I'm considering the Aimpoint Micro H-2 for my bear bait rifle.

Are there other red dot types I should be considering and is there a friendly dealer out there?

I have one of those on an AR. It has worked fine for me. I also use Trijicon MRO's on a couple of rifles. I like those too and it seems to me they have a larger field of view. There are a lot of other choices out there that you might want to consider including SIG and Holosun.

That is an expensive option for a rifle like that. I have a venom on my coyote calling shotgun. Works great. I run Holosuns on handguns. Also great

Trijicon RMR is very robust and Gold standard.
Sig Romeo is great option

The T-2 is sort of the gold standard; it weights nothing, runs forever, has very little parallax but a pretty small POV. The MROs seem to have a much bigger FOV but the earlier MROs had wicked parallax problems, I personally experienced 5-6 inch POI shifts at 100 yards with different head positions (on early MROs). I think there is a serial number range after which they fixed the MRO parallax issues.

The big 34mm "hunting" Aimpoints are a better solution for those who will not/cannot learn to shoot binocular. The best answer is to shoot binocular, like shotgunners. H1 or H2, T1 or T2, all good.

Battery life is possibly the best Aimpoint feature, just ahead of ruggedness. My father's 20+ y/o M2 is still using the original battery (we don't keep it turned on), but the newer models are good for 10 years left on a visible setting. No kill switch, and no dead battery when you really don't want one. When an AP battery goes, it near always lets you know - and you can increase luminosity one click. People rag on the need for batteries. Tritium inserts are only good for so many years. Replacing them is not a DIY proposition. What does it cost to buy a pack of 123 or CR1032s and keep them in the fridge.

Uncorrectable astigmatism is a negative with APs, some models worse than others. Best to use a model with a larger (think 4MOA) dot.

You might also consider a prism sight, especially if you’re anal about battery failure. They use batteries for illumination, but work without them because they have etched reticles, not reflected dots. Personally, I worry more about structural or electronic failure than batteries, having experienced it a few times. As was said, batteries are cheap and easy to keep fresh.

Prisms also have the considerable advantage of a focusing ocular, hence no starry dot like many see with red dots, but have limited eye-relief, more like scopes, and most of the reticles are geared towards tactical use.

Then there are the low-power, illuminated variable scopes. A 1-4 or 1-6 is a very versatile optic, IMO.

If you decide on a red dot, get a good, reliable one for rough use.