More power does not equal BEST! If it did then the BEST would be the biggest. There are huge powerful rounds like the S&W 500 Mag that no one in their right mind would use for most things.
The .44 Special is one of the greatest rounds, I agree. It’s a revolver round, though. Revolvers ruled in civilian and police hands until the 1980s For the last 30 years semi-autos have been more popular.
I like the low recoil of the .44 Spec when fired in a full-size gun. I rarely fire .44mags from any of my .44mag handguns, the Spc. is just more pleasant. It would be just as effective against anything except a big bear, too.
It’s true that the .44 Spc. can also be meade in smaller guns. I have a nice 4&5/8” Super Blackhawk, but it’s just a smidgen bigger than the new retro Blackhawks made on the old frame. The slightly smaller old-frame guns are dimensionaly identical to the Colt SAA. They come in .44 special and .41 mag, but not .44 Mag. I’ve been having a hard time deciding between the two calibers. May have to get both!
Of course in a SAA or other single action you have to consider the .44/40. It maybe just as good as the .44 special. It might not be a handgun bullet per se: it was originally chambered in the Winchester 1873. Th .44/40 is the ‘gun that won the west’, and a Colt Single Action Army and Winchester rifle chambered in the same caliber was a popular frontier combination.
The .44 is the all-American caliber, for sure.
I believe you can still get revolvers in 32 20.