolver, I have to give the edge to the .357 Magnum. The average person is much better suited to it and can practice readily with both 38 Special loads for less recoil and full-house .357 Mag hollow points. The practical end uses of the .357 are many and varied, such as hunting, self-defense (plenty of stopping power), home defense and target shooting. It’s also very forgiving to make handloads for. Guns as small as the S&W J-Frame are readily available and carry easily.

The .44 Magnum, on the other hand, struggles greatly in small guns. The aforementioned Model 69, shown above, isn’t even remotely fun to fire with anything .44 Magnum. It’s essentially a .44 Special revolver as a result. Bigger handguns do well with .44 Mag, but they lose practicality rapidly for every ounce gained. Where the .44 Mag excels is in rifles, such as the Ruger 77/44 I reviewed here. Even the most savage .44 Mag +P rounds are docile in a gun like that.

State Your Case: .357 Magnum vs. .44 Magnum - The Truth About Guns

It’s time for a faceoff between two of the most popular magnum revolver rounds out there: the .44 Magnum and .357 Magnum cartridges.

www.thetruthaboutguns.com

While I am a big fan of Uncensored he is wrong in this case.
Dont ride his ass too hard.

He is welcome to have his opinion but I think most people who have fired similar revolvers using full powered .357 magnum and full powered .44 magnum ammo will agree that the .44 mag is more powerful.

 

[Ringel05]

Thinking about a S&W .500
Yes they're impractical and I dont really need one but the lure of owning the most powerful revolver out there has the back of my eyeballs itching.
Of course after just getting the S&W 610 I'm gonna have to wait at least six months or the Wife will start bitching about my gun expenditures.
Trying to think of a good reason,see excuse,as to why I have to have one.
Thought about playing on a woman's need to match things since it looks like the S&W 610's big brother but I dont think she'll go for that.
Any help would be appreciated.

View attachment 450831

If you want a real hand cannon....... Well mortar to be exact........

 

[Shawnee_b]

500 is cool, just don't shoot it much!

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

500 is cool, just don't shoot it much!

With the availability of ammo thats a forgone conclusion.

 

[Shawnee_b]

With the availability of ammo thats a forgone conclusion.

All ammo is tough to find, it sux.