I am definitely not on the level of the good Mr. Miculek, but I’m a lot more likely to be carrying a handgun than a rifle — there are plenty of places that bears go where it may be socially unacceptable to be carrying a long gun.

If bear spray can be deployed quickly enough it can be quite effective, and it also avoids killing bears (which I would rather not do) and any potential unpleasantness with law enforcement. With that said, if you have to kill a bear, I agree a rifle is far superior to any handgun.