Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada 6.5x55 vs. Grizzly

Thanks. Again, where is the best shot placement?

While it isn't all that difficult to punch holes through a common, average size grizzly, they are not the same in killing that moose are by any stretch. Where moose and caribou almost never attempt anything resembling a final threat to their antagonist, the same is certainly not the case with bears. And while they often attempt to flee, they are also much inclined to cling to the very last shred of life they can muster, quite unlike NA ungulates.

I would further caution that killing an upper level predator is not the same is killing prey animals or smaller predators. While one may be comfortable with having mastered "buck fever" when it comes to the "lesser" species, one of the bigger bears can incite a good case of beginner's fever all over again. They certainly don't lend themselves to one's best shooting necessarily. And don't think it can't happen when you decide to become the hunter even if they don't bring out the jitters when you've watched them up close.

65: On the pic of the bear that OU76 posted?

IMO it's just on the edge of not enough broadside...I would want him turned a hair more....that said, I think a good bullet in a medium 338 or 375 would traverse the chest and make the offside shoulder with enough muscle to break stuff a long ways from the entrance, which at that angle is going to start pretty far back IMO.....but I personally would like him turned a bit more....if you know where it is you might break the spine near the shoulders.

With that heavy brush in the background it might be good to hold him where he is if you can.Or you might get more excitement than you want.....OU tells me that bear is close to a 10-footer.....

I have only shot two grizzlies(brown bear),and they were more broadside than that.....

65 are you going grizzlie hunting with the 6.5?

Frankly I'd much rather have a 30/06 than the 6.5 but I'm no expert....

ou76;
Thanks for the nice bear photo from the Skeena country.

A long time ago, '87 I guess it was, we hunted mountain goats in 6-22 and 6-21. In 6-22 we were the first ones to head up what they called the "Iron Road" which went west of Telegraph Creek in a lot of years - so the locals said anyway.

We also spent a grand day on the east side of Mess Creek Canyon which was really something to see.

While I'm no grizzly expert by any stretch, from the locals that have seen them in our neck of the woods, our bears would be considerably smaller than the one in your photo.

I suspect that the further from salmon streams they get the tougher it is for them to attain and I suppose maintain that size.

Thanks again and all the best to you and yours this Christmas season.

Regards,
Dwayne

I just thought I'd help ya out there Brian!

I dunno, as I've never killed a grizz nor a caribou, but, on video I watched a female grizzly take down a large bull caribou and kill it with her two young'uns watchin'.

Ya must be talkin' about those weak, old BC kind, right?

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

Great photo - any more to the story?

I carried a 300WinMag on my first grizzly hunt and in retrospect I wouldn't carry anything LESS in the future. So to me, the 6.5x55 would not be a first choice. Here's my opinion on this: If you spend the kind of money it takes to buy a grizz hunt, then one needs to take the time to learn how to properly handle a cartridge with enough energy to safely stop what you're hunting.

I am no Grizzly expert and can only speak and advise from my actual field experiences...the Grizzly was photographed in 2007 near Willow Lake BC as we were on a Moose hunt...the outfitter had no non resident tags so this fella walked into the BC bush...quite the bear...I was using a 30-06 with 200 BBC for Moose and had a tag been available perhaps I could tell what this combo would have done...I estimate him to be pushing 10 feet..as far as my field experience for Grizzly..I have shot 11 ...(9 with 375 and 1 each with 300 Weatherby and 340 Weatherby)... along with 3 Kodiak Bears, 2 Polar Bears and 3 Black Bears...I have decided that for Grizzly, Kodiak and Polar the ideal caliber is a 375..taking 14 bears with 18 shots.... all 3 of my Black Bears have been shot with 30-06 using 200 BBC...I have hunted Grizzly in Alaska, Yukon and in various parts of BC...all my Brown bears have been Kodiak Island...the closest Grizzly I ever shot was a 600 pound charging 20 year old sow at 20 feet in 2000 in Knights Inlet on a salmon stream..I was glad to have had my 375 loaded with 275 BBCs...

I do not think a 6.5 is an adaquate Grizzly caliber...nor do I think a 270 or 7 mag is..regardless of SD, paper ballistics and etc...I can only speak of my actual field experiences...in my opinion the calibers for Grizzly begin with 30-06 loaded with 200-220 Nosler Partitions at full throttle...ie...2700 fps + or the 300 Weatherby loaded with the same bullets...for the 338/340 I would recommend the 250 Nosler Partitions...that is my recommendations regarding Grizzly hunting based on my actual field experiences...it is up to the reader to agree or disagree...and that is one's choice..

I feel completely comfortable w/a 338/06, owned and used one in the past and shot it very well, no flinching. Also likely - a 9.3x62 would be an option. The 338 Win Mags - never cared to shoot them, but a few shots on a hunt probably would not be an issue. I would have to limit my sessions at the range to less rounds.

As to a .416, I did have a buddy who offered and encouraged me to give it a try. A custom, on a former 700 Classic 300 H&H IIRC. Not sure if the stock had a recoil pad, and it was pre-brake that was slated for it. Recall firing one shot, the floor plate dropped out as common due to recoil. Muzzle straight up, me straight back, and any follow up shot would have been VERY slow for many reasons. I have NO desire to ever fire another 416 but no doubt, if one needed a DGR for a Safari, it would be on top for performance. Shootability is another issue. The bullet IIRC I fired was a Hornady, maybe around 400 gr. It honestly popped my shoulder pretty bad, of course the 'blast factor' is no fun either burning that much powder, w/plugs/muffs.

I seem to recall back in college a wealthy business man who owned ALL kinds of rifles let me shoot his 375, put 3 in a clover leaf and although it came back hard, it seemed more a shove or push than a snap, perhaps recoil speed was less than a 338. Not sure on gun weight, likely hefty, it was sitting on the bags at the range when I sat down to fire it.

I would not use a 6.5 for just any shot, and would hold fire if I did not have a good presentation, and a margin of error - i.e. distance from me to him. It's a consideration, but not dead set on what I would poke one with but if the opportunity was ideal, I may choose to use a 6.5 w/a good bullet. It may be on the light side of the spectrum, necessitating exact shot placement for success, yet I won't take a rifle I won't shoot well.

Some like to hunt w/rifles, some handguns, some bows, I guess I have a hankering to use a 6.5 if I try for a Grizzly. We shall see, but no doubt, I DO have a concern for MY hide and would not be completely wreckless in my efforts. Some may say a 6.5 on a Grizz is 'an oxymoron' lol - it no doubt could present challenges and risks.

I appreciate the info/advice by all. Thanks.

OU, read your post after my last - but I do not disagree a rifle smaller than say a 338 bore is less than ideal on the big bears. Personally I see MY preference when wanting more stopping power than a 6.5 or 7mm, to go to at least a 338, 358 and 9.3/375 not unreasonable.

Thanks for sharing your experience, it's very valid.

I have no doubt the 6.5X55 will take Grizzly, after all, the 30-30 held the record for a few years.
But given the choice, it would never leave the rack. Nothing smaller than a 338WM or hand loaded 45-70 for me.

Never shot a grizzly with a 6.5 x 55 but I did kill my first grizzly with a .270 and 150 gr SBT. This was in Yukon some time ago and was a single shot kill.

It was just under 7', if memory serves me right. Yes, it would have been a problem, but it wasn't because the bear was basically dead on its feet due to being hit in a good spot with the first shot.

Most mountain grizzly aren't really that big, and even when you get into the coastal regions of BC an 8.5' bear is a really big bear.

And as everybody knows, a .270 will do almost anything a 6.5X55 will, right?

65BR
You obviously have high regards for the 6.5X55 to be asking the question. I just completed building one on a Ruger #3 and have never seen a Griz. Sure have seen a train load of Black bear and wouldn't hesitate to shoot one with it. I was raised, and have hunted, in the Adirondacks where there are thousands of them. I also know that the Black bear isn't particularly known to have eaten a whole lot of folks.

A vast amount of game and numerous species have been successfully taken with the 6.5X55 however if I were going on a Griz. hunt it would be my choice to take along a whole lot more gun.

You were asking where to aim. That indicates to us that you may not have much experience hunting the Griz. That's a legitimate, reasonable, and logical question. An other question might be presented to experienced Griz hunters as to what caliber they would recommend for a hunt. It would be my estimation that very few would recommend the grand old or newly reformed 6.5X55 as a first choice for themselves.

Those are my thoughts and yours may be different.

Best to you and have a blessed Christmas.

Jim

I have never hunted grizz so take it for whats its worth, but i do have a good amount of experience with the 6.5X55 on deer. Its a great cartridge, but i had a small (150lb) buck stop a 140gr speer hot core, it didnt exit, first time for the swede, as all other bullet weights (120gr,129gr,130gr,140gr) have exited. For truly big game, moose,elk, bears i would use a 140gr TBBC or partiton.

I would use a 35 Whelen for bears, minimum 250grs and probably a 270gr NOrth Fork or 275gr Hawk. I would also imagine a broadside behind the shoulder shot would be about perfect.

as a side note, black bear hunting season has started here in N.J. a 661 lb bear was shot the first day, and thats small compared to the truly big dumpster divers.....

I did a lot of clean up work in the 80's and 90's retrieving wounded black bear for outfitter clients who had pooched the shot. This typically turns the blackies disposition to be short tempered. Go figure.

I used a 65x55 model 38 Husqvarna because it was absolutely reliable, and fast in the thick stuff. I used those 160 grain Doninion KKSP bullets which were hreat penetrators. I used them right up to the day I was attacked and I put a round into thr backbone behind the head on a direct frontal charge.

The bear was close enough that the shot was downward into the spine. The shot was perfect, the bear immidiately collapsed, but his forward momentum drove his head into my leg knocking me back and spraining my ancle. The pucker factor was wholly operative that day!

I have hunted blackies since that day with a 338winmag. I realise it is not necessary to kill a blackie, but like the added insurance it offers. This year 17 years after that excitement, I shot my bear with a 30-06.

I have no doubt a 65x55 will kill a grizzly, but I would not stake my life on it. No grizzly experience on my part, so take this for what it is worth.

By the way when I have the opportunity to do so I shoot through the shoulders to take out their front wheel drive. When they are close I go for a CNS hit. I eat my game and although there is five pounds of meat in the cheek, I consider it a fair trade for instant kill.

Randy

Some fine sense and advice in that phrase.

If guys can kill them with bows, then why not a 6.5?

As long as you're not looking for a charge-stopper.

There is alot to be said for shooting a gun you know and are comfortable with in a stressful situation.

A small percentage of the big bears which are hunted with arrows ever get killed compared to those hunted with rifles. Things have to be right for whatever weapon is used. Some obviously allow more leeway than others. Some quarry are neither understanding nor forgiving when it comes to second chances.




One never knows how a bear will react to the first shot, and even "dead" bears can exact one final act of revenge.

archery hunters are backed with guys carrying 375s...