I've never had to use a handgun on bear, but I disagree with those that say if you fail with a rifle a pistol wont help. Thats simply not true. Just recently in southern BC a conservation officer was following a wounded grizzly with a rifle. The bear nailed him and knocked the rifle out of his hands. His 9mm saved his life. Lots of other stories that are similar. I always figured that if a bear was rolling me around, a handgun strapped to my leg would come in pretty handy.
