^ I agree. When I read the OP, to me it came across as he wants a revolver that's easy to carry, is a nice shooter, but has good effect on stopping an attacker, and is decent on bears.
I can only see the .44 Special GP100 as the one Ruger revolver that fits that philosophy of use, well for DA revolver that is. If the OP is willing to consider Single Actions, I'd say the Vaquero with the shortest barrel in .45 Colt, but I don't recommond SA revolvers for defense against people due to the slow reloads and having to pull the hammer back each time he has to shoot.
If only he'd stop walking into bear caves while he's out and about, I'd recommend any of the SP101's, probably even the 3 inch LCRx in .38, but Pond's gotta act European and make it difficult.