Carry what you can shoot.
Just because it's "bigger and badder" doesn't make something the better option if you have difficulty shooting it (or aren't very familiar with the firearm).
In (black) bear country, I carry a 9mm or .327 Federal (I have several options). They're for two-legged predators and/or Moose, more than bears.
If I'm also hunting big game, it'll be .327 Federal at a minimum*, probably .44 Mag (though .480 Ruger is on the plate now, too
).
*(Depending upon the state and/or hunting unit, .327 Federal may be the legal minimum required; or I may legally
have to step up to something bigger.)
If I'm in Wolf country, I sometimes lean toward high capacity over "power". They are pack animals, after all, and seem to run in groups of 6-12 around here. As such, the 9mm might actually get the nod over even .44 Mag.
Add Grizzlies and I'm back to big, heavy bullets. There is no factual reference or citation I can provide to back it up. But my brain says 6 rounds of heavy, wide-meplat .44 Mag (or .480 Ruger) is better than 15 rounds of 9mm.
But, out of all of my options, I never take something that I'm not confident in operating.
If I have any hesitation about the handgun, then it can't be my lifeline. It stays in the safe, while I grab something else for guard duty (my .44 Mag Super Blackhawk, even if 'only' single-action, is "old reliable" and always trusted in that regard).
I've been charged by bears 3 times. (All black bears.)
I was unarmed for three of them.
For another likely charge,
I became the aggressor and threw a big muddy tree branch at the sow and her cub (my fault for walking into it, but I had to get out of that situation - she seemed within arm's reach and it took everything I had to shift my eyes to that branch to pick it up). We went our own ways. ...As fast as each of us could run.