1953 World Record Bear

Delightful account of a delightful lady. I know the area does produce some sizeable grizzlies; I seen a few that would push nine feet.
 
Excellent article. I had read it before but I read it again.
 
Excellent article. I had read it before but I read it again.
 
Neat story!

In my family, there is a story of my great uncle that hunted grizzly bears with a 22.

He would hide in the willows beside the bear trail (the old boars use the old trails repeatedly, where they step in the same track on each step over the years and trail is not a flat, beaten path, but rather a series of impressions along their trail) and wait for the old boar to come along. He would have a piece of twine tied to a branch a few feet away, and as the bear approach he would squeak like a mouse and wiggle the twine causing the bush to rustle slightly. When the bear poked his head into the bush looking for a tasty morsel, my uncle would shoot the bear just behind the ear, so that the bullet would penetrate to the brain. He always got his bear!

Braver man than I!!!

I will stick to my Dad's advice; never hunt a grizzly from downhill unless there is no other option, do not shoot from more than 100 yards away except for all wounded bear, and ALWAYS give the insurance shot, even when you believe the bear to be dead! And do not walk straight up to a downed bear; approach from behind and with your rifle at the ready, throw your hat or glove at the bear before getting right up to it. It is truly the "dead ones" that will get you. He has seen bears play dead when hit with a stone or stick, come to and pounce on the hat or glove! This advice was given to him by his father too. Between the two of them they have over 90 years of guiding experience. I am not sure how many years my great grandfather guided.
 
Blkram":2br8xfnr said:
Neat story!

In my family, there is a story of my great uncle that hunted grizzly bears with a 22.

He would hide in the willows beside the bear trail (the old boars use the old trails repeatedly, where they step in the same track on each step over the years and trail is not a flat, beaten path, but rather a series of impressions along their trail) and wait for the old boar to come along. He would have a piece of twine tied to a branch a few feet away, and as the bear approach he would squeak like a mouse and wiggle the twine causing the bush to rustle slightly. When the bear poked his head into the bush looking for a tasty morsel, my uncle would shoot the bear just behind the ear, so that the bullet would penetrate to the brain. He always got his bear!

Braver man than I!!!

I will stick to my Dad's advice; never hunt a grizzly from downhill unless there is no other option, do not shoot from more than 100 yards away except for all wounded bear, and ALWAYS give the insurance shot, even when you believe the bear to be dead! And do not walk straight up to a downed bear; approach from behind and with your rifle at the ready, throw your hat or glove at the bear before getting right up to it. It is truly the "dead ones" that will get you. He has seen bears play dead when hit with a stone or stick, come to and pounce on the hat or glove! This advice was given to him by his father too. Between the two of them they have over 90 years of guiding experience. I am not sure how many years my great grandfather guided.
Every family has a crazy uncle... :wink:
 
Those are a couple of real interesting stories and I know from the little time I spent up with DrMike that even a good size grizzly print does get you to think a bit about the calibre you are carrying :wink:.
To hunt them with a 22 rim fire takes hunting to a whole other level.
Good post, thank you.

Blessings,
Dan
 
While the aforementioned elders harvested grizzly bears with 22's, I have a feeling that it was because it was the tool they had in their hands at the time.

In her shoes I would like to believe that I would have done as she had. But in my great uncle's case, I think that I will tend to stick the the tried and true "use enough gun" principle!
 
I have read that story a few times. What a horse of a bear.

Just seeing the pictures of the rifle she used is even cooler..
 
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