And then you have this
https://www.americanhunter.org/arti...ishermen-from-raging-grizzly-with-9mm-pistol/
And then this
https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/injuries.htm
Chance of being attacked while traveling the backcountry,
1 in 232,000 people travel days.
And then this
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_bear_attacks_in_North_America#1830s
Since 2010, there have been 11 fatal Brown Bear attacks
(2 in Alaska) and 7 fatal black bear attacks
(1 in Alaska)
2000-2009, there were 16 fatal black bear attacks
(0 in Alaska) and 10 fatal brown bear attacks
(3 in Alaska)
1990-1999, there were 8 fatal black bear attacks
(1 in Alaska) and 13 fatal brown bear attacks
(6 in Alaska)
You probably have a better chance of being struck by lighting than being attacked by a bear while enjoying the outdoors. When I was younger I spent lots of time in the Adirondacks and ran into bears a lot. In fact, during the summer in the late '90's and early 2000's it was pretty much a given if you camped/hiked anywhere around Long Lake you would see a black bear. I saw some pretty big black bears. They are majestic animals that deserve respect. The bears I ran into were not afraid of humans, were used to humans and had identified humans as a food source from the poor management of landfills and garbage. I can remember as a boy scout a large black bear affectionately named "Scar Butt" strolling through Sabattis Boy Scout camp on almost a nightly basis the week I was there. (Legend has it that he was causing some problems years earlier and a Ranger scraped his rear with a .30-06. Not sure if that was true or not. I was a kid and it was a cool story, so yea, it's true.) Banging pots and pans and shouting and getting big didn't scare him off. He just sauntered along and left when he felt like it.
It wasn't unusual to find out "bear box" (that was the logic at the time, a steel box that's air tight...yea right) ripped open in the morning after a black bear feasted at night. I remember them walking through our campsites periodically at night. Had an incident one summer when a scout woke up to a loud breathing sound to find a black bear taking refuge in their Army surplus platform tent. That was interesting. I happened to be lucky enough to turn a trail coming back into camp from a day hike, not knowing what was going on, to find myself about 10 feet from a decent size young black bear eating some peanut butter. I was about 12 years old or so and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I have a lot of respect for them.
All that being said, if you told me I was going to be dropped in the Adirondacks for a month and had to survive and I could pick one gun from my collection to take with me, I'd pick my 10/22. See more squirrels than anything. Maybe my 12 gauge, but the 10/22 carries easier.
Having been literally face to face with black bears, (I admit I've never seen a brown bear in the wild) I don't think I'd feel any better with a .45-70 than I would with a 9mm if it was Po'd enough to be charging me. Frankly, since the best thing to do is fight, I might want the pistol because, even here in NY, I have 11 rounds in it, I can maneuver it easier, and I bet even if I get a round off with that .45-70, if it's not a bluff, old boy (or girl, have to be PC) is gonna be on me before I could get off shot number 2. A 9mm is loud as crud. If anything, the noise will scare them off more than actually taking rounds. If I can fire 2-4 rounds of 9mm and get 2-4 loud bangs instead of one, I'm better off. In my opinion, if it's not a bluff, it's up to God. Just my $.02, YMMV.
Ladies and Gentlemen I truly appreciate everyone's participation in this thread. It has been very enlightening and has given me some really good ideas.