44 magnum Home Defense/Self defense

[dontcatchmany]

I have a Smith 627 and just ordered a 629.

It dawned on me that in researching a 357 magnum I came across a lot of threads talking about the penetration of 357 magnum for Home Defense and also for personal defense.

However, I have seen nothing similar for a 44 magnum penetration through walls in the home or through a perpetrator and hitting others out in public. AND penetrating through a house to another house next door.

I would assume that the 44 magnum has comparable or greater penetration that 357 magnum.

Since my home is occupied only by my wife and I and next door neighbors are well over 150 feet away, using each caliber (4" barrels) is a probability, but I do have semi autos and 12 ga shotgun that are primary defense calibers.

What say you?

 

[Model12Win]

Are you asking us if you should use your .44 magnum for home defense?

If so, I say certainly. But, I wouldn't use magnums. Instead, load it with .44 specials. Ballistically equal to .45 ACP and less noise and blast than your .357 magnum.

But most .44 magnum loads have too much recoil, blast, and yes penetration to be suitable for that role.

Contrary to Dirty Harry (who actually admitted he carried .44 specials in his Model 29 in a later movie), the .44 magnum is a hunting caliber. It is designed to penetrate deep into large animals to kill them. There are very few if any .44 magnum loads optimized to limit penetration and offer favorable defensive shooting characteristics.

So, get a box of .44 special hollow points, such as Winchester Silver Tips, and consider yourself well armed. No magnums required.

 

[shurshot]

It might be cheaper to just hide in the closet and let the bad guys ransack your home, as opposed to buying a box of 50 .44 Special ammunition! The .44 ammo has gone up quite a bit in price over the past few years.

 

[Doyle]

I shot my 5" .44 mag one time with unprotected ears. It was outside and they still hurt an hour later. I don't even want to imagine what it would sound like inside.

 

[Dufus]

I don't even want to imagine what it would sound like inside.

Complete deafness for 20 minutes. It starts just a millisecond after the shot.

I have never witnessed a 44 fired indoors, but I have a 357. The 357 went diagonally thru a wall, diagonally thru a chest of drawers, and into another wall, then exited to the outside. No bullet was recovered.

I have fired 44 homemade bullets thru a 20" diameter willow tree and not recovered.

 

[dontcatchmany]

I am not asking if I should use 44 mag for home defens. That that is my responsibility. As I said I have other calibers for that, but would use 44 mag if necessary and have seen where some folks do use the 44 mag as personal defense..

I have just not seen the press on the 44 Magnum penetration versus all the data on the 357 Magnum penetration.

As far as hearing, I lost most of that in Vietnam many years ago. Charlie did not give us time to put on hearing protection...lol. So far have not found hearing aids that work very well except to hear wind noise.

I purchased the 44 Mag as another "toy". An "I want". Gave up hunting a long time ago. Somehow hunting 4 legged creatures is a tad different than two legged one...jk! But there is a black bear that snorts in the swamp behind us at times and we have seen it a couple of times.

Maybe the reason there is not much data about 44 magnum as a home defense caliber is that not many people use it for that purpose.

I am going to get 44 special ammo as well as 44 magnum.

Thanks! I was just wondering/doing "what if" thought processes.

 

[BBarn]

Speer's Gold Dot Short Barrel ammo is another option to consider. It's loaded well below max power and is designed to produce less blast and flash in shorter barrels.

 

[shurshot]

I carry Hornady Custom 240 grain XTP hollowpoints in my .44 magnums. It's a rip-roaring load that will level anything in North America. I wouldn't be too concerned about black bears with these loads in your sixgun. They come 20 to a box and Cabelas carrys them.

 

[CDR_Glock]

I have a Smith 627 and just ordered a 629.



It dawned on me that in researching a 357 magnum I came across a lot of threads talking about the penetration of 357 magnum for Home Defense and also for personal defense.



However, I have seen nothing similar for a 44 magnum penetration through walls in the home or through a perpetrator and hitting others out in public. AND penetrating through a house to another house next door.



I would assume that the 44 magnum has comparable or greater penetration that 357 magnum.



Since my home is occupied only by my wife and I and next door neighbors are well over 150 feet away, using each caliber (4" barrels) is a probability, but I do have semi autos and 12 ga shotgun that are primary defense calibers.



What say you?

Nice. What length barrel?

You have relative “isolation” so if you HAD to use your 44 Magnum, then I don’t see a problem. Your only tradeoff is 6 rounds of 44 versus 8 rounds of 357 Magnum. Class IIIA vests stop up to 44 Magnum. They don’t stop 454 Casull.

I’d use JHPs as opposed to hard cast lead, though.

Considering the cost of Magnum and specials are about the same, I don’t shoot Specials in mine.

Instagram: MuzzleblastMD

 

[Real Gun]

Without the flexibility to reload to suit the application, I would save the magnums for the range and the woods. Even Dirty Harry used 44 Specials. The 357s, without a custom reload, would be best fired with 38 Special, maybe +p.

Although I carry a revolver in various calibers, always when dressed, even at home, my bedroom gun is a Glock 40 S&W with a laser and a light mounted. Given some time, I could dig out an AR or a 12 GA Coach gun side-by-side. Three barky little dogs help too, buying some time with a warning. I think we've got this.

I have used a 44 Magnum rifle in cowboy action shooting, so I have a good supply of cowboy load ammo for it. It feeds magnum length better than 44 Special like I used in the Blackhawks that paired with it. I think the velocity rating is somewhere around 750 fps using Trailboss. So 44 Magnum can be as civilized as you need it to be, but you will probably have to load your own.

 

[ThomasT]

I shoot reduced loads from my Ruger Blackhawk and even a Bullseye load with 5grs behind a 240gr lead bullet has some impressive penetration. More than you would have expected. If were to use a 44 mag revolver in the home it would be with some reduced loads like a 240gr lead Hornady hollow point in a 44 mag case loaded to around 850-900fps and that should do the trick. Buts thats more of a hot 44 Special load the a mag load.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/5...n-lead-semi-wadcutter-hollow-point-box-of-200

 

[TruthTellers]

.44 is one of my least favorite calibers, but I agree with others here that if you want to use it indoors, .44 Special or .44 Mag loaded down to a hot .44 Special velocity is best.

 

[DPris]

".44 Mag" and "home defense" should never be used in the same sentence.
One hellaciously bad choice.
Denis

 

[B Cuz]

I keep a S&W 629 4" by the headboard. I like the 200 grain CCI Blazer JHP. More manageable recoil/blast and for the pocketbook. Gun balances and feeld good in my hand. I shoot it well. There is a substantial difference in these .44spl rounds and full magnum loads. Look, if I thought the intruder was a 650lb grizzly then I'd want the mag loads but not needed for the average punk nor for just shootin off the porch for fun.

 

[DPris]

If you're going to load it down, there's zero reason to buy a new .44 Mag for that use.
Denis

 

[Deaf Smith]

A good S&W 629 will do fine. Load it down a mite.

I have no complaints with my 629-1.

Deaf

 

[ThomasT]

That’s true but the OP said the gun is already ordered. Thankfully the chances he will ever need it are slim. But a full power load in the house is just way too much.

Those 200gr Blaser loads in post #14 should be about right.

 

[dontcatchmany]

The 629 and the 627 are each 4" barrels.

I like the comment above of just "shooting off the porch"...I could do that but will not. I built a pistol range in the back yard that seems to be working just fine.....and I have shot a few AR15 rifle and pistol rounds there as well as 545x39.

I do not reload. Wish I had the time, but I spend most of my time fishing......actually getting ready right now to run offshore a few miles....waiting on my coffee. Looked into reloading several years ago, but realized that even with some dollar savings long term (I have 13 hand guns and 7 rifles.....unless I lose them in a boat accident offshore) I did not need another hobby. And I am looking at lever action 44 magnum rifles maybe.

I ordered some 44 special and 44 magnum ammo yesterday evening. For starters 240 gr Fiocchi. Going to pick up some lower weight of each when I pickup the gun tomorrow to become aclimitized to what it has to offer. Never have been recoil sensitive but I do have a couple of semis that are not comfortable with arthritis in my hands......revolvers no problem....so far.

OH, if the 629 shoots as well as the 627, I will be satisfied. Shot some yesterday and pulled out a Ruger SR22 to work on grip and trigger pull. Then shot 50 rounds from the 627. The 627 recoil, as little as it was, felt somewhat like the SR22.

Thanks folks ...time to go fishing.

 

[Hal]

There's several good .44 Rem Magnum defensive offerings out there.

Federal makes a 240 grain Hydra Shok @ ~ 1200 fps.

Worlds better than any .44 spl.

The biggest problem with the .44 spl is they downgrade the weight of the bullet so they can inflate velocities and energy levels.

That makes them look great on paper, but, in the real world.....not so much...

 

[T. O'Heir]

Please reduce the size of your pictures. 1024 x 1024 pixels is too big.
150 feet is 50 yards. Target shooting distance. It's nothing to any cf handgun cartridge. Even the wee pop gun cartridges will kill at 50 yards.
"...load it with .44 Specials..." That will over penetrate too. However, it's not so much about penetrating dry wall as it is about windows and exterior doors.(that are mostly solid wood). Houses are not made entirely of dry wall. Neither are most apartment buildings. In any case, you are responsible for where any shot you fire ends up.
Lotta useless YouTube videos(guys playing with their toys) about wood and dry wall penetration. Not much about brick or concrete.