[laea7777]

I am not set up to hand load; I don't have the space nor the money for the equipment at this time, nor the desire to devote the required attention at this time; maybe some day. Anyway, I tend to agree with the several different people who I've heard say that it's not wise to use hand loads for defense.

The Winchester 210 grain Silvertip mentioned, though less powerful than most .44 Magnum loads, is still supersonic.

To 'Sevens' - I was using the term -P colloquially, but I don't see why my concept couldn't be adopted and marketed as such. I disagree with your statement that it 'shouldn't exist'. I think it should exist, for reasons already stated. To reiterate: I would like a commercially available defense round that is between .44 Special and .44 Magnum in terms of muzzle energy but loaded in a .44 Magnum case to gain accuracy and reduce casing pressure (not a .44 Special +P). Also, your list of +P cartridges which have been standardized by SAAMI is incomplete; anyway, to say that one, whether it be an individual or a manufacturer, can't or shouldn't use the terms +P or -P simply to indicate more or less pressure, or that because it's not on your incomplete list of SAAMI +P's, that it doesn't and shouldn't exist is ridiculous. What I'm saying has nothing to do with lame marketing ploys, which I agree are simply that. I think there are several good reasons why your point, or lack thereof, is lost on your intended audience.

To all who say accuracy is not important in defensive situations, I think you are wrong. Very, very wrong.

To the point of .44 Magnum not being an ideal defense round - it would be, in my opinion, with this hypothetical, apparently non-existent load. I think that the Super Redhawk 7 1/2", chambered in .44, is potentially the most versatile handgun in the world. It will reliably shoot loads that could take anything from a snake or a bird (CCI snake shot) all the way up to a brown bear (Garrett Cartridges .44 Magnum +P), the largest known land predator in North America, and anything in between (my hypothetical load would be about right in the middle of that range); it's a soft-shooting .44 because of it's weight but not too unwieldy; it can even 'sort of' be concealed in a shoulder holster under a jacket, if necessary, by a person of average build (less so with the 9 1/2" version); it's very robust; it's easy to take apart or switch out parts. In short, it's my favorite gun / favorite handgun cartridge.

The reason I like the flat polymer plug is multifold: 1) it makes the hollow pointed bullet more aerodynamic; 2) it might increase the chance of expansion; 3) it reduces the exposure to lead when handling the cartridge if loading and unloading the firearm (but not firing it) frequently; 4) compared to the pointed tip (Leverevolution), I feel that it has less chance of causing the bullet to deflect at an unwanted angle upon impact.

Overthinking is better than under-thinking, in my opinion. Until Hornady or someone else with a similar idea to the Critical Defense line gets on board with my idea, I'll stick with the 165 grain .44 Special Critical Defense or check out the 200 grain .44 Special Speer Gold Dots mentioned (thanks) and hope that the longer barrel gets it up to about 1,000 or 1,100 fps and that my accuracy is good enough.

Thanks for your input.