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Does anyone have opinions as to the better of the three "main" magnum revolver cartidges for all around use?
I'm talking combination home defense and "shooting the bear or cougar who charges you while you're fishing" use here. (Not hunting as that goes off into a whole different technical field and I have little interest in handgun hunting). Man or beast as it were.
.357 mag is very easy for me to shoot. While the 125 gr. hollowpoint is the well known "best manstopper", I've also read a few stories of fishermen downing large bears with 158 gr. soft point factory loads.
.41 mag I know little to nothing about and my concern here is both ammo availability in remote areas and the long term availability of the cartridge. Will it be a relic in 15 years? Is this cartrige a beast to shoot? Is ammo expensive and available? IS there signifigant advantage over the .357?
.44 mag seems to be the hunters choice, but as I said, is not my area of interest. There are a few stories of bear "dispatch" with them but also of over penetration and non-stoppage of human bad guys. I also recently bought and then promptly traded a Smith 29 because I couldn't shoot the dang thing without it feeling like it was gonna jump outta my hand. While I was impressed with the power, I was dissapointed that I hated shooting it.
(Of course, in the non-magnum world, I only see the .45 long colt as even considerable for the beast part of the "man or beast" requirement. but that seems anemic when compared to the balistics of even the .357 mag. Am I wrong here?)
I'm reading alot of conflicting data about the three cartridges and I'm hoping for some opinions. Thanks.
I'm talking combination home defense and "shooting the bear or cougar who charges you while you're fishing" use here. (Not hunting as that goes off into a whole different technical field and I have little interest in handgun hunting). Man or beast as it were.
.357 mag is very easy for me to shoot. While the 125 gr. hollowpoint is the well known "best manstopper", I've also read a few stories of fishermen downing large bears with 158 gr. soft point factory loads.
.41 mag I know little to nothing about and my concern here is both ammo availability in remote areas and the long term availability of the cartridge. Will it be a relic in 15 years? Is this cartrige a beast to shoot? Is ammo expensive and available? IS there signifigant advantage over the .357?
.44 mag seems to be the hunters choice, but as I said, is not my area of interest. There are a few stories of bear "dispatch" with them but also of over penetration and non-stoppage of human bad guys. I also recently bought and then promptly traded a Smith 29 because I couldn't shoot the dang thing without it feeling like it was gonna jump outta my hand. While I was impressed with the power, I was dissapointed that I hated shooting it.
(Of course, in the non-magnum world, I only see the .45 long colt as even considerable for the beast part of the "man or beast" requirement. but that seems anemic when compared to the balistics of even the .357 mag. Am I wrong here?)
I'm reading alot of conflicting data about the three cartridges and I'm hoping for some opinions. Thanks.