Bruin wheels
 

I'm hoping for a 2010 guided bruin hunt in the lower 48 (looking at Minnesota and North Carolina right now). I want to use a revolver, backed up with a rifle in case I need to reach out a little further. My plans right now are a .44mag single action backed up with a .45-70 levergun or a .30-06 boltgun. May go with a .375H&H since I'm hoping to head north for British Columbian grizz later on, but I'd rather not use too much gun for the bruin.

This will be my first bear. I'm no rookie to wheelgun hunting, but I'm a Kansas deerhunter and fur harvester (predator calling and running hounds for coon), so I don't have any experience with bruins.

Can anyone offer advice or recommendations on:

State to hunt in
gear I'll need
Revolver choice (is the .44mag enough for a 500-700lb bruin? Single action .44mag for grizz?)
Rifle choice (.45-70 vs. .30-06 vs. .375H&H for bruins)
Outfitters with high weights and high success rates

I'm shooting a Ruger Superblackhawk, so I can push a pretty hot round down the tube, but if need be I can easily justify stepping up to a .454, .480, or (d@mn it) .500 if the .44mag doesn't have enough stuff for heavy bruins? As I mentioned, I'm hoping to head north for grizz, and I'd LOVE to use the wheelgun for that also, so I'm already expecting to need a bigger revolver at that point.

Any advice on my revolver and rifle choices is appreciated, as well as the location and outfitters. I'm not expecting a world class bear on my first trip, but I'm hoping to put myself in the best spot to take a 500-700lb bear, any advice is appreciated!