Scattered auto brass indicates what gun was used, where fired from, in which direction, how many shots fired etc. Not that I do anything illicit or mull on this stuff. But revolvers streamline any later explanations. Even with a defensive bear killing. If you remember it one way, and an investigator looking at scattered brass interprets it differently, there might be a costly misunderstanding.

NitroX, this is educated suggestion, not experience. But a .357 might be adequate planning for black bear. A 1600lb Kodiak bear or 600lb grizzly is a job for 12ga slugs or a .375 H&H. Think of facing a 400lb charging lion with a .357. You can get shots off almost as fast with a .41 or .44 as with a .357 so I don't see an advantage to the latter.