jwp - congratulations. I happen to be a fan of the .475 Linebaugh, but I'm still not sure I would feel comfortable having it as my primary weapon.
In one of the fights I was in, stopped the bear with body shots from a .357 which did the trick just fine. The other one was stopped, much quicker with a .44 mag.
I know handguns can get the job done, but I'm still not convinced they're the correct tool for the job.
Regardless, a handgun sure beats the heck out of nothing.
