I carry a pistol only if I am hunting with it. I see no reason to tote the extra weight and very very few people practice enough with a pistol to be good enough with it to protect themselves from something like a bear etc...
Face it if you can't kill it with a rifle then you ain't going to kill it with a pistol. I grew up in country with a lot of bear and cougar and I never saw an instance in which having a pistol would have been any benefit. As always, feel free to disagree and if you want to tote an extra 3-4 lbs around every day, have at it. Not a big deal if your hunting style is sitting in a stand but if you walk and hunt like I do, I don't want the weight.