I'm sorry, but all this business about .44 mags 'not being effective' just strikes me as baloney. You shoot a cow with a .44 mag loaded with a hard cast Keith bullet its going to go in its nose and come out its ass. No, a charging Grizzly will not be stopped dead in its tracks, but it sure as hell is going to mortally wounded with a well placed shot.
I'm not saying that pepper spray isn't the better option, but I just think there is some really baloney surrounding the whole bear/gun issue.
I carry a .357 Blackhawk loaded with 200gr hard cast CorBons in the outdoors. There are no grizzlys in WA. Frankly I'm more worried about meth heads than bears.
Bear in full charge, muzzle blast sends bear running:
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=uMbnmLLnsfw
Can anyone point to single confirmed instance of a bear being shot and continuing the attack?