Posted on 11/17/2014 3:59:06 AM PST by marktwain
Another account says that the bear was dropped with one .22 long cartridge, but that another 7 or 8 shots were used to be sure that the bear stayed down. In my research, it appears that somewhere, there is a picture of the bear's skull, showing 8 or 9 holes. Note that a .22 long has about 10% more power than a .22 high velocity short, and a good bit less than a .22 long rifle cartridge."One of the largest grizzlies I have ever heard of was killed by an Indian woman with one shot from an old single-shot .22 Stevens rifle."
Bella Twin, an Indian girl, and her friend Dave Auger were hunting grouse near Lesser Slave Lake in northern Alberta. The only gun they had was Bella’s single-shot bolt-action .22 Rimfire rifle. They were walking a cutline that had been made for oil exploration when they saw a large grizzly following the same survey line toward them. If they ran, the bear would probably notice them and might chase, so they quietly sat down on a brush pile and hoped that the bear would pass by without trouble. But the bear came much too close, and when the big boar was only a few yards away, Bella Twin shot him in the side of the head with a .22 Long cartridge. The bear dropped, kicked and then lay still. Taking no chances, Bella went up close and fired all of the cartridges she had, seven or eight .22 Longs, into the bear’s head. That bear, killed in 1953, was the world-record grizzly for several years and is still high in the records today.Here is a close up of the rifle. It appears to be a "boys" type inexpensive .22 bolt action single shot. There does not appear to be a butt pad. The forearm is quite short. For a while, I thought it might be a Tobin, but it clearly is not.
Mark,
I was at Priest Lake Idaho once and spoke to a guy there who’d go hunting Griz with a compound bow.
I said, ok, so you take what, a Desert Eagle .50 on your side?
Nope, not allowed. Illegal to have a gun with you in Bow Season.
Bad ass or crazy, you make the call!
She and her friend are VERY fortunate that the only thing not left from that incident is the rife.
I remember reading a story of a couple US Airmen stationed in the arctic. On their time off, they decided to go polar bear hunting with an M1 Garand.
They never returned to base. A search turned up the rifle, 8 spent shell casings and a lot of blood, but no sign of the Airmen.
Sometimes those large types of grizzly bears, when they are really angry, will knock down the trees .... just saying
The rifle seems similar to a Stevens “Little Krag”, but it is hardly definitive. The stock seems to have a slight pistol grip, while the “Little Krag” has a grip shaped by the extended trigger guard.
Both.
A couple of good broadheads through the lungs, they die, just like any other mammal. It might take a few minutes.
Broadheads are so sharp these days, sometimes the animal hardly notices that it is hit. Probably feels like an insect bite or maybe a bee sting.
Windage and elevation. Windage and elevation. Simple really!
It's a shame the photo isn't a bit sharper. By the early '50s, that style of .22 rifle had been made by most of the "big" manufacturers and a number of others that had already faded into obscurity. It might be possible to narrow down the possibilities a bit, but nailing this down with full certainty is doubtful.
Dean should try to determine whether Bella has any surviving family. Regardless of the make and model, the rifle could be in someone's closet today.
What a find that would be!
WARNING
Due to the frequency of human-bear encounters, the B.C. Fish and Wildlife Branch is advising hikers, hunters, fishermen and any persons that use the out-of-doors in a recreational or work-related function to take extra precautions when in the field.
We advise outdoorsmen to wear little noisy bells on clothing so as to give advance warning to bears that might be close by so that you do not take them by surprise.
We also advise anyone using the out-of-doors to carry “Pepper Spray” with him in case of an encounter with a bear.
Outdoorsmen should also be on the watch for fresh signs of bear activity, and be able to tell the difference between black bear feces and grizzly bear feces. Black bear feces is smaller and contains lots of berries and squirrel fur. Grizzly bear shit has bells in it and smells like pepper.
You can take a grizzly down with a sling shot, if you hit just right and God willing.
2) She doesn't look like a young lady to me; whomever called her a "girl" was possibly using the word as a term of endearment reserved for uh, certain people. Politically incorrect today but acceptable in 1953.
3) Clearly God was on her side.
Fred Bear always carried a .44 mag under his coat when bow hunting.
Fred Bear shot a bear with one of his bows, the bear came at him. He grabbed for his .44 mag and his guide yelled “Don’t shoot him! He is a record!”
The bear died before he could get to Fred so Fred was given some award for taking a record bear with a bow.
In another article about a made for tv sports show, a bow hunter is after a large animal. It was mentioned there was a man with a rifle off screen just in case.
I never looked up to any professional bowhunter after that.
I read a testimony of a guy who shot a dear with a 22 Long. He thought he killed it, and was dragging it away when voila it awakened. The 22 sometimes will not penetrate the skull. But the force of the impact will knock the animal unconscious. He proceeded to kill the animal, but found his first shot embedded in the fur and skin on the OUTSIDE of the animals skull. It did not penetrate through the skull.
That must have been scary with the grizzly.
#5 The Thing from another world got them.....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.