Is .44 Magnum Good For Self-Defense?
Is.44 Magnum Good For Self-Defense? Bigger and MOAR POWERFUL is a good thing (right?) so is.44 Magnum for self-defense a good idea? After all, if 9mm and.45 ACP don't really have stopping power, the big ol' Maggie has to have it right? I have a near mint condition 629-6 SS.44 Magnum Mountain gun for sale. I received this gun in like new condition, and have put about 50 rds. It is in excellent condition with a barely noticible cylinder line. Locks up is very tight. It has a 4' tapered bbl., black front sight / adj.
Bigger and MOAR POWERFUL is a good thing (right?) so is .44 Magnum for self-defense a good idea? After all, if 9mm and .45 ACP don't really have stopping power, the big ol' Maggie has to have it right?
Maybe.
The whole picture is something closer to this: it will definitely work, but there are some good reasons why it's preferred for woods carry more than anything else.
Dirty Harry Had A .44 Magnum...Or DID He?!
Anytime someone brings up the .44 Magnum outside the handgun hunting realm and inevitably the topic of 'Dirty Harry' comes up.
They're part of American culture, and sure helped Smith and Wesson sell a whole lot of Model 29 pistols. At the time of the first film, they could barely give them away; sales had plummeted to the point that it was special order only since gun stores couldn't find anyone interested enough to buy one.
There are known examples of police that carried .44 Magnums in the line of duty, and .44-caliber pistols were actually pretty common until the .357 Magnum basically took over the law enforcement market. In the late 19th Century, .44-40 was something of a default pistol round and in the early 20th century, the .44 Special was gun you got if you wanted a little more 'oomph' than .38 Special, with the S&W Hand Ejector N-frame and Colt New Service revolvers being particular popular.
The funny part is that in the second film, 'Magnum Force,' it's revealed that the main character actually carries a light .44 Special as it provides more 'better control and less recoil than a .357 Magnum with wadcutters.'
Granted, that's just a movie but the thing is that .38 Special and .357 Magnum were the standards for the longest time. Why? The same reason why 9mm is the default personal protection round today.
The Typical .44 Magnum Revolver Is Enormous
The .44 Magnum revolver didn't become the default police or personal protection gun because the guns made in .357 Magnum and .38 Special (that DID become default police and personal protection guns) were easier to tote and easier to shoot.
In the 1930s, S&W released its first magnum revolver, the Registered Magnum, followed by the Highway Patrolman, a plainer and less costly version for law enforcement; today, it's known as the Model 27, one of S&W's N-Frame revolvers just like the Model 29 and other .44 Magnum pistols, which require a large frame. Police departments soon learned it was bulkier, heavier and a little more unwieldy than the Model 10 and Police Positive .38 Specials. Some opted for the bigger gun for power, others stayed with the smaller guns to make life easier.
In the 1950s, S&W and Colt both started to wise up and created medium-frame .357 Magnum revolvers. S&W created the Model 19, Colt created the Trooper and Python revolvers. These became more popular with law enforcement. Since they were easier to carry and use - and also cheaper, except for the Python - than the Registered Magnum, fewer departments issued and fewer policemen purchased the bigger gun for their sidearm.
In short, the typical .44 Magnum is a large gun. It isn't the most pleasant to carry every day and the large grips aren't favored by all shooters, at least for most people.
Is this to say you couldn't carry one every day? You definitely could; Elmer Keith's packin' gun was a 4-inch Model 29, and he wore it almost every single day for decades. As mentioned, a good number of police carried a Registered Magnum and Hand Ejector in .44 Special before that. But a lot of people didn't when given the choice.
Additionally, a lot of shooters found .357 Magnum and .38 Special more controllable. This is why .44 Magnum pistols didn't sell very well (at all) for a very long time, and also why the .41 Magnum - while definitely easier than .44 - didn't fare well commercially, along with also requiring a large-frame pistol.
In essence, a good defensive pistol has to be controllable by the user, both in terms of handling and under recoil. While a person can certainly become proficient with a .44 Magnum or other large magnum revolver, the reality is medium pistols with moderate loadings are preferred by most shooters because they're easier to manage and to carry on a daily basis.
Is There An Advantage To .44 Magnum For Self Defense?
So, there are reasons why .44 Magnum for self-defense is not as good as a smaller caliber. The pistols are worse to carry - most are almost useless for concealment - and the round is not as easy to shoot, generating far more recoil (up to twice that of a .357 Magnum depending on gun weight and loading) than traditional self-defense chamberings.
Is there something you get for that? A home-defense shotgun is far more effective than a handgun, after all, which is (arguably) worth the trade-offs of recoil, less maneuverability and so on.
Not really, no. What few studies are out there (such as this one by Greg Ellifritz) indicate that when used in this capacity, .44 Magnum doesn't really achieve significantly better overall results in a defensive capacity than 9mm, .357 Magnum or .45 ACP. Maybe it gets a few more one-shot stops, but the failure to stop rate is about the same, accuracy is about the same, fatality rate is about the same...you just don't get that much more from it.
This isn't new or controversial information, but placement remains king. If you can hit with it, it's a good self-defense round. If that's .45 ACP, great. If that's 10mm, great! If it's 9mm, great! It also isn't that .44 Magnum isn't a good round; it's actually one of the greats when used for handgun hunting, protection in the outdoors, and can definitely work in a self-defense capacity. However, a .44 Magnum will not make the best carry gun for most people.
About The Author Born in southeastern Washington State, Sam Hoober graduated in 2011 from Eastern Washington University. He resides in the great Inland Northwest, with his wife and child. His varied interests and hobbies include camping, fishing, hunting, and spending time at the gun range as often as possible. |
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I just bought the Smith Wesson mod 29 with a 6in barrel. I think it will be just fine. I have everything from 9mm 38spl 357mag and even 45acp. This is my first 44mag can't wait to shoot it. I am not sure what grain bullet to get first. Any ideals let me know.
I've been thinking about getting a 29 in either standard heavy barrel or the Mountain Gun. I want a 4 inch barrel length in whichever one I get. I plan on shooting handloads on the mild side, like 250 gr Keith bullet at about 1000 fps. So I don't think the heavy barrel will be 'required for recoil control'.I plan on using it for deer hunting and for bear protection while backpacking. (let's not start a big debate over bear protection, the 44 is better than nothing and I don't have a carry permit for a tact nuke)Got a couple questions I hope someone can help me with.What is the weight of the two models?Is there an accuracy advantage of the heavy barrel?Thanks,Happy Hunter.
Offroad,I know the 329 is nice and light. Would be really nice to backpack with. I have an SP101 23 oz all steel 357 and I don't enjoy it with standard loads.
(I shoot it with handloaded reduced 357s)I will stick with a steel 44. I do plan on shooting it a fair amount. I need to be good enough with it, to use it for hunting, so I will shoot a couple hundred a year. I really do not want to do that with a scandium 44.CKF,what do you mean the mountain gun did not shoot heavy bullets well? Was it inaccurate? Or too much recoil?
How heavy could you go and still have it do well?Thanks for the input,HH. What is the weight of the two models? Mtn Gun, 39 ounces, 4' Std bbl, 41 ounces.
Both wear Hogue grips.Is there an accuracy advantage of the heavy barrel? I have found no difference in accuracy between all my 4' 629's but the Std bbl does have less perceived recoil with all loads. My favorite is the Mtn Gun because of the light trigger pull it has due to an 11 lb Wolff rebound slide spring, and the Patridge front sight I installed. For carry tho, I prefer the 329PD.At 26 ounces,plus ammo, there is a world of difference between it and the Mtn Gun on the hip!From what you've written,my suggestion would be to go with the Std bbl and install a lighter RSS if you desire a lighter trigger. You'll never notice the difference between the Mtn Gun and the std bbl on the hip.
I've been thinking about getting a 29 in either standard heavy barrel or the Mountain Gun. I want a 4 inch barrel length in whichever one I get. I plan on shooting handloads on the mild side, like 250 gr Keith bullet at about 1000 fps. So I don't think the heavy barrel will be 'required for recoil control'.I plan on using it for deer hunting and for bear protection while backpacking. (let's not start a big debate over bear protection, the 44 is better than nothing and I don't have a carry permit for a tact nuke)Got a couple questions I hope someone can help me with.What is the weight of the two models?Is there an accuracy advantage of the heavy barrel?Thanks,Happy HunterI don't think it matters which one you get as long as it's an older gun with the hammer mounted firing pin.
Besides the difference in weight, the MG has the.44 Special contour barrel, black powder bevel on the front of the cylinder, a narrower trigger and hammer and is, IMHO, easier to carry. My 629 MG weighs in at 39 oz with the S&W X frame Hogues.
The Hogue's are a little bulkier, but are cushined and cover the back strap. If you shoot one much and I do, you will appreciate the extra padding the Hogue's give. I don't shoot 'heavy' (300 gr +) loads out of mine and I have found 240-255 grain factory rounds do pretty good.My normal 'outdoors' carry load is Double Tap's 255 gr SWC.
Their web site now shows the load to be 240 gr, but I have had mine for a number of years. My home load is Cor-bon's 165 gr HP. The MG is made to be carried and I carry mine in a Simply Rugged pancake. Hope this helps. I am a longtime 29-2 owner/shooter. Recently, at my club, there was an older fellow with a Mountain Gun.
He was shoting mild reloads in it. He said the recoil with the factory loads was too much for him, and asked If I wanted to fire it. He said great, but all I have left here are factory loads.
A box of 50 Winchester Silvertip 240gr, IIRC.Put 6 downrange. Recoil was brisk but the gun was amazingly accurate. Very consistent. End of the story. I shop up all his factory loads, and he thanked me for doing it, so it was a win-win situation.Bottom line: If I didn't already have a 4'.44 Special I'd jump on an Mountain Gun. I own both a 29-2 and a 629-2 Mountain Revolver.I shoot the 29-2 a bunch more just because it is what I carry as I did not want to put sights on a mountain revolver and beat the hell out of it in the back country.I can't tell any noticeable difference in recoil between the two with my loads which consists of a 240gr Hornady XTP running at 1170fps, or a 240gr LSWC going 1100fps.If I were looking to buy one of the two today I think my decision would be made by which gun I can find a better deal on used. Most of the.44s I come across used have been shot very little either due to recoil or ammo cost for the non reloaders.