I use my short barrled S&W 69 mainly as 44 special home defense gun. It's everything from a mild target load up to almost 44 magnum performance in the right gun.

As far as the Charter Arms goes, I’ve got no use for one; it is a platform that limits the potential of the cartridge too much. By contrast, a GP100 loaded with BuffaloBore 255gr. hardcast SWCs is about as good as a five-shot wheelgun is going to be. At ~950fps out of a 3”barrel, it will penetrate a lot flesh and bone. I carried it as my sole handgun on my Alaska vacation last summer. Ideal for the big bears? — no, but that bullet will penetrate a skull and burrow deep into a brain if you can put it there, which is about all you can ask a handgun round to do if you’re up against something that big. Best thing was the GP100 with that load was plenty for anything lesser than that, and I was able to discreetly carry it in a strong side belt holster, under a vest or a loose shirt, the whole two weeks I was there.
Even with the top-end BB load, recoil is easily manageable, less kick than full-power.357s in a comparably sized gun. In fact, the BB load is the only round I’ve fired through the gun that has any real recoil whatsoever. If you want to load up the GP with 200gr Speer Gold Dots or 185gr. Critical Defense, have at it—- you’ve got yourself a very easy to shoot big bore that will do what you need it to do if you can shoot. I tend to lean to other options for social work, and keep the GP/.44 Special around as my “need to throw big heavy chunks of hardcast lead” option.
When I grow up, maybe I’ll get a .44 Magnum, but it will be a 4”-6.5” N-frame that’s not nearly as easy to pack..: