actualy if you depend on any hand gun to stop a detemand charge you better be ready to meet your maker..
a handgun is a allright tool to hunt with but they are not realy stopers.

if you dont have a lot of handgun experance and cannot\will not get it go with a long gun back up.

you said "I'm not really into handguns, so my knowledge in this area is limited (although it wouldn't be that way if my wife would let me)."
so have you shot a hg? what is the bigest you have shot? how do you shot with a hg?

if you have not shot hg you need to work up to a 454.
just thnk how many people learn to shot a rifle with a 458 mag? same princile of starting off with a 454.
the only relibal stoper "man or animal is a brain shot" it stops every thing.
i do not recomend a 357. but if one could shoot it good enought to hit the skule with a load "180gr-200gr hard cast" that would pinetrat to the brain it would work.

if you are going to rely on a hand gun as a stoper try this test.
take 6 helum bloon about 6-9in around tie them up on a windy day.
at verying ranges 5 feet to abot 25.
run 50 to 100yd to get the blood pressuer. then take out you hg and see how many you hit.
when you can do that a take out all 6 as fast as you can "say 7-9sec" then you could conider it a stoper.

now i am not trying to be a "ah" but that is the only way i would call its a stoper.

now as far as cal. the bigest one you can hit with.
a 357 that you can hit with is better than a 454 that you miss every time with.

what ever cal you chose shoot it a lot.
L. O. D. Charter member and L.O.S.