you were buying a handgun to take to the range and shoot 3-4hours at targets from 10 yards to 35-40 yards, excluding 22's, what would you get?

I am not a large framed individual (about 5ft8 and 175 lbs) so recoil will make a difference to me as far as pleasure to shoot. I also currently own a Marlin lever in 44mag/44spl and was wondering if a 4 inch barrel S&W in 44spl would do this well, but for your replies please say what YOU would get--not what you would get if you were me...
I am thinking also maybe a 357/38spl would be a fun gun to shoot at the range, cheap to shoot-yet either of these choices could be used in the woods on deer size game down at proper ranges and shot placement.

I do not reload, so factory ammo would be what I used...

What would you look for?

I'd get the 44 mag. You can shoot all day long with 44 Specials for practice and hunt with the mag. I am smaller than you, and the 44 mag beats me up after 1/2 hour of shooting. I can shoot the 44 special all day though, and it's pretty amazing how accurate it is. Cheap to reload as well.

A 6in or 7 1/2in barrel might give you more accuracy than a 4in barrel. Get a Ruger Red Hawk not the Super Red Hawk with the 7 1/2in barrel and shoot 44spl shells to tinker with and have a 44 mag for hunting with a 240 gr Gold Dot sp. A 357 is kind of small for hunting unless you are close.

If I already had a 44 mag rifle I would get a 44 mag pistol to go with.

I had a llama super comache 44 6" that was pretty cool (when I was 18). Then there is taurus or ruger or?

I would get a S&W 629 6" and shoot a lot of med vel ammo in it. It would not take long till regular 240 grain loads were a piece of cake.

When I got the llama .44 the first thing I did was buy reloading dies for it. I had been shooting it for a couple years before I ever shot a factory round in it.

If you will be shooting 3-4 hours a day your entire reloading supplies would pay for themselves by the second day. Just something to think about. < !--color-->

IF I had a 44 mag Marlin and wanted a pistol I could hunt with I would get a 44 Ruger Bisley.
My second choice would be the Ruger Super Blackhawk Hunter.
Single actions go better with leveractions.
44 gives you a wide variety of ammo choices at the most reasonable prices.

David

I reload and because of that would prefer a S&W 4" .44 Special, although a Smith .357 would be a close second and not a bad choice.

But if I had to buy my ammo, I would save a lot of money by getting a .357.

You already have the 44 carbine so a 44 revolver would be a good companion, either a Smith or a Ruger. Like the other guys say, you can shoot the magnums to hunt with and use specials for target practice. If you are more concerned about cost, the 357/38 route is cheaper and you will be able to shoot more with less recoil. This is especially so if you only shoot factory ammo. I handload 44 and 357 so cost doesn't matter so much to me.

lubbockdave
I recommend the 4" S&W 44 Mag. Just shoot 44 Special type loads in it for practice or plinking.
240 cast bullets and 7.5gr of Unique is very accurate in special or mag cases.

Since I already have a 44mag lever action I would use it for deer, and buy a Ruger old army stainless cap and ball revolver to target shoot with. Since it is black powder I would not need to reload for it and depending on what state I lived I may be able to use it deer hunting.

Swede44mag