I don't have any experience with either the .475L or .500L, but I seriously doubt you'd have any trouble killing anything that walks the earth with either chambering, as long as you put the bullet in the boiler room.
My sole experience with the .500s is a brief shooting session with an 8 3/8" X-frame when they first came out, and my father's newer 4" version. Both were more pleasant to shoot than I initially expected, but didn't fill a need more so than the guns I shoot now at the critters I usually hunt.
But you asked for opinions on options, so here it is:
1. 7.5" barrel---I find this the perfect balance of portability and handling in a hunting revolver.
2. Barrel band---just because it looks cool.
3. Polished cylinder and small parts; matte finish frame---no utility purpose here; it just looks cool.
So get what YOU want and can shoot accurately ,we owe that much and more to the game we hunt.
Sage advice!
