for bear... 357 is eliminated unless it is all you have... but then i wouldn't go "looking" for bear with it... One of the things you'll find is that as the cartridge gets larger so does the gun frame, at least in the S&W realm... L frame 686 is perfect for me... so i carry the 357 as my sidearm... the N frame 44 is entirely too large for me to hang onto comfortably... but i don't have the largest hands in the world either... the 41 frame is marginal for me... but i've tossed it around... but the 357 is just so comfortable to shoot even with HOT hunting loads that i just keep on chuggin along with her.... longer the barrel the better if it is going to be a hunting gun....

the 357 is PLENTY for deer to 50 yds... that's my limit because that is about all my eyes will allow me to shoot accurately with open sights and keep it within 3 inches... 150 grains of Keith style SWC @ 1500+ FPS will take a deer right out of nature with the blink of an eye.... Hornady XTP and Speer Gold Dot Hunting bullets will do the same thing albiet a bit slower in the 1350 - 1400 FPS range... been there, done that, got the t-shirt... i've NEVER had to track a deer taken with a 357... mine or anyone elses... all about shot placement and tissue damage....