Threads like these always bring out the worst-case-scenario folks. What if you run into a platoon of cartel hitmen armed with AK's? What if you run into an escaped circus elephant? What if the black bear is wearing a bullet-proof vest he took off a park ranger whom he ate yesterday?

I've lived in a region of the country with a very high black bear density for several decades. For health reasons, my days of cavorting in the woods are over, but for many years I carried another variant of the gun you're considering as my outdoor gun, a 649 in .357. It was the perfect package for that purpose.

When being out and about with multiple people, I usually left my EDC ammo in the gun, .38 +P hollow points. In a group, the chance of running into a bear or cougar are less than zero. When I was out by myself, I used to move quietly because I actually liked running into wildlife and maybe getting some pictures; on those occasions, where the chance of a close surprise encounter was a bit elevated, I loaded the 649 with Federal hardcast .357 loads. Now those aren't fun to shoot from a snubbie, but accurate and perfectly controllable; and even from the short barrel they punch through skin and heavy bone like a hot knife through butter. We actually tested that with heavy cow bones and skulls at a friend's farm who used to do his own slaughtering.

So I never felt undergunned. Although, the few times I actually managed to catch a glimpse of a black bear in the woods, I must admit I went toward them going for my camera, not the gun, yet never managed more than blurry pictures of fur patches beating a hasty retreat into the bushes.