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.
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.
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.
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.