Most folks who buy a short barrelled or lightened .44 Magnum quickly grow tired of the recoil. A great example is the S&W 629 'Mountain Gun', a 4" tapered tube, partial lugged, chamfered cylinder, 39.5 oz, and bright SS N-frame. They were ~$500-$540 new two years ago, the blued 29MG that was out last year running a bit more. They make a great launch platform for .44 Specials (...and, .44 Russians!). I bought mine new... it has never seen a real .44 Magnum. It looks & feels great with Ahrend's square conversion cocobolo grips.
Another great choice - in SA - is the Ruger SBH (Super Blackhawk). I bought a new 4.6" SBH and a QPR Bird's Head Grip/frame last June and fitted same - as a 'dedicated' .44 Special. Great revolver - real fun plinker. If you do choose to run magnum rounds, don't forget to use a bronze chamber brush, Hoppes, and some elbow grease to the residue from firing the shorter cases first.
I also have a S&W Heritage 24, old 24, 296 for CC, and, my all-time favorite: a 696. That 696 is great, but has a cult following now... with somewhat inflated prices, too (It is just a 3" L-frame 5-shooter). The short barrelled 629, like the 629MG, is a better choice. Keep in mind the sparse offerings in commercial .44Special ammo... that round is a great one to reload. Welcome to the .44 Special insanity!
A great defensive round is the Speer 200gr Gold Dot .44 Special bullet either in the CCI Blazer Al cases ($13/50 at local 'AcademySports/Outdoors' chains) or the same bullet loaded by GA Arms in Starline brass for ~$18/50. After having a Blazer Al case split inmy 696 this year, I switched. They are equivalent - making 805 fps from my 2.5" 296 and 870 fps from my 4" 629MG. Speer claims the low-speed bullet opens by 800 fps.
Stainz
