dla - I haven't found any bullet pull yet, but I'll keep checking.
I swapped out the Hogues for Pachmayr Compacts. These are the only Packies I really like, and I think they are a good fit for my uses.
I graduated from girly-loads to young-woman-in-comfortable-shoes-loads. I was in Santa Fe for a trial this week and found a box of HSM .44 Magnum Cowboy loads. They are advertised as a 240 grain lead semi-wadcutter at 1150 fps.
Back out to the picturesque BLM. The HSM loads were definitely a step up from the Blazers, but still very controllable with the Packies, which cover the backstrap. I found I was shooting high - just putting the red basketball front sight in the V notch results in the top of the sight being well above the level of the rear sight. Once I concentrated on keeping a good sight picture I was right on target.
I waited a good while to be attacked by a bear, but no bruins materialized. A fresh cooking pot did wander by, and I let fly with my new loads.
I'm working my way up to some hairy-chested bear-killing carpal tunnel-inducing rounds. I'll keep y'all advised.