[J.T.King]

Im pretty new to the revolver scene.

That being said, tho, There seems to be some concensus on revolvers in that any of hte quality brands are pretty darn reliable. The differences between say Ruger, S&W, and Colt are virtually insignificant so far as reliability goes.

The main difference is in accuracy (like an inch or two difference at 50 yards), weight, and in power handling. Certain frame types are able to handle more power than others, and certain grips are better able to handle hot loads than others.

It would seem to me, and again, I am somewhat new to the revolver scene (although I have owned several for over 10 years) that if I was to be looking for personal protection from bears, I would be looking for a 44mag stainless in 5-6" trim from Ruger or S&W. 454casul is a MONSTER gun and unless you REALLY want that, I think the relative power gain (as compared to say a high-powered rifle) over the 44mag is not worth the tradeoff in MASSIVE weight of the gun (usually over 3+ lbs) and complete lack of handleability for the average shooter.

As far as quality manufacturers go, if you are looking for something more exclusive and marginally more accurate than a NIB Ruger or S&W, I would have to point you to the more custom guys like Freedom Arms, Thompson Contenders, or Linebaugh. I think its questionable if you are getting more reliabiltiy with those tho, maybe even less as their tollerances are quite a bit tighterin order to raise the quality of fit and accuracy.

Please be aware, I really am not entirely qualified to be answering this question, but that is where I would start looking. Taurus has made some fine revolvers lately, but I think I would stick to the decades old, proven designs of S&W or Ruger.

Hope this helps!

JT

PS: a lot of the custom guys build their guns off of the Ruger platform to begin with, so that will let you knbow what they think of the strength and reliability of that basic package.

as usual, IMHO, FWIW, YMMV, and all that...