First... you've got bears in Hawaii???
OK, now that that's out of the way, if you're contemplating having to stop a bear (or maybe a POed Samoan), while I'm a die hard fan of the .45 ACP for "normal" carry, I'd suggest you look into a .50 S&W, or a .454 Cassul. The .45 ACP is great for normal humans, but if a bear is your target, unless you're a VERY good shot, or VERY lucky, you're just gonna make it mad along with curious/hungry/whatever. Bears (and drunk/stoned/psychotic people) are pretty hard targets to either turn around or put down, and in either case, I'd suggest putting down to turning around. I don't want a mad, wounded anything coming back for some payback. If you do go with the .45 ACP, remember, if you fire one round, empty the magazine... and have a back-up (or 5) to reload with.

Troy