Dear Lost Sheep,
What is the prevailing choice up in your neck of the woods in AK. Here in northern ID, it seems most of the of the folks I know carry .357. We don't have as many griz as you folks.
I don't have the statistics. A thread on Alaska Outdoors would probably give you a better answer than this one:
http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/forum.php
I am partial to a high-potency bear spray Oleoresin Capsicum or UDAP. You don't have to report to the State (though it is a good idea) and are not responsible for preserving the hide and skull. Spray is easier to aim. But I think we have had this discussion before. You also leave behind you a bear less inclined to approach humans rather than a wounded, more dangerous animal.
Marlin 45-70 lever gun is right handy and quite popular.
12 Gauge with Brenneke or other hard-cast slugs has a good following, affordable and capable of multiple other tasks like home defense, bird hunting, etc.
A friend who worked for the Parks Service was given a 300 Winchester Magnum. But that shows how smart the Feds are. A bolt action for (by definition, close-up) bear defense?
But I think, among handguns, the 44 Mag and 454 Casull are the most popular.
Seriously, start a thread on
http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/forum.php or just do a search there.
The task of STOPPING a dangerous animal is totally different from hunting the same animal. Speed of presentation and speed of effect is paramount. It does no good to deliver a fatal shot to a bear if it does not die before he kills you. And the tool has to be at hand when you need it and able to deliver accurate, instinctively aimed force (lead or chemical) RIGHT NOW.
I know you know this, but others are reading and I want to be clear.
Handguns (despite Greg Brush's experience) are often not accurate or powerful enough to do the job. Greg himself was not sure at the time where the first shot went, nor how many were fired and admitted to feeling blessed, as I recall, to have come out unscathed.
Good woodscraft, knowledge of bears (and wolves, and moose, etc) will keep you out of more trouble than you will ever have to shoot or skedaddle your way out of.
Lost Sheep