The 6in barrel helps, but do you find the second shot a little hard to get off accurately?
With just Black bear and cougar, a .357 is plenty.
I don't have any problems with any of the shots, per se, although I shoot much slower when I use double action because I do not want to pull the weapon off target. Shooting slower worries me if I have an encounter with a large predator. I use 255 grain, semi-jacketed flat nosed bullets that I reload myself. I found they are very accurate and will penetrate bear without much problem.
Last week I won a bid for a Sig P220, 10mm. I will start carrying that as I will be able to fire single action every shot without having to cock a hammer, thus maybe saving myself if I am being charged. I should get it in the mail, through my FFL dealer, sometime next week.