I had the impression that you wanted to hunt bear with a 357. While it could work, given the right bullet and great shot placement, it's still not what I'd want to use.
For the possibility of defensive use against them while backpacking, that changes things. Odds are you won't ever have to draw the gun. I still fall into the "bigger is better for bear" camp, but I also commonly carried my 357 when in bear country in Arizona, on the premise that a convenient 357 that was carried beat an inconvenient 44 mag that wasn't. I'd still rather have my 44, but short of cutting the barrel down it's just too long for a packing gun.
Think about your load and how tough a bears skull is, and if you have to shoot try for vitals rather than a head shot if possible.
You won't get the performance from your 6 inch barrel that the load you reported got from a Marlin rifle.
For the possibility of defensive use against them while backpacking, that changes things. Odds are you won't ever have to draw the gun. I still fall into the "bigger is better for bear" camp, but I also commonly carried my 357 when in bear country in Arizona, on the premise that a convenient 357 that was carried beat an inconvenient 44 mag that wasn't. I'd still rather have my 44, but short of cutting the barrel down it's just too long for a packing gun.
Think about your load and how tough a bears skull is, and if you have to shoot try for vitals rather than a head shot if possible.
You won't get the performance from your 6 inch barrel that the load you reported got from a Marlin rifle.