LOL, your a better man than me if you can shoot a .500 Magnum accurately especially under a bear attack scenario!!! The largest I have carried and shot is a .44 Magnum. When I scouted in western Wyoming in grizzly use areas I carried a Ruger Redhawk 5.5" .44 magnum loaded with Randy Garrett 330grain Hammerheads that are rated at 1400fps out of a 7.5"bbl. That is more than enough of a handful for me and I'm a big guy that is not recoil shy. Before buying my gun I talked personally with Randy Garrett and came to the conclusion that with his loads in .44 Magnum considering the time on target recoil recovery, depth of penetration, and the actual field reports from the Montana Game Dept. that carried the load when dealing with problem grizzlies it was my best choice. Oh, there is nothing wrong with a good +P loaded .45 Colt, .454 Casull, or any of the big bore magnums. My thinking went that I wanted something I could get ammo for easily, so I could practice with, the best section density penetration ammo like the 330 grain Randy Garrett Hammerheads or Buffalo Bore 340 grain hard cast solid +P loads. You want deep penetration that can break heavy bones and still keep penetrating. Montana Game wardens who have been forced to use the 330gr. Hammerheads on frontal shots on big problem grizzly have reported penetration to the hip line. Now that is penetration on a grizzly.

Now days you can get .44 Magnums from 2.5" on up but if you are going to carry it for bear defense it has to be instantly available. I used to hunt elk in blowdown timber above Jackson Hole, Wyoming. If you bumped into a grizzly in that thick stuff it could be at hand shaking distances at worst with next to no time to think, only to react if it charges. When hunting elk I carried a custom .375 H&H rifle for that very reason with my Ruger .44 Mag on my hip. If I was lucky I might get off one shot with the rifle before a grizzly would take it away from me; then it was me and the bear one on one with the Ruger. That is why I carried it as a last ditch chance when the bear is on top of you. You want something you can control with one hand as your other arm is going to be busy trying to keep him from killing you while you fire that revolver anywhere in the chest and head you can. You don't want something that will fly out of your one hand when it is slick with your own blood. Praise God nothing ever happened!

Now believe me your first choice is always bear spray HOWEVER when you are at point blank range and you have the rifle in your hands there is no time for bear spray if the grizzly comes for you as they are scary fast.

I spent quite a few years researching this subject including discussions with James Gary Shelton, who I consider the top expert in the field of surviving Bear Attacks. I have all of his books on the subject and can't recommend them highly enough!!! I met him when he was researching my friend's death by that black bear in Colorado.

I hope this helps your decision making. Rocky

"Everyone should own a .44 Mag at some time in their life." an old Elmer Keith throwback type - me