You don't reload... I hate to say this, I love the .44 Special & Russian, but... go with .38/.357M. You can buy plinker .38s any and every where - reasonably. The only reasonable 'big bore' is a .45 - a .45 ACP, to be exact. The S&W 625 is a great way to 'blast away', with a frugal, to both your pocket and your wrist (low recoil), round while actually making a big hole - and carrying a large mass - very similar to the .44 Special. The difference? 250 UMC 230gr FMJ ball ammo at Wally World - $82. I can hardly reload my brass for that (Components have gotten outrageous - and hard to find.). That is little more than .38 plinkers, too.
Now, if you do go .38/.357M - why do you want super-lite/super-hot .357Ms? If you want great protection - well subsonic but very high 'one shot stop' percentage' - try the .38 Spcl +P 158gr LHPSWC, like the Remington R38S12. This is also known as the old 'FBI load' - very effective - not much recoil in a larger steel revolver - an experience in an alloy Airweight (I carry them in my 642.). If you want to plink frugally, try the UMC .38 Specials - 130gr MC - decent plinkers at a fair price at Wally World. Save the .357Ms for 'hunting'... and be sure to clean the crud left from shooting short-cased .38s before loading .357Ms.
Below are what I feel are S&W's current 'Best Buys'. The top one is a 625JM in .45 ACP and comes equipped with those grips, while the front sight is an aftermarket - and was changed in seconds without tools. The rimless .45 Auto must be used with metal clips, aka 'moonclips', for faster reloads. Below it is the 627 Pro - an eight-shot .38/.357M that can use moonclips, if desired, although it functions fine without them. It comes with rubber grips - and a different front sight, also schanged in seconds (The two revolvers take the same sight.). It's neat having eight rounds at a time, of course. Both revolvers have a host of other standard features - and run ~$700-$720 new locally. That's a lot... but they are a one-time purchase - they'll be passed on to your children (Unless you tire of them!).
I love the .44 special - in fact, Tuesday found me at the range with my 696 - a S&W .44 Special 5-shooter (similar to the Charter Arms .44 Special). I was shooting the Special's predecessor - the .44 Russian - in a wimpy load - a 240gr LSWC at 692 fps from the 3" barrel. Mild to shoot, it still made a power factor of 166+ - over the 'Major Power Factor' minimum of 165 - a requirement for some competitions. Your 110gr .357M would have to make over 1,510 fps to equal my wimpy .44 Russians - and those .357M's would produce a brisk & mean recoil.
I hope I've helped - big and slow produces less violent recoil than lite and brisk. Choose something affordable, too.
Stainz
PF = (bullet mass in grains) X (muzzle velocity in 1,000's fps)
that'll give you a little night blindness. I wouldn't want to be looking INTO that fireball... but I'll stick with the .44 - it was good enough a hundred years ago, still is today.
