Been carrying a .44 SBH with 320gr Backpacker rounds for years. I spend a lotta time out West, and I can honestly state it has stopped problems on 2 occasions.
Bear Spray?
Inadvertently get between a coastal brown bear and her cubs, and report back as to how well a can of spray assuaged her instinctual rage......If you're able.

"Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly,
while bad people will find a way around the laws."
- Plato