i'm sure it'd work, however, i'm not sure why not a 44 mag. my 15 year old daughter shoots her smith alot and i've got her shooting some really mellow hardcast loads that your son wouldn't have to worry about angle at all and would certainly do the job and i'm sure he'd handle the loads just fine as i'm sure he's bigger and stronger than she is. in fact i'm willing to bet the loads she's shooting don't kick worse than that 357 load.