with the ported bbl the extra recoil shouldn't be a biggie, and I would have opted for the shorter bbl also for easier carry. just be sure to use hearing protection, between the porting and short bbl it will be loud.
A handgun will flat out damage your hearing. Thats whats wrong with my left ear now
try and find yourself some 44 special for practice and save the full 44 mag loads for hunting, it will definately not be a gun for the limpwristed or carpal tunnel types, but should be fairly easy to carry and get the job done well to 25 yd's or as far as you can hit with it.
First off Good choice for a carry in the field checking the feeders and traps, the 44 special will do ok as nacho said less power but ok for 25 yrds with that short barrel you will need practice , and a 240 keith sw a good choice, now when using 44 mag you can go up to a 300 gr bullet at 25 yrds and have a real killer,, I have a 44 mag ruger redhawk with a 7 1/2 barrel and load us both 240 and 300 grns they both do well at 80-100... I recently got a 44 mag ruger carbine semi auto it really likes 300 gr ... Aren't you reloading now, remember get either a good jacketed hollow point in either special or mag , and if loading for a lead bullet over 1000 fps use a gas check... right now i use for the 240 keith 23 gr of 4227 powder,, also 23 gr of 4227 on a hollow point copper coated instead of metal jacket in the carbine... Good Luck
