My dad used to hunt bears a fair amount (3-5 times over a decade period) with a gentleman he became good friends with on some other hunt somewhere else.... his pal carried a single action .22. My dad always told the story of when he asked his pal why in the hell he bothered with a .22 as bear back up..... at which point his pal said the .22 was for him and not the bear if the bear got ahold of him!
