Consultant, I own two revolvers, a S&W 686 (4") and a 629. The 686 was my first handgun purchase and I am just as happy with it now as I was the day I bought it. It cost a little more but well worth it. There is no safety on it but the best safety is your familiarity with the gun.

1. All modern revolvers have a built-in safety device, usually a transfer bar. But M. LePetomane is correct that the very best gun-safety device is the lump of grey matter between your ears.
2. If you want to shoot a pistol, and to hit what you're shooting at, you need to do a lot of practice shooting, preferably under the tutelage of a good instructor. Pistols are not easy to shoot effectively. If you are not willing to put in the work required to become proficient and effective, wearing bells will do a lot more good than carrying a gun.
3. Any pistol that will deter a bear will deliver so much recoil to your hands and arms that one shot will be all that you'll get. You may have liked firing one or two shots with that "Dirty Harry .44 Magnum" you wrote about, but I have to ask whether you actually hit whatever it was that you were aiming at. I bet that you didn't, and "close" doesn't count.
4. Any pistol that you can conveniently carry in a jacket pocket or on a belt with shorts will not be capable of deterring a bear or killing a determined mountain lion, especially in your inexperienced hands.

Real life is not like the movies. Pistols are hard to control, and hard to hit with. The .44 Magnum delivers a lot of force, it's true, but in real-life use it delivers the exact same force out the back as it does from its front. In the movies, Clint Eastwood never really shot his big .44 with anything more powerful than three-in-one blanks.
Accurate hits beat "Magnum power," every time. A near miss from a big .44 Magnum will do absolutely nothing to stop any bear, and a marginal hit will only strengthen his resolve to tear you to shreds. Any self-respecting mountain lion will operate in exactly the same manner.
So, first of all you need to learn to shoot a pistol. Then, when you have both technique and experience, you can make a rational choice of a weapon to protect you from the larger and fiercer of Nature's critters. Crawl first; then walk; and run only after you've learned to walk really well.

get the 44 magnum
you don't have to use 44mag all the time - use 44 specials for practice or whatever

i would say get the Ruger Alaskan 44mag - 2" barrel or
any 4" DA revolver - they are all good

Stay far away from Taurus handguns. They don't measure up to S&W or Colt in quality, and they will NEVER appreciate in value.

I have a S&W 629 with a 3" bbl. Obviously, it's big enough to stop most animals, be it 4 legs or 2. I also have one with a 6" bbl., but it can be a bit long at times.

Ruger makes some okay revolvers, but tend to be a bit clunky compared to S&W or Colt. Rugers won't appreciate that much either, if at all.

Think about the quality issue this way "best value for an infrequent user ? " hopefully you may never need it for your stated purpose...BUT if you DO need it then would be one HELL of a TIME TO find out you saved a few bucks but the pistol don't work......GET THE S&W or Ruger.....

Steve M1911A1 is correct. If you do not wish to put in the time and money to properly learn how to use and maintain a side arm with enough power to work on your big animals you may wish to look into a large canister of Bear Spray for the big critters.

I currently carry the Ruger SP101 .357Magnum 3" bbl. It is a very accurate firearm as long as you practice with it. I have put probable 1500 rounds through it so far. I also have the S&W Model 629 .44Magnum 4" bbl. It is a very heavy gun and somewhat on the large side. It is a very shootable gun and I very much enjoy the power it has. As a first time gun owner I would stay away from the Ruger Alaskan in .44 Magnum in a 2" bbl. This firearm has a lot of recoil and is very hard to control for a new shooter.

Originally Posted by FloridaGuy

...I also have the S&W Model 629 .44Magnum 4" bbl. It is a very heavy gun and somewhat on the large side. It is a very shootable gun and I very much enjoy the power it has. As a first time gun owner I would stay away from the Ruger Alaskan in .44 Magnum in a 2" bbl. This firearm has a lot of recoil and is very hard to control for a new shooter.

The weight difference between the 4"-barrel S&W 629 and the 2"-barrel Ruger Alaskan can't be much, and certainly would not make the big difference in "shootability" implied by the quoted post.
I suggest that shooting a 4"-barrel .44 Magnum will be pretty unpleasant, particularly to a new shooter. I also suggest that the new shooter who hasn't practiced much will have a lot of trouble getting off a second shot, should it be necessary.
There may even be a tremendous difficulty in making hits with the first shot, due to recoil-anticipation flinch.

I repeat: Learn to shoot well first.

Steve is right get training because it does not matter what you have if you can't hit what your aiming at. Then comes the matter of you own the bullet till it stops.

Gotta say, that the most unpleasant encounter that I could ever imagine, would be one with a bear.

That being the case, I'd go to the trouble of never putting myself (or that of loved ones) in such a scenario in the first place.

If put in just such a situation, I'm thinking a 12ga. with slugs, that, and making a whole lot of noise as I was walking down the trail.

I apologize for repeating this very, very old joke:

The Ranger was addressing a group of wilderness hikers. The question had been asked, "What do we do about bears?"
"The best thing I know is to wear little bells on your clothes," the Ranger replied "The bear will hear the bells and will know that you're coming, and will avoid you. And carry pepper spray, just in case the bear gets aggressive."
"How do we know if a bear is in the area?" one of the hikers asked.
"You can tell because you'll see bear scat," said the Ranger, "and the scat will tell you whether or not the bear is a danger."
"Oh?" said a hiker, "Well, what's the difference?"
"If the bear isn't a potential danger, the scat will be full of berry seeds," the Ranger said, "but if the bear is dangerous, then the scat will have little bells in it, and it'll smell of pepper."

Originally Posted by Steve M1911A1

I apologize for repeating this very, very old joke:

The Ranger was addressing a group of wilderness hikers. The question had been asked, "What do we do about bears?"
"The best thing I know is to wear little bells on your clothes," the Ranger replied "The bear will hear the bells and will know that you're coming, and will avoid you. And carry pepper spray, just in case the bear gets aggressive."
"How do we know if a bear is in the area?" one of the hikers asked.
"You can tell because you'll see bear scat," said the Ranger, "and the scat will tell you whether or not the bear is a danger."
"Oh?" said a hiker, "Well, what's the difference?"
"If the bear isn't a potential danger, the scat will be full of berry seeds," the Ranger said, "but if the bear is dangerous, then the scat will have little bells in it, and it'll smell of pepper."

I've heard it many times, but it still rings true.

Learn to shoot, with a 460v with a 5" barrel. Recoil isn't nearly as bad as you would expect do to the ported barrel but it puts a mighty hole in the target.

A Target Is 1 Thing , Real Life Is Totally Another . Go To Many Gun Shops Ask The Same Questions As You Asked Hear "Don't Get Wrap Up In Movies" There Their For Entertainment Only ! When You Do Find What Fits Your Needs Practice , Practice, PRACTICE !