Anybody Carry An N-Frame?

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I carry my .327 TRR8 when working in Nevada, Arizona or any other cougar habitat. Asa result, I occasionally open carry it into gas stations and motel lobbys. It's not as comfortable as my 642 but the weight of this N-frame scandium revolver is quite managable. Even without my CT grips this is one of the best shooting weapons I own.

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twoclones wrote:

HankT wrote:

What kind of belt you using to hold up that 500, Hawk?

And what kind of holster?

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I also want to know...   I love shooting my .500 - 4" and do carry it when working anywhere I imagine a Grizzly might appear but have never tried to conceal it.

 

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Well I make my own belts. 1 3/4" 9 oz oak tanned leather sometimes I tool them but most are just a plain leather strap with a buckle. The guy in the pics below is using a 511 belt and I know a lot of people like them.

After testing a lot of holsters and even making some, I have settled on the Galco holsters. They make a few nice pancake styles that hold the firearm right where it needs to be. I have used some of their IWB holsters as well, but these days I find the pancake style more comfortable.

Interestingly with the .500 the Galco holster is not a pancake style,

but it can be worn as either a standard 3 o'clock position holster as above
or as a cross draw.

It also has two different sets of slots so you can set different cants on the belt.

They make a shoulder holster for this as well but I do not use it very often.

As for reloading for the .500 I have been using the Galco cartridge carriers.

They are not fast but they provide a few extra rounds should the need arise. But I do not use this weapon as a primary defense weapon against two legged critters so the whole mindset is different.

Regards

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After testing a lot of holsters and even making some, I have settled on the Galco holsters.

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As have I. I have a Galco holster for every handgun I carry, except for my NAA Mini, and hang them on a Galco belt. There are some other very good holsters but like you, I have settled on Galco.

I'd like to point out to anyone who is new to carrying that a good holster and beltmakes all the difference in the world. Below is a photo of my .500 S&W 4", TC Encore Pro Hunter in .500 S&W, and NAA .22 mag Mini-revolver. The little one is worn as a belt buckle for open carry Note the 'dummy cord' on my revolver... This is serious retention for work or play in the back country.



Hmmm. Would the .500 fit in at an Open Carry lunch?

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twoclones wrote:

After testing a lot of holsters and even making some, I have settled on the Galco holsters.

Click to expand...

As have I. I have a Galco holster for every handgun I carry, except for my NAA Mini, and hang them on a Galco belt. There are some other very good holsters but like you, I have settled on Galco.

I'd like to point out to anyone who is new to carrying that a good holster and beltmakes all the difference in the world. Below is a photo of my .500 S&W 4", TC Encore Pro Hunter in .500 S&W, and NAA .22 mag Mini-revolver. The little one is worn as a belt buckle for open carry Note the 'dummy cord' on my revolver... This is serious retention for work or play in the back country.

Hmmm. Would the .500 fit in at an Open Carry lunch?

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I have worn mine to two OC outings which included lunch. So I would say yes. I wore the holster in cross draw because it is more comfortable that way.

So it would seem that YOUR .500 likes "Bungee jumping".

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It may not like to bungee jump but it's certainly prepared I work in pretty remote areas of our American West and have had a couple of things influence my carry and shooting.

One was when my dog alerted me to acouger over head while I was in a very compromised position. But the time I got my balance and drew my revolver, it was gone. This really drove home for me the need to shoot well... Immediately afterwards, I bought a S&W 617 and for weeks I fired 100 rounds every morning. Wow! What a difference a little practice can make...

Next one I was working on the Idaho Wyoming border. Plenty of bear sign, frequently heard wolves near byand was often is forest and terrain I could barely push through. The thought of big bears started to eat at me so I bought the .500 S&W.

Soon after that someone sent a link to this videowhich sent me scurrying out to buyall the gear necessary to reload for the .500 so I could afford to shoot it enough to be proficient.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMbnmLLnsfw



"X" is for when N-frame isn't big enough...

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twoclones wrote:

...SNIP

"X" is for when N-frame isn't big enough...  

 

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+1 a

Exactly! I bought mine for many of the same reasons you bought yours. In fact I my first use was on a trip to recover a friend from an air-crash. There was a distinct possibility that I might have to argue with either a bear or cougar for possession of my friends remains. In my view this was not a time to have to quibble over ownership, or caliber horsepower.

I have found that all this talk about the recoil is really a lot of talk. It does recoil more than a hot .44 mag, but it is not unmanageable for someone that is not recoil sensitive. I actually modified a part from the .460 X frame to eliminate the porting on mine so I could shoot it without hot gases blowing out the top of the barrel. Now I can safely load and shoot shot loads for the occasional snake. It does not increase the recoil to unmanageable levels even without the porting. I think a lot of people were trying to increase the mystique of the gun with all this recoil talk.

Regards

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5" Smith M29 in Kramer Leather with Kramer cartridge holder.

Along with my usual stuff. I am still trying to get over Kwiknru's picture. Wow!