Posted on 10/21/2020 4:51:24 AM PDT by marktwain
Bella Twin Word Record Grizzly Skull killed with .22 long from a Cooey Ace 1 single shot rifle. Screenshot from North Shore Homestead video, cropped and scaled by Dean Weingarten.
U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)-When researching incidents of firearms used to defend against bears, the surprising deadly potential of the common .22 rimfire cartridge becomes apparent. The most famous incident involving the .22 rimfire cartridge and bears is the 1953 world record grizzly bear.
It was collected by Bella Twin of Slave Lake in Alberta Canada. From my article at ammoland.com:
On 10 May, 1953, Bella Twin was hunting small game with her partner, Dave Auger, along an oil exploration cutline south of Slave Lake, in Alberta, Canada. She was 63 years old.
They saw a large grizzly bear coming toward them. Wishing to avoid an encounter, they hid off the side of the cut.
But the bear kept coming closer and closer. The bear got so close that Bella Twin thought it less risky to shoot the bear than to not shoot it. It was probably only a few yards away. Some accounts say 30 feet. Perhaps she saw it stop and start to sniff, as if it had caught their scent. We may never know.
She shot at the side of the bears head. Knowing animal anatomy very well (she was an experienced trapper, and had skinned hundreds, perhaps thousands of animals) she knew exactly where to aim to penetrate the skull at its weakest point.
(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...
If all you have is a .22, it can absolutely save your life from a grizzly attack.
Just one carefully placed shot at your companion’s knee is all it takes.
Yeah, a scope is real handy.
.22LR is deadly out to at least 300 yds.
Yep, practice is number 1.
I’ve hunted rabbits and squirrels with .22lr, usually CCI Stingers or Mini Mag, since CCI first appeared, other ammo before that. And with a .22 pistol.
Give yourself a rule. Or challenge if you want.
You cannot use that gun to hunt until you can hit a playing card 10 shots out of 10 every time, at 30 yards. My target in 1973 was a matchbook cover. 10 shots at 30 yards every time. With a Ruger Single Six .22 revolver. I hunted squirrels with it. I usually sight in a .22 rifle at 50 yards, the .243 at 150.
I use a Marlin 925 bolt action .22 now, Tasco 3x9 scope. With CCI Stingers it will hold a 1 inch group at 30 yards every time. I also snagged a pair of see thru scope mounts a while back for $1, resale shop. That lets me use open sights too. I’m not near as accurate these days, I think I held a 3 inch group with open sights. Really bad for me. I could once hit a matchbook every shot.
Note the last picture in that article. They used a cross pattern I’ve known and used for years. That same spot is good for most large animals, and for deer, aim for the base of the ear.
Before they made rimfire illegal for deer, my grandfather killed dozens of deer with .22 short, hitting them at the base of the ear. He could literally light matches with his .22 rifle. He required that kind of accuracy, my father did too. Miss and you were in trouble. Ass whipping time. And he knew how to use a belt lemme tell ya...Before I could hunt, I was required to hit a .22 cartridge box 10 shots out of 10 at about 30 yards. For a 5 year old kid, 30 yards is a good starting point. I went in the woods at age 9.
I recently got a Heritage .22/.22 mag revolver, 6.5 inch barrel. 1st time to fire it, at about 20 yards it held a 3 inch group, 17 shots. And that’s horrible, for me. 30 years ago I practiced on playing cards. Never missed, ever.
At 9 years old (barely) I was also able to disassemble, clean, oil and reassemble every gun in the house. Winchester model 12 pump 12 ga, Remington 512 single shot 22 rifle, single barrel 410. And it BETTER work right. In the woods you get one chance. Gun cleaning was my job soon as we got home every time, no exceptions. And everything got cleaned twice a year, even if it had never been touched. I still do that. Just cleaned my 16 gauge, haven’t fired it in 10 years.
The Israelis use scoped suppressed 10-22’s for crowd control. 40 grains in the leg will change a man’s plans for the day.
And she was 63!
Love the name “Bella Twin”...just sounds like someone you’d like to know.
The picture was probably taken about 10 years later.
Outdoors/Rural/wildlife/hunting/hiking/backpacking/National Parks/animals list please FR mail me to be on or off . And ping me is you see articles of interest.
You might find this funny. Back around 1977 I bought a .22 at K-mart for $30. I was sitting out in the back yard having a few beers and saw a bunny in the garden. I pulled out the gun and shot it. It leapt in the air and fell down dead. It was about 30 yards away.
I walked up to it and could see no wound, which puzzled me. Then I noticed that the eye was closed and there was a thin red blood line where the eyelids met. I flipped it over and the other eye was gone.
Obviously beginner’s luck, especially in my case. :)
I love the way she stepped up to the bear and “finished” it off. Heck of a brave woman.
What kind of ammunition did you use?
I’ve dropped a lot of beef to butcher with a .22LR. Just gotta know where to hit them The drop like a rock.
Why would anyone bring a .22 to a bear fight? !
[[I would think that for large animals like that the only thing you would want to aim for is the head.]]
Common misconception- shoot for the toenail- hope to rip it off- will cause a nasty infection that could prove deadly-
she didn’t - they were out hunting smaller game-
The bear thought the same thing when it was hunting them...!
Bear killer .22 Longs!
.
No wonder it’s So Pricey!
“The trigger is really stiff, BTW, Probably needs lubrication.”
The trigger reset spring some is problematic with some 10-22.
Drop in a adjustable Kidde trigger assembly and you are good to go. Very smooth and fast
unfortunately some bears do hunt people- it’s still pretty rare- but it does happen, especially in lean years when food is more scarce- usually the bears that ‘hunt’ people are emaciated, or sick or old-
Non-hollow point. I won’t make that mistake again. That stuff is for practice.
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