bluffhunter

Looking at purchasing revolver for protection (not hunting) when bowhunting in area of black bears, wolves, and cats. Looking at 4" ruger or smith& wesson. My question is will the 357 work with lighter recoil or get the 44 to make sure job gets done? is recoil that much different between the 2. im 5'10" 180 lbs if makes any difference. Thanks.

HEAD0001

Whenever you carry a weapon as a back up, secondary, or protection I find that ease of carry becomes a main issue. I have owned a lot of pistols and revolvers over the years that I wanted to carry for these reasons. But it always seemed like I left them behind for one reason or another. Then one day at a gun store I picked up one of the S&W 329 PD's. I could not believe how light, and thin the revolver was. I bought the revolver on the spot. I figured it would have a good bit of recoil because of how light it was. I casted a 240 grain Lyman bullet and put enough 2400 in the case to yield a good 44 Special load(about 900 fps). I could not believe how well the 329PD shot. I can hit bricks at 50 yards with no problem. And this is off handed, or in a hunting condition.

Now I carry this revolver everywhere. It is so light, and compact(for a 44 magnum) that you do not even know it is there. I call this "Carryability". I never leave this revolver behind. And I know the load I shoot is more than adequate.

If I were you I would look at a Titanium S&W in 44 magnum, and load down your ammo. Practice with it, and I am sure you will like it. I sure do. If you do not reload then just buy some 44 Special loads. Tom.

bronko22000

My opinion -If you are going to carry it a lot the 357 can be had in a smaller frame, hence lighter. But with the lighter revolver shooting full house 357 loads the recoil (control) would probably be about the same as a larger framed .44.
My choice, if it were only for carry for very close range and not for hunting, would be a 4" barreled 44. Probably a S&W 29 or Ruger Redhawk. This would be overkill on cats and wolves but would be better for bears. I personally consider the 357 too light for bear.

handloader1

I would go with a .357 Mag. You could even go with a 10mm Semi-auto. Good luck.

HOYEAH

Go with a pistol, not a revolver - more rounds. Carry something you're comfortable shooting.

bronko22000

Bluff - you were asking about a revolver. And I am going to stick by my guns (pun intended). A pistol with 10 or 15 round magazine is not going to do you any more good than a revolver in a charging bear scenerio. A bear coming at you from close range will not give you much time to unholster a handgun of any type and you would probably get one shot off at best. That is why I would recommend a big bored handgun like a 44 mag or 45 colt or bigger.
Heck, in the above situation, I would much prefer a 12 ga with slugs or buckshot.

And an even better option would be bear repellant spray. This is nasty stuff and the spray covers a lot of area.

pahntr760

You will not notice the recoil in a defensive situation. A 44 packs alot more punch then a 357. You can easily handle a 4 inch barreled 44. It's not as intense as one may think. Especially factory loads. A hot handload may be a bit too much, but you should not be too bad off.

Retaks

To be honest with you i would rather shoot a short barreled 44 Mag then a 357 anyday. The 357 seems to have more a sharp recoil to it compared to the 44 having more of a push. The 44 dose have more recoil but it is easily manageable. Its nowhere near as bad as some peole have made it out to be.