i know this is a big question but which is a better all around choice 44 mag or 357 mag

let me explain i am active duty military and i am stationed in oklahoma but i am from alaska i am looking for a revolver i can use for self defense/conceal and also carry for hunting when i go back to alaska but i am torn with my budget cause i know the great points of a 44 mag ie stopping power but is the stopping power worth the recoil thus loss of accuracy with mutiple shots from a 2" or less barrel 44 or would a 2" or less 357 be better all around due to wieght, size, recoil, and ease of rapid fire

i have shot a short barreled 44 mag and the recoil is uncomfortable but i am unsure as to whether or not a 357 will get the job done on a large brown bear

also is a taurus worth price/quality vs a smith

The good thing about a medium frame 44 mag pistol (S&W or Taurus) is that when you are in the boonies you can carry full power loads but when carried for personal protection, you can load it with 44 special loads. The 44 special will not recoil near as bad as the full house 44 mag but will provide excellent power. A 44 special loaded with 250 gr swc to about 900 fps will stop just about anything, man or beast and not tear you hand off while shooting it.

do you think a 4" barrel it to long for concealmeant sucj as the taurus 44tracker4ss

also i dont know much about 44 specail can you use is in any 44 mag caliber revlover

I have not traveled the road you are asking about. I consider a good .38 Spec. adequate to my needs.

From what I read I would suggest that you are asking too much from one weapon. A revolver that will be of consequence in a bear encounter is going to be a major pain to carry concealed. I suspect it will get left at home. I once owned a Ruger Super Blackhawk which I used for small game, and planned to carry for deer, in Missouri. At 145 pounds (35 years ago) that hog leg turned out to be more than I wanted to walk around with. I traded it off and never looked back.

Why not get a .44 magnum of some sort for wilderness carry and a similar revolver in a smaller format, say .357, for your other needs? I would start with the latter gun and pick up the big one when I could see that I was really going to head into the bush.

that is what i a kinda leaning to, naumann

i just wanted to see if other people felt the same way

it is kind of like wanting a sports car that is also a good hunting vehicle

im not an expert but if your carrying in alaska more than likely your going to be wearing a jacket of some sort depending on what part your from(not telling you anything you dont allready know)so a larger frame revolver with a shoulder holster is pretty comfortable. if it was me i would consider a taurus 444MULTI in 44 mag. it only weights about 28 Oz and should cover all your needs well. check it out at there web site. hey good luck let me know what you choose.<TABLE cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=0 width=660 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=left>

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For in the woods, I prefer something with a 6" barrel to put some velocity behind that bullet. For urban use, a 2" would not be a bad choice. Your right, a single all-around handgun is like buying a race horse and expecting it to pull a plow come planting season.

I lived in Alaska for a while, and part of the time I worked for the oldest gunshop in Alaska. We sold a lot of firearms to folks who spent a considerable amount of time in the bush. They generally carried one of two firearms, depending on the activity;

A .44 mag revolver with flatpoint hardcast lead or Barnes solids, and I'd say 95% of the .44s we sold were the 4" S&W 629.

Or a Remington 870 12 gauge with slugs.

Handgun was a fisherman favorite, in a shoulder holster. Why? Well, it's hard to cast a line holding a shotgun. And what's the first thing you do before you did some type of chore? (i.e. wading into the stream) Set the shotgun down! Where is it if you need it? On the OTHER side of the bear!

But....the shotgun packed the most punch, and was the most versatile, could be used on everything from bunnies to bears.

The .357 WOULD get you killed if you shot a bear with it.

My advice is basically what naumann & Marshal Kane said, "Get a town gun and a country gun!"

Howard, I have shot a few critters with both.

But I hope and pray, I never have to shoot a bear with a .44 Mag, much less a .357 Mag.

The difference between the two on medium size critters is dramatic, at best. Get a .44 and keep .44 Spcl loads for non emergency use, and a good hard cast, max performance lead for those big brown freight trains.

Or buy a M60 .357, and Ruger .480. Yeah, that's what I'd do.

howard, other than the excellent advice others have given,let me re affirm one point. DON`T GO IN BIG BEAR COUNTRY WITH 357. it would be better than 22 but you`ve got the option now to go prepared. if you could only have one mine would be 44 with alot of practice. gotta hit what you aim at. goodluck

First of all just forget the idea of a 357 for a brown bear protection gun. The minimum I would shoot would be the 44 mag.

I spent a bunch of years in Alaska during the late 70's and had one encounter with a big Grizzly that ended up with having to use a handgun, belive me you don't want a 357 is there if something else available.

You can always practice with 44 special loads in that 44 mag to become proficient shooting a big bore handgun.

Here's the handguns I carry now. The first one is a Ruger 5.5 inch 44 mag Redhawk and the second is a Taurus 41 mag Tracker 4 inch that weigh's 35 ounces. This ported gun is also available in 44 mag.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q172/faucettb/Preditor%20masters/redhawk5.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q172/faucettb/Preditor%20masters/TaurusTracker41magnum.jpg

This is a 44 mag Super Redhawk that I hunted with for years. When in Alaska I Carried a S&W 6.5 inch model 29 in a good shoulder holster whenever I was in the woods.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q172/faucettb/Preditor%20masters/RugerSRH.jpg

I'd look carefully at guns chambered in 44 mag or 545 Cusull for what your thinking about.

Howie, My personal o[pinion is, If you want a people stopper, getthe .357, if you want a bear stopper go with the .44 mag.
But if i were doing it, I would go with an old Ruger Redhawk Carry in 45 Long colt. Or even better would be a new RTuger SRH Alaskan in 454 Casull.

If you need a bear stopper, stoke it up with 454 Casull, if you want a lower recoiling gun, put some 45lc in there. the 45Lc will also do for a good bear gun just by it self.

A pistol is a poor bear stopper,but it's what I carry. A heavy hard cast in .44 or .45 could save your bacon. A 12 Ga. works best, but is un-handy.
(Bears are not generally a problem, it's the two legged 'Pole-cat' thats more likely to try to get ya)

First of all just forget the idea of a 357 for a brown bear protection gun. The minimum I would shoot would be the 44 mag.

I bowhunted elk a couple years back, in an area of MT that dumped problem grizzlies from Yellowstone, where I was hunting.

I brought my M60 .357, loaded with Penn 180gr TC's. I saw a couple of bears with pink tags in their ears. I felt naked.

Get a .44 Mag or .45 Colt loaded hot.

i have to admit im in a somewhat similar situation. im not really looking for an urban gun but i definately want something for the woods. i hunt in the upper peninsula of michigan and have encountered both bear and moose. as grizzlies are a different story i can tell you that the .357 is not a good way to go. the .44 is the best choice of the two. i was looking at a .45 and was advised against it. if you are looking for a woods gun i wouldnt go with a 2" barrel tho, i can tell you that much. take the added weight of a 6" or so and you will be much happier i think. i saw several mentions of .45lc and .454 casull's and while both not cheap to shoot, are probly going to do the job as effectively as anthing i could think of short of a .500.

Speaking of 500, the new S&W X-frame bear guns with the 2 in, barrels are pretty darn good i hear.

If you are afraid of having to fire a 500 s&W in a small package, try out Cor-Bons 500 s&W special.

The 460 version can also fire the 454 Casull and the 45Lc and the 45 schofield.... the added weight would bring the recoil down to nil....

I do not hunt Alaska, though I'd like to. But I do hunt large hog on the ground. I recently was tracking a 300+ lbs boar that had been shot at dusk by a friend. It went dark on us and we were in heavy brush. I had a flashlight in my left hand and a .38 snub-nose in my right. I was praying "let him be dead, let him be dead." cuz I didn't have enough gun if he was alive and mad.

I sold that gun the next weekend and purchased a .44 stainless SBH with 4.68" barrel. This past Saturday I wandered the same patch of brush praying "Please let me see a big boar." My prayers are not answered yet, but I no longer have any thought that I might not have enough gun. It carries well in a bianchi crossdraw which keeps it out of the way when carrying a rifle. After shooting S&W 686s and Colt Cobras for years I can tell you the .44 magnum has the authority you'd be missing with the .357, especially if you use large metplat flat-nosed hard cast bullets.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/wcsstore/SmWesson/upload/images/firearms/163503_large.jpg

that ought to take care of both missions

http://www.smith-wesson.com/wcsstore/SmWesson/upload/images/firearms/163503_large.jpg

that ought to take care of both missions
Hmmmm, a Snubby .50. Will I need ear plugs with that? :)

nah. the recoil will throw you to the ground quick enough that the pressure wave will pass right over you. Silent as far as the shooter is concerned...... ;-)

http://www.smith-wesson.com/wcsstore/SmWesson/upload/images/firearms/163503_large.jpg

that ought to take care of both missions

Wouldn't it be safer to point the barrel end at yourself and the grip end at the bear? ;)

Seems to me, what you really need is one of these Bad Boys...!!! Take your Pick... 2 1/4 through 10"


Taurus MODEL 500 RAGING BULL 500 Mag Stainless Steel
http://www.google.com/products?q=Taurus+MODEL+500+RAGING+BULL+500+Mag+St ainless+Steel&btnG=Search+Products

Guys the caliber has risen as the answer to the question posed in the first place. Why don't we all agree that the best to take into the field is on of those 16 inck guns off the Battleship Missouri.

I have been itty bitty black bear hunting, and if I was going into BIG bear country I would have a cheap used Rem 870 Express in .729 cal equipped with a folding stock slung across my back were I to go wading for fish, walking to the outhouse, or what ever. I might even have a magazine extension. I would still have a 44 around the house for possible 2 legged intruders, and I would probably carry that around town as well, and I might carry it in the woods along with the shotgun. If you get into it real close with a bear the handgun would probably be easier to use to shoot yourself with. I am 6'-2" and 250 plus these days, and anything so big it looks like it could bite me half in two in one chomp does give me pause. 12 foot + sharks do the same thing.

I'm surprised that no one suggested that he split the difference and go with the .41 magnum. It seems to me that it would have increased stopping power over the .357 and would have less recoil than the .44.

Looking at my post, I realize that I committed a forum sin - when presented with two choices, I opted for a third, unlisted choice.

Between the two if I had to pick just one gun for the job, I'd probably opt for the .44 Magnum over the .357. The way I see it, it's easier to back off of a load for the .44 to make it more manageable than it is to soup up a .357 so that it could compete with the .44. Of course carrying concealed might not be nearly as easy due to the size associated with the .44 Magnum, although Harry Callahan never seemed to have a problem with it:

Crook: [during a diner robbery] What's you doing, you pighead sucka?
Harry Callahan: Every day for the past ten years, Loretta here's been giving me a large black coffee- except today she gives me a large black coffee and it has sugar in it. Alotta sugar. I just came back to complain.
Crook: Say what, sucka?
Harry Callahan: Well, we're not just gonna let you walk out of here.
Crook: Who'se we sucka?
Harry Callahan: [slowly drawing his massive .44 Magnum which has been concealed quite well under his sport coat] Smith and Wesson... and me.

Yea get two! Go with the 4-6" in 44 Mag for the woods gun and get your self a SP101 in 357 Mag for carry! If you go strickly Ruger you could get both for under a grand new!!