Different strokes for different folks.....

On a horseback elk hunt in the Coutenays my outfitter/guide carried no sidearm, just his 7 mm Rem (Ruger). That having survived a grizzly attack: he was picked up by the ass and then dropped on the ground with the sow heavily breathing on him 'til his hunter finally shot her. No sidearm, just his claw marked hat.

On a grizzly/moose/caribou hunt north of Tok my guide only carried his Pre 64 375 H&H.

On 2 Kodiak brown bear hunts my outfitter/guide only carried his Sako .416 Rem. No sidearm. When asked about CRF he said: "When I have to shoot a bear hanging upside down from a tree I'll worry about it then." (His Sako by the way wins Miss Congeniality and is only outdone by Phil's 458 in terms of "beauty.")

On a Wrangell's grizzly and moose hunt my outfitter wore a 500 S&W in a cowboy belt (even though he has the experience (decades) it's mainly for show- carried a .44 [S&] before that). My guide for that hunt carried a Ruger 454 Casull in an across the chest (Diamond D Guide's Choice) type holster in addition to his 375 H&H.

On my Iliamna brown bear hunt my guide only carried his 458 Lott. No sidearm. My pilot did carry a .44 (? Ruger)

On my Wrangell's sheep hunt my outfitter/pilot carried a .44 (? Ruger) Guide carried no sidearm.

I really thought that Guide's Holster was neat so I bought a 500 S&W to put in it. Of course it's never left Texas, but it's put down 2 horses and 2 cows. SOB makes one helluva hole.

I'd like to say most of the bush pilots I've flown with carried .44s.

Bottom line: dealer's choice. But I'd listen to what people who do it for a living say.....

The guide on my Oct Pen brown bear hunt carried a .44 Mag Blackhawk in a chest holster; it was the Lipsey 3" version. I liked it so much I bought one myself.

A rifle in the hand is better then a handgun in the holster.

A handgun in the holster is better then a rifle left in camp or leaning against a tree 10 feet away when one is doing some else with his hands.

December 19th 2017 predatory black bear attack in northern MN. The bear attack 3 different people in two locations.

The first guy some times carried a pistol not that day.

Had a loaded shotgun behind the front door didn't do him any good.

Moral of the story is if you don't have it with you it doesn't do you any good.

This subject gets beat to death with very little input from actual experience.
A guy who carries a 44 mag for years and never used it is just experienced as a guy who carries a 458 Lott and never uses it.

I’ve seen a “few” bears die. Big ones. Mean ones. Quiet ones. Small ones. Hungry ones. Wounded ones. Every single one dies differently. Bigger guns don’t kill them any quicker. I know on paper this don’t make sense but it’s true. Why is it true...well because every shot and every bear is different so there is no way to get a solid comparison.
As for a handguns....well like another poster had said. A gun in the hand is better than any weapon that’s not. So if you need it handy, buy a handy pistol that you actually enjoy carrying and it’s not cumbersome to carry, put on, wear otherwise, it’ll be the gun on the seat of the truck when your getting the crap kicked outa ya outside. I’d take a 9mm that’s comfy over a 500 I detest. But if you love the 500 take that over the 9. Biggest you can carry that’s comfy to use will be best.

quote:

A gun in the hand is better than any weapon that’s not. So if you need it handy, buy a handy pistol that you actually enjoy carrying and it’s not cumbersome to carry, put on, wear otherwise, it’ll be the gun on the seat of the truck when your getting the crap kicked outa ya outside.

The three biggest pistols I have are a 460 S@W with a 10 inch barrel, a TC contender with a 14 inch barrel next is a 7.5 inch Red Hawk.

With a good holster and suspenders one can a carry the Red hawk out of the way and comfortably for fairly long periods of time.

The next set of handguns are much easier to do so a med frame 357, Ti 41 mag a tracker 44 mag ,Glock 23 and my full Size SR1911.

I have and do carry one of those day to day from the time I get up to the time I go to bed.

I own subcompact and true mouse guns I don't find them that much easier to carry. I would prefer something bigger if ever I would have to use it in a serious social matter.

But then I carried a full size handgun and a full duty belt that weighted around 15 lbs with all the junk on it for over 33 years. I also carried a BUG (back up gun) that was a 2.5 inch 357 or a S@W3913.

So a single hand gun with a extra mag or a few extra rounds is hardly nothing.

A good belt, holster and at this age suspenders really make it doable.