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hodgeman,
My first 'real" encounter with a grizzly was with a 300 Win mag in my hands but even when loaded with 250 gr Barnes original bullets it became mighty small. A Super Soaker may have been an overstatement. At about 40' I decided I had to shoot it but then the bear pulled up. I didn't shoot so did not have to face an investigation from the Alaska game and fish department. The next year I showed up with a 375 H&H mag after putting a couple hundred rounds through it for familiarity and function and feel it is adequate until I get rushed again. At that point I'll look at getting an APC.
I do carry a Ruger in 454 Casull but it is more as a peace of mind thing than with any true intent. When I'm chasing ptarmigan I leave the handgun at the resort and rely only on the shotgun. If some issue arises with a bear, I'm fairly confident I can cope using an ounce of 6s at close range as the sourdoughs of old did when needed. I use an O/U generally but do carry a handful of slugs. If I'm not correct, I guess someone else will be writing my epithet. My buddy issues pepper spray to all his clients as it has been shown to be more effective than a gun in untrained hands, especially a handgun. I would carry it myself but it seems "unmanly" to not carry a hogleg and not living there, my ego and the clients confidence needs a boost somehow.

L2S,
I'm surprised you just did not fall back on that option in the first place. As another option to think of, there was a theory regarding handguns for bear protection popping up that was kind of interesting. The theory went that it may be better to carry a less powerful gun that one could shoot rapidly and accurately than a heavy one that was much harder to shoot. The 357 and 41 mags, 45 Colt, and even 44 Special with "best" hunting loads were discussed with some examples shown. The idea was to hit the bear hard enough and enough times to convince it to leave you alone, alive, not necessarily kill it though it is not an undesirable outcome. It does have some theoretical merit as it does follow the reasoning of "better with a hit from a lesser round than a miss from a huge one" but I'll pass on helping prove it.

I know from experience that it can happen and isn't what you might call satisfactory as a bird gun.

In 2000 in Tanzania we had our two buffalo in the salt the second day and wanted to play a bit, so we went francolin hunting. I was using my Valmet 412 in 12ga and 9,3X74R...a double trigger gun, rare for a Valmet. The first francolin to rise was a dead straightaway, and I centered it with a 285gr Norma Oryx at 2,350 fps. oooops...wrong trigger.

We were allowed five on our license...these were what was left.

As someone above said any pistol is a poor substitute for a REAL gun! However, I think everyone is getting the wrong idea here, the pistol is not a sub for a rifle, but an emergency weapon that is used to get a bear off you. To do that it must be short, powerful, and accessable. The Alaskan Redhawk 454 Casul is designed for just that purpose. A single action is not as good choice as a double action handgun. one needs to be able to simply pull the trigger, and not have to loosen his grip on the handgun to cock it for every shot. The extremely short barrel lets you turn this handgun around in a tight spot.
The Pepper spray is is a fools toy, and is only needed if absolutely nothing else is available. A shotgun is little better if you are discussing Coastal Brown bear, and certainly not useable with the bear mauling you.
I hunt in a place in Alaska where big brown bears walk right into your camp, and take what they want, and dare you to object. These bears are migrating back to the hills in late September from Katmai park where they have been around people all summer, and are the top of the food chain, and not impressed by a couple of hunters who don't want them to take the caribou he has just killed, and is in the process of skinning, with his rifle propped up against a tree 15 feet away, or on the bank while he is fishing. That speciality handgun needs to be on you at all times in this country. I am never unarmed in this part of Alaska, even when squatting in the alders.

A shotgun is a very poor choice against an animal that can take two or three 300 gr 375 H&H bullets and keep on keeping on! But if he suprizes you, and gets to you, you better have a little more than a prayer!