Chris,
Alaska will honor your CT pistol permit. No problems getting the pistol there as long as you are departing from Hartford. Don't bother bringing a handgun into NY state - you will get hosed by the stat polizei.
I love Alaska. A machine gun is considered a power tool there.
As far as the 500 is concerned, I have heard preliminary reports from people that the hot cartridge has resulted in numerous cylinder and frame failures.
