You seem to indicate you want this for home defense. If that's the case, this is the wrong gun... for several reasons. First of all, a .44 Magnum is a mighty powerful gun. It has enough velocity to go clear through your house and the neighbors house if you should miss. Which brings me to point two: the liklihood that you would miss your target with this gun is high. Think about it; short barrel, probably shooting in the dark (if God forbid you're shooting at an intruder), at a relatively small and moving target.
I think for home defense you'd be much better off with a shotgun with a medium length barrel. A Mossberg 500 in 20 or 12 guage is ideal. Just the sound of racking a round in the chamber is unmistakable to any intruder. It's likely you'll never have to fire a shot and the only mess you'll have to clean up is from where your visitor wet himself as he was diving for the window.
It's a 44 special not 44 magnum, big difference. I would buy it, 44 special is easy to shoot and it's a good self-defense round. C
Just the sound of racking a round in the chamber is unmistakable to any intruder. You're right. This sound is GUARANTEED to not only give away your position to a now-terrified intruder,but if he's armed it's likely he will open fire on you right then. Racking a slide is not a real clever tactical move. Waiting until you need the gun is not the time to be loading it.