A Great Day to you and I hope you never find yourself on the running end of a wounded bear (Black Bear or Brown Bear). Neither is what you would call fun.

If it's Power your after The Ruger Alaskan chambered in 454 Casull is the "recommended" Bear gun on a lot of sites. While I admit the 44Mags and higher do have more punch than the 357 Magnum, personally I wouldn't be so quick to count it out. Shot placement is the key more times than power. Me personally I would never take a head shot at a bear unless I absoutly had to. Skulls are way to thick and a bear can travel quit a way with half a head. I still to this day do not understand why a head shot can take so long to kill an animal but a heart shot drops them like a stone. Anyway, I take nothing away from your shots but, well paced shots with a 357 Magnum can do more good than a fairly placed shot with a 44 Mag anyday. Most people honistly dont put in the time to practice for emergencies like the aggitated bear with an arrow in his butt. Again, practicing you contengency plan could include a trip to the range where you throw an arrow downrange then follow up with 2-3 quick "taps" from your 357 Magnum (or whatever you have at the time).
Just one man's opinion. Thanks