Phil - thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts and responses - it has been very helpful and informative.

I had an interesting conversation this week witb a couple of younger Yellowstone employees with respect to bears. They quoted statistics from some unknown source - "bear spray is 98% effective and guns are only 55% effective at stopping a grizzly charge". As a side note, one was from Ohio, the other western Kentucky. Doubt either was close to any type of bear except gummy bears which by the looks of things they were well acquainted.

Spending time around alot of black bears in the Smokys, I feel more secure with a handgun. Spending the week hiking and fishing in grizzly country, I would have felt more secure with any of my current revolvers loaded as I have them - heavy LBT style bullets. I was in streamside brush so thick I couldn't see 10 feet. Plus the wind was blowing significantly most afternoons - 20-30 mph. I really doubt you could have hit a bear with spray with the wind.

Adversity doesn't build character, it reveals it.