How much bear backup, do you need? It looks like you are in Illunoise. Do you go out west and hunt? Much?
I would personally stay away from the big S$Ws mega-magnums, not just for cost, but as mentioned, for weight and blast.
Ive shot a 454 Alaskan. I'm not usually recoil sensitive, but that gun would probably make me that way. It was designed exactly for cases like the "dump shoot". In that instance, you'd probably never feel it, or if youre lucky, it'd come back and knock you out!
If you don't reload, 45 Colts, and 44Specials, are awfully expensive in my neck of the woods. Like one mentioned above, the 44specials are as much as magnums. I just don't see the real advantage in them because of that.
I carry a 4" 629 when I'm out kicking around, and find it very controllable with factory 240gr softpoints, and carryable.
I also carry a 4" 686 .357 at times. I wouldn't put the .357 out of the equation.
Although it isn't the biggest boomer out there, I'd feel comfortable defending myself against most likely encounterd creatures.
I said defending, not hunting.
A 168gr Hardcast at 1000fps is contollable and very effective.
Unlike the the bigger calibers, .38special IS cheaper to target shoot with too.