Good Lord, that would be so much overkill for personal defense! Like the 44 magnum, I consider such loads to be for large dangerous game. A 45 ACP, 45LC, or 44 spl is plenty for self defense. Interesting thing: I was watching Magnum Force the other night when Dirty Harry explained to the other shooters at the cop range that he used a "Light Special" load. I have fired 44 Spl from a S&W 29 and with a gun that heavy, it hardly kicks at all. Makes one wonder about carrying all that extra steel in that big "N" frame when a lighter, more compact weapon in 44 Spl would do. In any case, the Dirty Harry movies sold a lot of Model 29s for S&W.