I agree with m.t. hands about the 41 Magnum. It is a fine cartridge. IMHO it is extremely close to the 44. The only shortcoming is the slightly smaller diameter bullet, which is no big deal.

However I disagree about the recoil. I believe the 357 rifle recoil is noticably less than the 44 magnum recoil. And when practicing with 38's there would barely be any noticable recoil. 44 Special's for a light (cheaper?) load would also have more recoil than your 357's. Tom.