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
