Photo of Bella Twin and her world record grizzly.
Posted on 02/15/2012 8:43:55 AM PST by marktwain
“Grizzly Guns” by H. V. Stent
If you are planning a grizzly hunt or only dreaming of one, a big question is which rifle to use.
On that fascinating subject, I’ve been amassing information for some 40 years of living as a teacher, fruit grower and hunter in that bear paradise, British Columbia, where stories of encounters with grizzlies and brown bears are enjoyed where ever sportsmen gather and are often headlined in newspapers and television newscasts.
Such meetings sometimes result in a mauled man or shot bear, or both. A recent one ended with both man and bear dead.
Rolf Voss of Surrey, British Columbia, had shot a caribou near Fort Nelson, in the north-central part of the province, and was carrying parts of the carcass back to his camp in wooded mountain country when a grizzly, perhaps smelling the meat, attacked him. Voss got off two shots with his .270 that proved fatal to the bear, but the grizzly bit Voss about the head – they usually go for the head – and killed him. The two bodies were found side by side.
This is no reflection on the .270. That cartridge has killed many grizzlies and browns. In 1985, a fine 27-incher (total skull measurement) fell to a .270 in the hands of Roger Pentecost of Peachland, BC. In 1986, another record-class grizzly was killed by Alvars Barkis of Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania, with a .300 Magnum; and a medium-size one, about 500 pounds, was killed by 12-year-old Gary H. Holmes of Kimberly, BC, with a .25/06. Back in 1965, the world-record grizzly fell to one .30/30 bullet fired by Jack Turner. And before that, the world-record grizzly succumbed to a .22 Rimfire!
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. Which only goes to show that in an emergency, strange things are possible, but who wants that kind of emergency?
Photo of Bella Twin and her world record grizzly.
Mike
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In one other case, a prospector had a single shot .22 and a box of shorts. His dog and a griz got into a tangle, and he kept plugging away at the bear’s head with his .22 and shorts.
The bear roared at him at some point, and he popped it through the roof of the mouth into the brain and killed it.
There was also at least one case where a .22 was used to kill and elephant. It was a shot to the big arteries out of the heart. The animal was quietly shot, then the hunters waited several minutes for it to bleed out and topple over. Not exactly a quick stopper!
Amazing. I’d think that a .22 would just glance off their skull.
Proving the old adage that shot placement is more important than caliber.
ALl I know is lots of people have been killed by .22s. Besides, when the SHTF I won’t be trying to protect myself from bears. Though I WILL be protecting myself from animals.
“He was a hairy bear, He was a scary bear...”
-Bart Simpson
I read a story about a guy in Africa in the early 1900s hunting Cape Buffalo. One charged him and he turned around to get his rifle from his trusty gun bearer only to find that the gun bearer was gone. The hunter climbed a nearby tree. The Buffalo waited for him to come down. The hunter had a 22 pistol with him with something like 60 rounds. He made a dummy out of his clothes and hung it down for the Buffalo to charge at. Every time the Buffalo went by, he put a 22 into it. Fired every last cartridge and the Buffalo stood there looking at him. The guy was in the tree all night. The Buffalo was gone next morning.
Benjamin Martin: Aim small, miss small.
From the Movie: The Patriot (2000)
Pure serendipity. That bear was done in by what used to be known in some circles as a “golden BB.”
Rolf Voss of Surrey, British Columbia, had shot a caribou near Fort Nelson, in the north-central part of the province, and was carrying parts of the carcass back to his camp in wooded mountain country when a grizzly, perhaps smelling the meat, attacked him.
I wonder how close the buff was. Even on a buff, the eyes are vulnerable to a .22.
“...had a single shot .22 and a box of shorts...”
If all I had was a .22 up against a griz, I’d need a box of shorts too......
at least one change.....
- Grandpa Potts
Well, any thoughts a home invader might have of getting away from her house safely are pretty much slim and none........
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