I would not favour hunting a large bear with a belt gun, however from a survivability point of view - to travel in bear country without one - where legal of coarse - is folly. Consider being dragged from you tent while you are trapped in a sleeping bag, consider the bear making contact with you in thick cover and you loose your primary firearm, consider a predatory camp intruder which appears when your primary firearm is out of reach, or perhaps you just plain don't see him until he's on top of you. Under these conditions a .44 or .45 revolver with heavy bullets can save you from a horrible experience - but only if you are wearing it. Consider the "Boomer Trap" below -