I agree with most of the above posts. I'll keep this short as possible. IF you might encounter a grizzly, the .44 is the way to go if you can only afford one. You will need to reload though if you want to have fun at the range though as full house .44 pack quite a wallop. Those are what you want in the woods though. I'm a S&W guy, so a 629 variation in the 4"-5" will pack nicely and still have some range to it.
IF odds are that you will never see anything bigger than a black bear, a .357 will do. I'm a huge fan of the S&W 686 4". Imho, the finest combat revolver ever made. A .357 will do 90% of the time for 90% of the folks out there. It works well in the city and on the nightstand at home also. Consider a 686 plus SEVEN shooter. Seven shots of .357 mag will do the job 98% of the time.
If you're going to get a 10mm... Get a semi-auto. You can get a Glock 20 that holds 15+1. With a drop in custom barrel that will shoot Buffalo Bore bear loads, you are still at a cheaper drive out price than you would be with a new fancy .44 magnum. Plus, it's arguable that 16 rounds of 10mm on target will do as much if not more than six rounds of .44.. The Glock WILL get the job done, and you won't cry if it falls out of your holster and hits a rock while out in the woods. If that were to happen with a $700 SS revolver...
U.S. Army vet. -- Retired 25 year LEO.
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