In the woods I carry a Smith and Wesson Mtn. Gun in .44 Mag. I load the first chamber with a Speer shot capsule containing about a million #9 shot.The remainder I alternate between 240 grain hard cast lead and hollowpoint.
I worry about a bear attack about as much as I worry about "tripping over a tree root or a gopher hole" and shooting myself in the head: ZERO.
What I do want to be prepared for is encounters with human criminals and the occasional squirrel (hence the shot capsule.)
I do not consider myself "irresponsible" for that.
Regards, Vince