Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 22 cal CF and bears

I'd be happy with a .22.....as long as it fires a 435 grain .458 Hardcast bullet at about 1750 fps.

I feel toad is right with his statement. And, in all honesty, I would feel sufficiently armed with my .243, being that it is the smallest caliber legal for deer hunting in Virginia.

Pretty much my feelings too.

Good Lord! That must have been a change of underwear experience!

Didn't he go after a 500 pound grizzly last week with a 22 CF? Has anyone seen him since?

Back in the day, Sisk made bullets specifically for use on big game in .22 CFs. I wouldn't voluntarily tackle a grizzly with them, but they did work well on Texas whitetails, even big south Texas bucks.

"Good Lord! That must have been a change of underwear experience!"


If you find a grizzly at peace with himself and the world, a marginal shot (say 22 CF) might be OK. But, if he is wounded, agitated, annoyed, angry, horny, aggressive, or otherwise in a bad mood, I think your insurance agent would prefer you to have a large caliber rifle. In my case, we'd see 3-4 grizzlies a summer when working in the back country (where trailcrews work). 99% of the time, they'd sense you and move along � no big deal.

In 1960, following a bad attack (ranger, 12 year old boy and female tourist), I bought a 44 Mag. Ruger and carried it with me. Each Monday, my job was to hike up to Grinnell Glacier (Glacier NP) ahead of the tourists, clear the trail of any fallen rocks and, check the outhouse near the Glacier. I�d descend via another trail and check it out for later work. I was going up toward Piegan Pass when I saw a bear 100 yards or so ahead; I stopped to wait for it to move when it started jogging (not running, but not walking) toward me. I was at the tree line and climbed the nearest tree (probably 9-10 inch diameter at the bottom and 4 inches 15 feet up). Long story short, I shot it as it was standing trying to reach me, climbed down, rolled it down the mountain and covered it with blowdown. I never reported it as carrying a firearm in a park was a felony as was killing any animal (2 felony convictions at age 18 would have probably jeopardized my employment outlook). Two other bears were killed that summer (one legal, one not).

In 1961, we were working at Lake Isabel and knocked off early to go fishing. I moved about 100 yards from he other guys and suddenly was overcome by a rotten smell (grizzlies do not bathe, use deodorant, nor brush their teeth; they can really smell foul!). I dropped my fish into the lake and walked out to waist deep water. I never actually saw the bear, but we found paw prints in the mud on the other side of a large brushy area � about 20 feet from where I was fishing.

In 1960, I was actually too busy to be scared (getting up the tree, shooting the bear, rolling it down the mountain and hightailing it back to my pick-up point about 6 miles away by 4PM). In 1961, I really did get scared, standing waist deep in very cold water just knowing the bear was going to get me.

I understand from some books that seeing a grizzly in the wild is a real privilege, and it can be. But, when you are alone, it�s a different story. I understand that the National Park Service no longer permits employees to work alone in grizzly country.

Busy lurking around his gun smiths shop anxiously awaiting his spring bruin rifle to have it's new tube finished.

Oy, it's a Swift Ai...

Dober

This one got me to thinking about a feesh named Jonah...

Dober

Dober, Tell Dan hi for me!

You got it, but this job is being done locally as I've been too busy to box the darn thing up and send it off...I spect I'll have it back within 10 days of drop off...just in time for some snow goph barrel break in time...

Dober

That feesh was a whale, not a bear. If JB is wondering where you are, it must be serious. Were you up on Brokeback Mountain again with your sheep?

OUCH

To me it a rifle one could get by with while humting a grizz might be a bit smaller than one I would want if I were being hunted BY grizz and you never know when old grizz could turn the table on you

Centerfires? We don't need no stinking centerfires...

I shot a black bear with a 22 long rifle once. I have also looked a grizzly in the eye and decided right then and there that they would require more gun than a 22. Black bears look at you; grizzlies look right through you.

No worries. I thought you may have snuck down here on a trip. Still working with Handwerk on getting our ducks lined up to take the boys on a bruin hunt. If you want to send a rig south with me, just let me know and I can drop it off.

Thx 30338 I'll keep that in mind.

Dober

That was a good response. I got a chuckle out of that one. Excellent.

With the right setup, I'd probably hunt them with a .22 CF. Something in the .22-250 class with a fast enough twist to stabilize a 60 grain partition, and deliver it broadside into the heart 'n' lungs, sure.

That's pretty darn different shot angle from what y' get with a "problem" bear. I've never seen a bear charge broadside.

.338 seems a wiser plan.

Yes, a .30 caliber or larger would definitely be a wiser plan, anyway.

Every bullet has limitations and shots need to be made according the limitations of the bullet. The key is knowing the limitations, making the shot required, and passing up those shots that the bullet is unsuitable for.

Most of us would be unwilling to live with the limitations of a 22cf when hunting bears, but that does not mean a 22cf is incapable of reliably killing a bear.