A grizzly bear that fatally mauled a Montana man near Yellowstone National Park this spring was likely defending a moose carcass and may have continued to aggressively guard the cache . Bella Twin, a Cree Indian, and her partner, Dave Auger, were hunting small game south of Slave Lake, in Alberta, Canada. Bella was technically Larrys great aunt, Kokum to Larry. Bella Twins bear rifle was a .22 caliber single shot Cooey Ace 1. In the spring, the bears make their way down out of the mountains into the willow-choked rivers in search of newborn moose calves. H.V. At that very moment, I began to understand Bella Twins amazing story. You may have heard a story of a little 9-year old girl that shot a World Record Alaskan Brown Bear (Grizzly Bear). Ive been charged by a sow with cubs and have had bears huff at me from the brush as I walked to my stand. why couldnt she just scare it off or gently wound it, asked the Liberal snowflake. Lucky for her, her tactics worked. Bella Twins bear lost the top spot the next year, in 1954, to F. Nygaard, a commercial salmon fisherman, who shot his bear on the coast of British Columbia. Over the past several years, the area where my hunting buddies and I bait black bears has become overrun with grizzlies. It took me many years to realize that Ill likely never see an interior Alaska black bear to match it. It made him angry when he heard that some people said her companion, Dave Auger, had shot the bear. What actually happened is that in October 2001 a 22-year-old airman from Eielson Air Force Base named Ted Winnen killed a grizzly bear on Hinchinbrook Island. Theyll gut you, quarter you and the coyotes are the only ones that will ever see you again.. The 1953 High Velocity Long generated 99 foot pounds. The hunter climbed a nearby tree. My father and others observing the event said that at one point I could have patted the bear on the nose . More penetration than some common pistol rounds. Ever live on a farm? I would not shoot a bear with a 22 because it might must make him mad and then what would I do? So spot-and-stalk hunting is all but impossible, and as a rule, these bears have gotten big because they are very good at avoiding people. The very idea of shooting grizzly bears with the bow and arrow strikes most people as so absurd that they laugh at the mention of it. Saxton Pope, 1923. Rod Debias has dreamed of taking a grizzly with a bow since his father set him up with his first archery rig when he was 8-years-old. If she had modern .22 LR, she would only have needed to shoot an addition 4 shots for insurance! If I ever find anymore longs Ill put it in as my new self defense weapon. Hard to get more Canadian than that. This cookie, set by Cloudflare, is used to support Cloudflare Bot Management. We climbed into our treestands at about 10:30 p.m., just as the woods were settling down for the evening. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the It was a shot to the big arteries out of the heart. Besides, when the SHTF I wont be trying to protect myself from bears. Alaska Peninsula brown bears are among the largest types of brown bear in the world. Today its stored at the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton, too threadbare to be displayed. posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its I grew up on an Iowa farm. Taking no chances, Bella went up close and fired all of the cartridges she had, seven or eight .22 Longs, into the bears head. There was also at least one case where a .22 was used to kill and elephant. She and her husband were hiking through the woods, when they came upon a mother grizzly with a cub. In 1953, the likelihood of a trapper using Long Rifle .22 rimfire ammunition while trapping, was, well, lets say, unlikely. One of the bullets made its way completely through the skull and exited the other side. This way loud centerfire shots would not affect other Moose in the vicinity for the clients ~! It fell 7/16 of an inch short of the current overall Boone & Crockett record grizzly bear--a skull found in Alaska back in 1976 that measured 27 and 13/16 inches. They were about seven miles South of Slave Lake. I have had a few friends ask me who do you think you would hurt with that little thing, and I always say it will kill you just as dead as if I shot you with a cannon. The biggest interior grizzly bear ever killed by a bowhunter was shot in May 2009 by Pennsylvania hunter Rob Debias. Animals will often stop and sniff to try to identify a scent. Or nightmares, depending on your perspective. To endeavor to take a giant bear with a bow and arrow remains no less fantastic today than it did in Saxton Popes time. Worman asked. Bella Twin is show with the world record grizzly she killed with her single shot .22 rifle. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. This was his Mother. The largest grizzly bear ever taken by a hunter has been entered into the Boone and Crockett record book. Ill add one more speculation. After five unsuccessful hunting trips, Debias finally got his. WOW! It stood 12' 6" high at the shoulder, 14' to the top of his head. Larry died April 8, 2016, but he left behind a legacy of wonderful stories, some of which are in the process of being published by his loving wife Constance Brissenden, who is honoring him with a post-humous publication of his work. ALl I know is lots of people have been killed by .22s. Mr.Carr next time one of your friends asks you who your .22lr could possible hurt, ask them how much they would like to eat one inside 7 yards haha. A very neat skull to have, It has been a conversation piece for years! The only gun they had was Bellas single-shot bolt-action .22 Rimfire rifle. His huge front paws were raised high. The bear dropped, kicked and then lay still. They didnt believe that a tiny Cree lady could kill a giant grizzly with a single bullet from a .22, held together with chicken wire, Larry recalled. Brian Park took this number one SCI ranked common grizzly bear by a black powder hunter in August, 2005, while hunting Alaska's Game Management Unit 24. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. The story has developed some inconsistencies. She would have wanted neither the additional velocity nor the additional cost. Im a firm believer that some of our hunting memories can only be truly appreciated in time. According to Wikepedia: Because a .22 LRbullet is lesspowerfulthan larger cartridges, its danger to humans is often underestimated. This cookie can only be read from the domain they are set on and will not track any data while browsing through other sites. Provenance means the history of an object and is tied up with the story that can be told about the object. This closeup shows the penciled score. Okay, fearlesstotally. GRIZZLY BEAR-19. The bear's skull measured 27 6/16, making it the largest grizzly taken by a hunter ever recorded. They spend the hunting seasons along alder-, willow-, and brush-choked riversmosquito-infested waters with rarely more than 30 or 40 yards of visibility. some few years ago i came across a blog that told of an Inuit grandmother taking down a brown bear that was trying to claw its way into her cabin (seems ineffectually). His older brothers name was Samuel. The world-record skull was found by a hiker in 1976, and is just 7/16ths of an inch larger. They wont just kill you. At the time, it was reported that an airman hunting on Hitchcock Island killed the giant bear. MULE DEER NON-TYPICAL. The photos became an internet sensation and soon, stories appeared along with the images. The Buffalo waited for him to come down. Back in 1965, the world-record grizzly fell to one .30/30 bullet fired by Jack Turner. management. The huge grizzly was a world record in 1953. Maybe NOT, POF 5PK MP5 The Budget Reverse-Stretch Semi Auto from Pakistan, Ammo InStock: PMC Bronze 223 Rem 55 Grain FMJ Ammo 1000 Rounds $397.00 FREE S&H, Survival Deal: Thyrosafe Potassium Radioactive Iodide Tablets $21.95 FREE S&H, Gun Deals: Beretta A300 Ultima Patrol 12 Gauge Shotgun $949.00 FREE S&H, Brownells Coupon Codes www.brownells.com Updated Monthly. Reinhold, a well-known hunting guide, learned that he had shot the biggest grizzly in North America. The Bear was reported to be shot with a .22 Long. I held my bow ready to draw. This is an Alexa Analytics cookie that is used to track user behavior. The current rank in the Boone and Crockett records is number 21, along with other bears measured at 26 7/16: People have estimated the bear weighed 1,000 pounds. A 63-year-old Cree grandmother and her partner were hunting small game near Florida Lake. Debias' impressive grizzly has an initial P&Y score of 27 3/16", which is a full inch . In her mind, she had a gun and felt she needed to defend herself. Shortly after 1 a.m., all was quiet, and we were straining our ears to hear the slightest noise. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. 2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included. also: who else can say they took a bear with a 22? It wouldnt be the first choice for hunting large game, but nevertheless the lowly .22 can be seriously deadly in the hands of a moderately good shot. This was the only bear Id ever killed that actually got bigger when I walked up to him. Today, they are still among the biggest grizzlies to be recorded., The hole from the single-shot that dropped the grizzly is clearly seen in the skull, beside the right eye socket. She aimed at the weakest point in the side of the skull and fired her Cooey, loaded with a single round of .22 Long. Foil wrap campfire cooking | Make easy, tasty meals for outdoor energy. They saw a large grizzly walking the cutline toward them. "He had a pistol. Had a High Standard Sharpshooter. I talked to Constance Brissenden, wife of Larry Loyie who was grandson of Bella Twin. She and her grizzly will be talked about around campfires for many years to come. With facts like this about this entire thing how can you believe any of it ? Some folks say she tracked it, went after it. The bear's size didn't surprise at least one hunting advocate, who said the high weight was the . The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". If you are planning a grizzly hunt or only dreaming of one, a big question is which rifle to use. Not exactly a quick stopper! It had been used hard on her trapline. I wonder if she had to change shorts?????????? The test_cookie is set by doubleclick.net and is used to determine if the user's browser supports cookies. Dang! A photo of the skull showing some of the bullet holes can be accessed at: https://www.albertaoutdoorsmen.ca/record-book.html A very popular 22 calibre rifle used in Alberta in 1953 was manufactured by H. W. Cooey Machine & Arms Company in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada. My money is on it being a Cooeygood ol Canadian classic. You can see from the picture that the bullets entered the skull at very close to a right angle. This lady did the only thing that could be done with the bear in such extremely close proximity . Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. YouTube - Store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen. He observed, Bella was a good hunter, he said. It is worth noting that grizzly bear populations in Alberta are well on their way to being recovered and at some point in the future, if we can sort the facts from the politics and emotion, we may well have a chance to hunt bears as big as Bella Twins. Larry Loyie was a well-published writer. And, and they were walking along, probably hunting for rabbits or whatever. MULE DEER TYPICAL. 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.. You have entered an incorrect email address! Several times I have had to put down large hogs in the 300-400 pound range that were injured. Vimeo installs this cookie to collect tracking information by setting a unique ID to embed videos to the website. One study found that the average weight for a coastal male was around 408 kg (899 lb), and . The bear dropped, kicked and then lay still. That is often over-looked, or under-stated. Make sure to. Cant get anymore badazz than that! Who could blame her?. Dont mess with country girls. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. In her short rifle, it must have barely been much faster than Subsonic. For me, this story started at the Royal Museum of Alberta in downtown Edmonton where I was doing a piece on the value of firearms for the Canadian Firearms Journal. I wore clothing from Sitka Gear and carried a Stone . This grizzly meant a lot to me at the time, but it means even more to me now. Pure serendipity. That bear was done in by what used to be known in some circles as a golden BB.. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Quantserve sets the mc cookie to anonymously track user behaviour on the website. She paid the insurance. Dont assume a large animal is dead. She was probably behind a brush pile from the cut, or a tree. A trapper neither needed nor wanted the extra velocity of the Long Rife rimfire rounds for two reasons: undamaged pelts bring a premium dollar, and .22 Long Rife rounds were more expensivejust speculating here. Only a World's Record skull found in 1976 in Alaska was bigger than that of the nearly 9-foot bear shot and killed by Larry Fitzgerald, 35, outside Fairbanks, Alaska. The Moose would trot 40-50yds and fall dead. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Bullshit aside. A freakin 22: The 1953 World record grizzly killed by a woman with a .22 has been known for decades. I believe the bear was on all fours when it was shot. Perhaps Bella Twin and/or Dave Auger went for help. But her bear wasnt the first giant grizzly to put the town of Slave Lake on the map. I read a story about a guy in Africa in the early 1900s hunting Cape Buffalo. Somehow, more than I realized at the time, this giant of a grizzly bear had become a part of me. 13 08/16. They had a big rifle as a backup. I have to wonder if she donated her set of gigantic brass balls to the same museum after she died. he has said the gun is (in his words) in deplorable condition as BellaRead more . Cant imagine that choice of need to shoot or not and ones survival counted on it. "Analyzing contents of the bear's stomach, the Fish and Wildlife Commission established the bear had killed at least two humans in the past 72 hours, including a hiker missing two days prior. They do that before they kill you. I would NOT be out there with just a .22lr or worse, unarmed, period. She has a very solid grip as if Shannon Watts is off camera ready to snatch it from her hands. Posted: 1/5/2018 11:03:51 PM EST. 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. My Uncle Arthur, his Father also named Arthur. Explore the Big Waters of the Mighty Mississippi, Review: Kuru Quest boots fill fashion and work needs, Hunt with a flintlock rifle, then make squirrel mulligan stew, Video: Try this easy way to make effective survival firestarter, Review: Preppers Long-Term Survival Guide by Jim Cobb, Five things to know about hunting and eating snakes, Five tips for keeping your feet warm in cold weather. The hide has been tanned. However, my dad is from Slave Lake and knew these folks personally and would verify every detail. Yes! When you live and spend a lot of time hunting in Alaska, your odds of eventually having an encounter with a grizzly drift more toward the guaranteed end of the spectrum. He piled up within seconds, after covering only 30 yards. The big bruin, taken in 2013 near Fairbanks, Alaska, by Larry Fitzgerald of Fairbanks. The hunter had a 22 pistol with him with something like 60 rounds. The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net to collect statistical data such as the number of visits, average time spent on site, and what pages have been loaded, for targeted advertising. On March 8, a female elephant, aged between seven and 10 years old, was found dead near a creek in Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand. That was near Slave Lake, Alberta, and the bear Twin killed turned out to be a world record that stood for a good long time. Grizzly 399 is the most famous brown bear mother in the world, with her own Facebook and Twitter accounts. But is the diminutive cartridge good for anything but small game hunting and plinking?