Quote:
There truly isn't ONE sidearm that does the trick. Living in Montana I have a RUGER .480 because I often horseback in Griz country, however one of my favorite sidearms is a RUGER .22 stainless with a fluted barrel.


Could not agree more!! This post was not really about a "survival sidearm". It was about a defense handgun for backpacking in bear country.

Any wheelgun .44 mag or larger (e.g. 454 Casul, .480 Ruger, .500 S&W) in a light weight version seems to answer the question asked in the original post. A .357? maybe? A 45 ACP? I would not if I was truly looking at a sidearm for defense against bears (but if you go 45 ACP, forget the Glock and get a 1911 - I like Kimber but there are many great 1911s on the market).

For a true survival side arm, I think a 22 is the way to go. Ruger and Browning both make great semi-autos. It will not ruin as much meat when used for hunting and you can probably carry 10x more ammo for the same weight.