Toting a 4" X-Frame?

[off road]

Product: Model S&W500

Anybody here carried a 4" .500 around for any significant amount of time? I am looking to upgrade my bear defense arsenal, and would like to add one of these. I have no serious issues currently carrying a .44 or .454 Ruger Alaskan, but it is nearly a pound lighter and 3" shorter than the big Smith.

 

[Frizzman]

I had a 4" 500 for about a year. I carried it some while hunting in the mountains. I mainly carried it in a vertical shoulder holster and it was not too bad. On the belt, it became pretty heavy and bulky and I got tired of it rapidly. I wasn't in big bear company and so the 500 was carried mainly just because I had it. If I were depending on it in the realm of big bruins I wouldn't be too worried about the weight on the hip. It definitely takes a propper holster and wide, stiff belt to support it. I also find carry of my 4" 629 on the belt for extended walking to get fairly uncomfortable with time and distance. I had a Ruger Super Redhawk in .454 and it was about as bulky as the 500 to me. So, I think that if you find the Ruger Alaskan to be comfortable then the 500 shouldn't be much of a problem to carry.

 

[off road]

When it comes down to it, I usually walk out the door with the 329NG because of the ultralight weight. But being alloy framed, I am reluctant to use the hotter loads in it, like I can use in the Ruger. Combine that with the velocity loss from the short barrel, and I am probably a little undergunned.

The .500 is overkill for the black bears where I live, but we get to grizzly country now and then.