RE: 44 mag hunting loads
I use the 240's in my 629, but have only used mine one season, and haven't have a shot opportunity yet.
Something I noticed about the 629:
Mine came with the hogue ruber grips which I was hoping would help reduce the felt recoil somewhat since I'm not really a huge super-duper hand-cannon guy. The exposed backstrap on the N-size frames (like the 629) prevent the grip from providing the cushion I was hoping for. They, in my opinion, made it worse. The sides of the grips seem to compress during recoil, leaving the narrow metal backstrap to dig into your hand.
Changing the grips to a nice set of solid wood that provide a solid rear surface fixed the problem instantly.
I do recommend the ruber grips on other manufacturer's guns, like Rugers since their grips allow the ruber to reside between your hand and the backstrap that it trying to eat it.