Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Going for grizzly with a 30-30

from reading Dobie's book, I think guns were just another tool to Lily. Dogs too, it sounded like.

I think old Ben lived hard and wore stuff out.

IF I had a million dollars to spare, I'd get a Miroku Lightweight 1886, have Turnbull re-barrel it to .33WCF and case-harden it for looks. I'd make sure it had a shotgun butt with a thin (but effective) recoil pad on it.

Don't think I'd want one of Ben Lily's wore out guns. I've got some pretty hard used guns already, but they are family guns, with a lot of family history.

Sycamore

Reckon you're right.

Back in May of 1965, Jack Turner found out that it was just the gun for him to dispatch a charging grizzly that turned out to be the largest on record at that time.

In his story, "Killer Grizzly at Six feet", he recounts that he had moved his family up on the Atnarko River above Lonesome Lake in British Columbia. There were bear in the area and not one to take any chances, he always carried his faithful '94 .30-30 with him when away from the homestead.

He said "You never know when a grizzly will decide to pick a fight, so I rarely venture beyond the cleared fields around our house without hanging the old .30-30 over my shoulder. That precaution has saved my skin, or my family's at least twice."

On that particular day he left his house on a 2 mile walk to repair a fence. It was a fine spring morning. He recalls, "I came to a place where the trail, winding through cedars and cottonwoods, opens into a sunny glade no bigger than a house. I rounded a bend, and there in the center of the glade stood the biggest grizzly I had ever laid eyes on (and I have seen more than 200, in just about every part of British Columbia, in the last 20 years.) He was staring straight at me, and he was just 40 feet away.”

"Our eyes met and locked and he was on his way. I saw him in one instant and he was coming for me in a savage rush, running like a dog after his prey. He was drooling as he came, and a low growl was rumbling in his throat. I whipped the Winchester off my back and, since I carry the rifle loaded in the magazine but none in the chamber, I had to lever in a shell. The bear was almost on me when I slammed my shot into him, and I recall thinking, in that brief flash of time, that I'd only have time for one."

“I was using 170 gr. Soft point factory loads. I hit him dead center between the eyes and that soft point bullet blew his whole brain out through a hole in the back of his skull. He was still running full tilt when I shot, but his head went down between his forelegs, and he fell almost straight down. I backed off a few steps, held the rifle on him, and waited until I was sure there wasn’t a spark of life left in him. He was a buster, by far the biggest grizzly we had ever seen.”

Jack goes on to say that if the skull would have been intact, it would have scored 27 in the Boone and Crockett Clubs book according to them. The largest score on record at the time was 26 10/16.

Great post, OS. We need more stories like that. I think im going to start running the range with my near new pre-64 mod 94 on the dash. I dont think i've ever rolled a hog with a 30-30.

Man, i sure miss those threads by eyeball.

Hard to imagine that, within its range, a good 170 grain round from a .30-30, well placed, wouldn't have enough horsepower for the task. Grizzlies aren't made of steel, after all.

Pretty well sums it up...

It blows my mind how high of a pedestal of invincibility so many place the grizzly bear on. Guys they aren't made of armor! Being an avid bear baiter throughout the 12 years I lived in Alaska one of the things that a guy has to get used to is being up close and personal with grizzlies because at some point one is going to find your bait and give you a show. They are cool to watch and see up close, they got hair, skin, bones and organs in the same places as any other big game animal. Most aren't even that big, meaning they aren't Brown Bear big. I actually carried a 94 30-30 for a few years as a backup gun while bear baiting with a bow. Usually kept it in the boat in a case, I had it in case I had to go looking for a wounded bear. Cmon guys you'll shoot 900 lb elk with 243's and 25's with 85-100 gr bullets but are hesitant to hit a 300-500 lb bear with a 175 gr 30 cal?

Man, you have seen some sights and had some fun.

I killed a grizzly in 1960. It took 5+ solid shots from about 18 feet (I was in a tree) with a 44 Magnum (Ruger Blackhawk). All the shots were in the head and neck and it took about 10 seconds for the bear to go down. I reloaded and put another 5 shots into the head,neck. If it took 5 shots with a 240 grain 44 Mag from 18 feet, I wouldn't want to use a 30-30 on the ground at 18+ feet. Even well placed shots might leave something to be desired!

One difference between shooting an elk with a 243 and a grizzly with a 30-30 is that the bear can kill you. Both animals have tremendous endurance; an elk will run away until it drops, a grizzly might see, charge and hit you before it drops. The results can be significant.

This is the grizzly bear you shot in Glacier National Park?

Yes.

So the 30-30 is as weak as a 44 mag?

First CNS hit with the 44 in the brain the bear would have expired. All you did was miss your target or not have the right bullet.

I'd take a grizz with a 30-30 and the right bullet and shot choice any old day.

But you'd have to be picky.

Exactly!

I spent many a spring hunting grizzlies in the Brooks Range , in an an area that is bow only. Over the years we would generally get around 1/2 dozen stalks on a griz per trip. I have been inside 70 yards of a bunch of grizzlies and every damn one of them would have been dead if I had a 30-30 I could use. I was never willing to let an arrow fly that I couldn't guarantee a clean shot on past 40 yards. The biggest bear I ever got a stalk on was a bear I actually flung an arrow at and missed at 20 yards due to a malfunction of my drop away rest. I had a frontal quartering shot on him at 55 yards that i was not willing to take, while trying to reposition for a better angle the bear busted us and came in on us to investigate without the wind in his favor. When he began to circle and get the wind on his side and he stepped behind a spruce tree I drew back, when he stepped back into the open I released that arrow with the most confidence in the world. Things got [bleep] real quick when that arrow hit the rocks in front of him and went over his back. He bluff charged us before breaking left and leaving the hillside we were on. Buddy of mine made an amazing 60 yard shot on one up there on camera and a shot I wouldn't have taken. Another buddy killed one that was sleeping with a sow he was courting, that was another very dangerous event. The common denominator was hunting them and being in a position where they could have easily been shot with a 30-30 without them knowing we were there. Hunting bears with a bow isn't for everyone but if you dig it and have the right game plan it's just another hunt. I'd have a dump truck full of grizzlys if I were able to shoot them with a 30-30. Of course you gotta hunt them, using the wind, terrain and situation to dictate if the kill is doable and knowing when to back out and regroup when things get sideways. Every grizzly I've seen killed with a rifle was a "dude there's a griz" blam.....bear dead, that of course excludes the guys that make bad shots because well...........they're just bad shots.

Disclaimer.....hunting the SE,Kodiak and the Peninsula for brown bear and I'd leave the 30-30 at home. Different terrain, and much bigger critter.

I was on a moose hunting trip in Alberta a few years ago and in camp, the outfitter had a battered Marlin 336 in .30-30. Loaded with 170 grain slugs. He said that over 36 years of outfitting for elk/moose and sheep, he had shot 11 grizzlies with that .30-30 that had been in camp or harassing the horses

He sure was a good dude. Whatever happened to him? Did he die?

I've had one grizzly encounter while in Wyoming I walked upon a sow and cub while hiking. When I first saw her she was about 30 ft peering around a stump. I just froze where I was slowly took aim and let her have it with my Canon 35 mm. I was close enough that it would have been futile to try and get away. They were just wanting to cross the trail so she backed off and went around crossed the trail 30- 40 yds behind me and went on her way. She obviously was use to people and wasn't looking for a fight. I was pretty lucky as it could have gotten ugly but it was quite a sight to see.

Surprised the esteemed Mr Shoemaker's name ain't come up yet.

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/11399325/1

The gist on this thread seems to be that griz with a .30-30 is sorta passe.

Pretty sure that griz with a .380 ain't been done yet

Rick Perry used a laser sight on his when he dispatched that coyote.

Birdwatcher
(who has never seen a griz that weren't in a zoo.)

Totally agree. Interior grizzlies don't get nearly as big as some.