Originally Posted by Fred181

Hello, I live in Alaska and do a fair amount of hiking and messing around in the woods. Problem is there are many a bear around here that would enjoy chewing on you if you interupt them. I am looking into purchasing a handgun to carry with me for protection against bears but am not sure what to go with. I have talked to a number of different people and their opinions vary widely; from a very high powered handgun or rifle on down. I am a fairly experienced shooter having been in the military and hunted/shot with friends but have never owned a gun myself. I am leaning towards something smaller (yet with decent stopping power) that I will actually carry with me rather than a heavy weapon that I will be less inclined to want to carry every where I go. Any advice from the TFP experts would be much appreciated... Thanks!

Just FYI the handguns I have experience with are: 9mm, 10mm, .357 & .454