When I first tried a scoped handgun, I found what I thought was an eye relief problem was actually a FOV/magnification problem. Most often it is poor technique that prevents a quick sight acquisition but in your case I would guess a good case could be made for too much magnification also. My hunting handguns mostly have 2x scopes or at least a 2-6x variable. Even at 2x there is not much field of view compared to a rifle scope. It also helps to keep both eyes open when finding game in the scope, the off eye will help align the scope to the target. Lastly, hold is critical and it takes some practice to get the muscle memory to do this quickly every time. I have even seen this while using red dots so it is not totally a magnification issue. Most handgun scopes allow for a 9"-18" length so unless your arms are extremely short or rather long the length should not be a determining factor. If you can, try a scope with less magnification and see if that will help. A BSA pistol scope can be found for roughly $50 which you could play with to see if that helps. I wouldn't expect the scope to hold up to the .44 recoil very long but at least it will give a idea if it is the magnification or you.