20 ga for black bear

[Jack]

I bird hunted, with dogs, in black bear country for a long time.
The few times I was aware of a bear in the area, what I heard was a lot of crashing in thick cover as a bear tried to skedaddle as fast as he could.
Black bears don't like dogs or people- in a woods encounter, a black bear is very unlikely to bother you unless it's a sow with cubs and you get too close to the cubs. Very, very unlikely when you're walking through the brush making noise, and so is the dog.
I would worry about something that is more statistically likely to happen- like a car accident on the way to your hunting area, being hit by lightning, bee stings, etc.