With regard to recoil, my 4" 500 is nearly unmanageable - and certainly no fun - with full-house loads, especially since I replaced the grips with wood. My "max" loads are now the minimum loads listed in the manuals (which still should be good for any conceivable purpose in the lower 48), and my every day load is a 440 cast bullet with Trail Boss. The latter is in many ways a silly and pointless thing, but it still is so much fun that I can't bring myself to apologize for it.
I have the rubber grips which I think are more suitable. I also started using wraps on many of my revolvers which give more girth to the grip and cushion which really mitigate recoil. More girth to the grips spreads the force across a greater surface area which helps with recoil management.
Do the grip switch. Do the wraps. You will enjoy it more.
I think wood is beautiful to behold but if it takes away from the enjoyment of shooting, then it has not done its part for you. It has made your gun less functional.
This is an older pic of my revolvers. I have a bunch more than this, now. I enjoy shooting them. But the common element is that they all have rubber grips, not wood.
I’m a shooter, not a collector so I must be practical.
As for my holster decisions, I love the comfort of my Masc Holster. It was fitted so well that it is not tight like most leather holsters.
One of my tricks is to place my revolver in a plastic grocery bag and stuff it into my holster. Overnight, it will stretch the leather enough by a few millimeters to allow for a smooth, unhindered draw. I’ve done this for dozens of my leather holsters of various guns (Glock, Sig, North American Arms, revolvers, 1911s). If it is not wide enough, I may fold over the bag, again, and stuff it into the holster or I could use a second plastic grocery bag.
As for my chest holster, I chose a Gunfighters, Inc Kenai holster for my 500 S&W. It’s a veteran run business and I always do what I can to support my fellow service member.
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