[Silicon Wolverine]

felt recoil is all relative. you can shoot hot 38 spls thats as stiff a recoil as 44 spl.

velocity depnds on loadings. most facotry ammo is loaded around 750-900 fps to be safe in older handguns that are recently becoming popular. handloaders can push it past 1100 if theyre careful.

for comparisons i will solely use federal facotry ammo specs to be objective. thus 44 special in a 850 FPS loading comes closest in volocity to a number of rounds including most pistol rounds.

felt reciol is to subjective to make an accurate assesment but to me, id say its somewhere between a hot 38 and a mild 357 mag in a medium frame revolver.

if its a lb/ft power comparison youre after,

44 spl 200 gr at 850 fps 336 lb/ft
41 rem mag 210 gr at 1230 fps 705 lb/ft
357 mag 180 gr at 1080 fps 466 lb/ft
38 spl +P 180 gr at 950 fps 258 lb/ft
40 S&W 180 gr at 1000 fps 410 lb/ft
45 auto 185 gr at 950 fps 371 lb/ft
44 rem mag 180 gr at 1490 fps 887 lb/ft
45 long colt 225 gr at 830 fps 344 lb/ft

all numbers per federals website.

as you can see velocity and bullet weight have a pile to do with energy. hope this answers your question.
SW

 

[Silicon Wolverine]

38 is way more economical for plinking and genral shooting. for home defense some will say its too anemic but i carry a .22 LR for self defense an never feel undergunned so i may be biased. shoot what you like, what you;re comfortable with and what fits your budget. a 44 specail would be significantly expensive to shoot unless you reload.

SW

 

[Silicon Wolverine]

I have a beretta 21A i carry for a pocket gun, a PK-22, and a walther P-22 i usually open carry.

SW