Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada 6.5x55 vs. Grizzly

Any first hand experience, or reputable reports?

Good bad ugly? Bullet used, shot placement, range, outcome appreciated, thanks all.

I'm sure you could do it,but it wouldn't be my first choice!Don't know anybody who's done it in BC but I bet it has been done in Scandanavia,they shoot a whack of moose with the 6.5x55,and theres lots of grizzlies there, except they call them European Brown Bears.Monashee

Monashee;
Good evening to you sir, I hope this finds you well.

The question of grizzlies vs. 6.5x55 twigged a memory for me tonight, but I can't put my finger on exactly when this was.

A few years back in the Kootenays, maybe Canal Flats kinda neighborhood, a young hunter dropped a charging grizzly with a .25-06. It made the news and he and his father were interviewed on CBC radio as I recall.

A fellow down in Oliver killed a very nice Kootenay grizzly with a .308 a couple decades back too and he was intentionally hunting for them with that Model 88.

Another local fellow dropped a charging grizzly with his .270 - just above the dump here in Okanagan Falls - maybe 15 years back? We spend a lot of in that very area chasing deer every fall, but have yet to see our first grizzly there.

Now that I'm thinking of bear stories, we hunted Telegraph Creek in '87 and a fellow we ran into up there had just killed a grizzly that took a run at him - with his .30-30.

I'd hate to have to skin all the BC grizzly bears that died in front of a .303, likely shooting those old Dominion bullets with the rear crimp to keep the core from slipping - whatever they were called?

Anyway, I'm not sure what my first choice would be from our safe if I was going on a bear chase on purpose, but quite likely it would be a .308 Norma loaded with either 168gr TSX or 200gr. Partitions.

That said, I spent the whole season here save one evening, packing a .270 with 130gr. GMX bullets and I doubt any bear would feel the difference between it and our eldest daughter's 6.5x55 loaded with 130gr. TSX.

We don't worry too much about bears down here, mostly we prefer to let them worry about us.

Have a good week Monashee.

Regards,
Dwayne

In the early part of the last century,guys like Sheldon killed slews of grizzly,moose,sheep an assorted game in the Northern Rockies of Canada with the 6.5x55 or similar stuff. The Jacquot brothers who ran a Yukon outfit(IIRC)killed the same stuff with a 250 Savage.

Anectdotal but I know two guys from back here who have killed mountain grizzlies (one shot) with the 270-130 Nosler Partition,so no reason the 6.5 with good bullets would not do it.

I'll bet a buck lots of polar bears have been killed on a circumpolar basis with the 6.5x55 as well.


So there is no doubt it can be done.....just a question of are there better tools?

Based on the rate of success which has been found with the 55 FMJ and the 223 in the Mini-14, I would think a mil-spec type of ball ammo would work well enough in the 6.5. For serious pursuits with the 6.5 however, I'd probably opt for something along the lines of a 140 XFB, 130 TSX, or 160 Woodleigh. Then again, one might consider what has worked for northern people and their Hornets on the big bears: head shots. A big bear would not be a big deal with a 6.5 with proper back-up assuming one was not hesitant to give the back-up proper credit (and leeway).

Absolutely no doubt that the 6.5x55 would work,many grizzlies have been killed with small calibres,and as Dwayne says without doubt many have been taken in BC with the .303 British and ball ammo over the years.Shot placement would be critical of course,and with adequate backup,in an open enviornment there should be no problem.An up close,unexpected meeting with a big bear would leave me wanting more horsepower,I pack an 8mmRemMag,with 220gr A Frames! Monashee

BC30

Those old Dominion bullets were the KlingKore Expanding (KKSP).I still have some in 7mm. Way ahead of their time and along with the plastic tipped Sabre Tips, they had a great mechanical lock behind the cannelure made by pressing fingers of jacket material into the core. Much more positive than the Hornady interlock ring and 40 year ahead of it. A shame we never kept the company going.

As for the 6.5 on grizz, I have a 6.5 Rem Mag and with 140 partitions it has a very reliable bullet action. The regular 160 grainers that people talk about can core fail which reduces their mythical penetrating prowess. Some old 160 grain KKSP's would be just the ticket however, if any more exist on the planet.

No question Grizzlies can be killed with 6.5 and 270s but I have found the larger calibers do it better.... Bears by Ben East...a story is described by Wyoming guide Bert Bell and a client using the 264 Win Mag which ended up in a real rodeo......

Good morning;

I can't address this question directly as I've never shot a grizzly with anything... In fact, I've never seen a real live one as we don't have them in Ontario, Quebec or The Maritime Provinces.

But a family friend was travelling in Western Canada with my wife to visit our youngest son in Saskatchewan and her daughter in Alberta several years ago. They spent some time in the Jasper area and, while travelling, saw and videoed numerous black bears, and one beautiful silvertip grizzly. The grizz appeared to be female and was digging out roots from the side of a hill, then sitting in the cavity she dug while eating her lunch. This went on for nearly 1/2 hour. She then ambled off, taking her good-ole-time. I still have that vid.

The point? She appeared to be about 300 - 350 lbs, and our friend got too close (in my wife's view)but the bear was apparently easygoing about the whole deal. But, if the bear had decided our friend was getting too close, she could have been on her in a flash! (I've seen first hand how quick a black bear can be when it decides to move!)In such a scenario, for a hunter, I'd want much more than a 6.5X55!

I have perhaps more experience with blacks than the average hunter because I hunt them every year. This past season (September - October)we had a large black bear attending our baits from all signs. We heard him on one occasion. But a day after our hunt was over I received a phone call from the man who set up this hunt for us on private property. He told me the large black bear that had been seen in the area by a number of folk (and was hitting two of our baits) had just driven one of the horses on the property into the bog and had killed it.

I can't obviously speak for the West, or other hunters/guides, but I for one will never go after such a bear (mentioned in our hunt)with anything less than a 300 magnum! In my case, because I was guiding a young hunter, I carried a Marlin .45-70 with 405s at 2100 fps.

I have some experience with 6.5s also, and while I believe they will work adequately in open areas, I'd NEVER carry one for bear in the close quarters we have to contend with here in central Ontario. I've also witnessed a close friend use his .270 on a couple of bear, a 200 pounder and a 400. The 400 lb died within 30 yards of where it was shot. BUT, because it bawled 11 times (recorded on video)I was able to locate it on the edge of dark while the shooter went off to find his flashlight. The bear plunged headlong into the thickest tangle possible, and had it been any darker it would not have been found until morning as there wasn't ONE DROP of BLOOD on the ground ANYWHERE! The bullet was a 150 Nosler Partition that made a pass-through but the wound exit closed shut as soon as the bullet exited! So much for pass-throughs with a small caliber on a bear that has 4" of fat plus thick hide and long matted hair!!

On bear, I want a BIG HOLE going in, and if it never exits, it will STILL leave a massive blood trail! THAT's from experience!

Good luck on your hunt, but go get yourself at least a .30-cal.

We've heard of the plentiful successes using 6.5's, but I wonder about the failures.

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

Due to the high S.D. of the 160 gr bullets,I would not hesitate to use the 6.5x55 on grizzly. Especially if you know the gun and are very familiar with it. It would (with 160's)be a better choice than 270,280,308 etc. shooting bullets with a S.D. a lot lower, and many grizzly's are shot with those rounds each year. 30/06 shooting 200's and 220's would,to me anyways,be the next stop along the cartridge line up that would do as good or better than the 6.5 x 55 and of course after that the big magnum 338 and 375.
I would think the 6.5/160gr combo would work better than a 300 shooting 165/180 gr. I believe in a bullets S.D. and think it is an important ingredient in a cartridges make up.
Know your gun and its limit and shoot within it and you will be fine.If you feel you need more gun go to a 30/06 with 200gr+ bullets or to a 338Win mag/250gr.

My friend shot a nice grizzly with a 6.5x55 (M/38) from about 50 yards. The bear stood up on its hind legs to survey the situation - the brush was about waist high - and the shot went straight into the chest. The bear turned to run away while dropping and made it less than 50 yards before giving up the ghost. The ammunition was cheap Privi Partisan soft point.

My Mom's uncle left for the lumber yards in Canada when he was a young man, there were documents of him killing 100+ moose and over 50 grizzly bear with nothing more than a 30-30. When he passed away my father went to get the rifle only to find that someone had broken into his cabin and stole the rifle.

Kev

Where do you guys aim - prefer to hit them, whether on a calm animal, or even one were coming at you?

Thanks for the posts.

A couple of questions come to mind: 1)What is a "nice grizzly", and 2)What if that grizzly had been big and tough enough to drop down and come for the hunter, 50 yards away, since the bear was in waist-high brush that would have posed a possible serious threat to the hunter, no?

About killing 100+ moose and 50 grizzly with a .30-30... Those were days and times in which better armament was in short supply, and hunters were not sportsmen or hobbyists... you're not suggesting that with much better cartridges available today that hobbyists should try that, are you? I hope not. If your point is, if that's all you have and are caught in a wilderness area with a .30-30, then you had better know how to use it, that's for sure!

I know a fellow (NOT "know of...)who went on a western trip from Ontario with his family. They camped somewhere in the Rockies... and it was hunting season. I know nothing about the details of that, but a grizzly shows up in camp, getting too close. He had his .303 Brit along with a 10 shot clip loaded. He UNloaded all 10 shots into the grizz and it was still making hast in his direction. It finally dropped dead a few feet away, and he was shooting in an open area.

I also KNOW a fellow who unloaded his Winchester 94 in .30-30 into a bull moose in Northern Ontario. He finally brought it to bag... but, according to him, he wouldn't try that again with a .30-30! Too much misery for the moose! Yeah, I know elephant have been killed with the 6.5X55 and Inuit have slaughtered dozens? hundreds? of white bear with the .222 and .223 Rems! Are we suggesting that as a good policy for everyone?

I know Phil Shoemaker has killed many brown bear with his .30-06 using premium, heavy bullets, but few (especially Canadians)have the military background of Shoemaker as a sniper in Vietnam!

In my firm opinion, I'll go with the guide-outfitter who says "Take the heaviest caliber you can shoot well. If it's not heavy enough, get one that is and LEARN to shoot it VERY WELL!"

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

good advise.

No experience.

BUT - the 6.5 X 55 - with the right bullets is a cartridge that has amassed quite a reputation on moose.

And compared to a moose - a grizzly is easy to kill. Even a caribou carcass that weighs the same as a grizzly has way tougher bones. Bears aren't built all that sturdily.

I'd feel well armed with a good 6.5 - anywhere in B.C. - for defense against anything. Not that it would be my first choice for hunting a grizzly, as I shoot my 375H&H very accurately and with ease.

Typical BC Grizzly...Unit 626..

Nice bear!...............someone pass the 375H&H please?!

The problem I see way to often is the readers versus the locals that are around Bears or any game all the time and don't get there heart beat up to 160 without getting on a treadmill/bike,just seeing them..Kinda normal stuff to the natives and that is the biggest reason the smaller calibers work for them..Cool/calm and collected makes for a spot on shot.

The 6.5 sure wouldn't be my first choice for something that bites back!

Jayco

Jayco no doubt that is true....the further from home, the bigger the rifle.....