Word is Lipsey has commissioned a run of Ruger GP-100's in 44 Special with a 5" barrel which got me wondering if I "need" one. I already own a GeeP in 357 with a 6" tube. What say you, if you had the choice between the two for 50ish+ yard deer would you prefer a fast 357 or a slow 44?

s4s4u,
You know me....It would be a .357

I could've done without knowing Lipsey's is having some 5" .44 Special made in the GP platform. Guess it's time to convince the wife I NEED one more.

Yep, 5" blued.

Where can these 5" .44 special revolvers be procured pray tell?

I'd go 44. Since using hardcast, I've learned heavy and slow is better than light and fast. Well, at least for me and my situations / critters.

Obviously, "both" is the correct answer here. How else could you conduct a proper comparison.

The 44 starts out at what the 357 ends up at. SOOOOOOO bigger is always better if recoil is not an issue.
BUY!BUY! BUY!

If it is deer sized game, 357 is so easy to shoot and kill stuff with....
Karl does have a good solution though

Hmmm a matching pair in 357 and 44,, since both are easy to shoot, and fun too. I lean towards the 44 SPL but have used the 357 many times.

The .44, hands down, any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Have the 3", need to order the 5".

This....

I will always fall back to the bigger bore.

Small nail, use a small hammer, big nails, use a bigger hammer. Go with the 44 special & you're covered, you can always down load a tick & be just fine.

Dick

we can debate "slightly smaller and faster vs slightly bigger and slower" all day. to debate bigger and faster is a no brainer. go 44 mag and use the 357 for what it was designed to do and that is as a defensive weapon and excellent small to medium sized game.

I'd agree, but Ruger isn't offering a GP-100 in 44 mag ;-)

I second this notion.

My opinion is based on very limited experience, but I'd say get the .44 Spl. As pretty much everyone else has said.

I always tell my wife..."buying a new gun is an investment dear." Mostly in my happiness, but that counts for something.

My blued 5" is on the way.

And I had always considered deer as medium game?

depends what your baseline is. to me elk is large but isn't close to what i call big. i consider oryx and what not as medium but i thought we were talking about what's best, not what will work. no doubt 357 works on deer, no doubt 44 is better.

Here is the OP's question.
"What say you, if you had the choice between the two for 50ish+ yard deer would you prefer a fast 357 or a slow 44?"

50 yard range, I doubt the deer is going to know the difference.
Preference!
Get what YOU want!!!

The deer will on any marginal hits.

Agreed, and I would say as much about any straight wall case (or bottleneck), depending what the definition of marginal is.

my definition on marginal is if it's hit in a way that will kill the animal but not before it makes it over the fence to the property i can't follow it on about 150 yards away, or in the case of prince of wales island, hit fatally but not soon enough to keep it from making it to the trees. not sure i understood you post or not, but what about any straight walled case?

Yeah, that straight-walled case comment has my curiosity piqued as well. I haven't found straight-walled cases lacking in terminal effectiveness in the least. It all boils down to placement and the correct bullet.

"Any straight wall case" would be ones that you would use for deer sized game, just as bottleneck cases would be the same...The ones you use to hunt with.

Tradmark, thanks for your definition of "marginal."
My point was, a bad shot is a bad shot, regardless of straight wall or bottleneck cartridges one would use for game.
I have seen animals go quite a ways with both lungs blown out while others go down quickly, and others between the two.
I would not have considered a double lung shot marginal.
When I hunted in SC, the owner of the property wanted me to double shoulder shoot all deer for the expressed purpose of not having to track them in heavy cover.

Totally agree with this: "It all boils down to placement and the correct bullet."

And the biggest truism is, every animal is a law unto itself.....

YES!

So, if we are comparing .357 mag to .44 Spl, what, exactly are we comparing? The .357 is a known quantity, but what sort of .44 Spl ammo are we comparing it to?

I would go with the 44 Special. Sounds like a great all around packin gun!

Given a choice between the two, I would go .357 Mag. Nothing against the cartridge, the .44 Spl just doesn't lift my skirt.

I'll take a 250gr cast out of a .44 Special anyday. Not knocking the .357 though. I have proven the .44 Sp over and over.

Welcome back Zee.

The problem with the .357 is - how do I put this delicately- that it's so, well, small.....

Zee made me smile......

As a poor farm boy growing up I killed everything with a single shot .22 Winchester 67. The .357 still seems like it has too much power. I did have a Contender with a .256 Win. barrel and a .44 mag. barrel but never hunted with the .44. I still prefer the .22 for most things.

He has that way...

I was hoping for a 4.2" GP100 in 44 Special, but the 5" will do. Here's a link to the Lipseys 5"

http://lipseys.com/itemdetail.aspx?itemno=RUGP-4451-5

I like the .357 and have used it on multiple whitetails. Using the proper bullet and bullet placement is the key. A 35 caliber hole through the vitals is a dead deer. I have never had a whitetail go more than 60 yards. I sight my gun dead on a 75 yards.

Well...I love both calibers. Idk 😐