By Dean Weingarten
Arizona – -(Ammoland.com)- In this famous photograph by Bruno Engler, Bella Twin is shown with the hide from the world record grizzly bear that she shot in 1953 with a single shot .22 rifle. The question is, what rifle is she holding?
“One of the largest grizzlies I have ever heard of was killed by an Indian woman with one shot from an old single-shot .22 Stevens rifle.”
Another account says that the bear was dropped with one .22-long cartridge, but that another 7 or 8 shots were used to be sure that the bear stayed down. In my research, it appears that somewhere, there is a picture of the bear’s skull, showing 8 or 9 holes. Note that a .22 long has about 10% more power than a .22 high velocity short, and a good bit less than a .22 long rifle cartridge.
H.V. Stent seems to have one of the best descriptions of the event on the Internet. From “Grizzly Guns” by H.V. Stent:
Bella Twin, an Indian girl, and her friend Dave Auger were hunting grouse near Lesser Slave Lake in northern Alberta. The only gun they had was Bella’s single-shot bolt-action .22 Rimfire rifle. They were walking a cutline that had been made for oil exploration when they saw a large grizzly following the same survey line toward them. If they ran, the bear would probably notice them and might chase, so they quietly sat down on a brush pile and hoped that the bear would pass by without trouble. But the bear came much too close, and when the big boar was only a few yards away, Bella Twin shot him in the side of the head with a .22 Long cartridge. The bear dropped, kicked and then lay still. Taking no chances, Bella went up close and fired all of the cartridges she had, seven or eight .22 Longs, into the bear’s head. That bear, killed in 1953, was the world-record grizzly for several years and is still high in the records today.
Here is a close up of the rifle.  It appears to be an inexpensive “boys” type .22 bolt action single shot.  There does not appear to be a butt pad.  The forearm is quite short. For a while, I thought it might be a Tobin, but it clearly is not.
A source on the net says the picture is in the book, Bruno Engler Photography by Vera Matrasova-Engler. The photograph there might show better details, and the skull photograph may be in that book as well.
Different accounts have given Ms. Twin’s age from “girl” to 63 or 67. Perhaps someone in Alberta has access to records that give us more definitive information.
About Dean Weingarten;
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
Another story of a woman surviving a grizzly attack using a .22, this time with a Baretta .22 pistol. She and her husband were hiking through the woods, when they came upon a mother grizzly with a cub. Immediately, the hugh bear began to show hostility. The woman took out her little Bareta, shot her husband in the knee, and was able to stroll away unharmed.
The Rifle used by Bella Twin is a “Cooey Ace 1”. The rifle and the Grizzlies hide are both currently in storage at the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton (as of current date March 2017) Before that they where in long term storage at the Reynolds Alberta Museum. I have been in contact with the curator of the museum and requested a nice color picture of the gun and he will get me one once they move to their new building and unbox all the exhibits. he has said the gun is (in his words) in ‘deplorable condition’ as Bella… Read more »
I believe the rifle to be a cooey ace and for the doubters I use 22lr at the slaughter house each week to dispatch evrything from lamb to old 2500 lb beef bulls all one shot.
As amazing as it may seem to kill a bear w/ .22, there is a story about an old indian gentleman that went on a buffalo hunt armed with a .22 rifle. The guide was dismayed, but took him out anyway. The guide located a qualifying bull at about 100 yards and pointed it out to the old gentleman. He waited until the bull grazed to within 75 yards or less and dropped the 1 ton bull with one well placed shot to the brain. You just need to know enough about your animal to know where to put the… Read more »
I own à cooey ace1 my self ans let me tell you that is an accurate 22 caliber for it’s size.
Weight only 2 pound….
Pretty short with only 18″ canon.
I believe IT is possible to kill a big Bear with that type of riffle.
But that women sure got big Balls.
Photo’s of Bella Twins Cooey Ace 1 currently at the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton Alberta that she used to kill that record setting Grizzly Bear in 1953.
Looks just like my Pop’s old Springfield 15Y he got from Sears Roebuck for $2.98 before WWII and used on his trapline. Also the first gun I shot ! The Stevens and Springfields looked alike , assume the “Y” was for youth , as it was shorter than my own first .22 .
I have a cousin in Canada that as a guide would secure a cow Moose for camp meat every year with .22 – three shots pop pop pop behind the shoulder.
The Moose would trot 40-50yds and fall dead. This way loud centerfire shots would not affect other Moose in the vicinity for the clients ~!
My money is on it being a Cooey…good ol’ Canadian classic. My father gave me a Marlin 783 in.22wmr that will give anything breathing a bad day…hard to find rounds though.
I remember the story about a girl berry hunting and shooting it in the ear.I can see a shot like that working. A .22 for a hog is O.K. if you are going to cut the main arteries and veins in the neck but I think that at least a .38 is used on cattle.The only safe shot would be in the ear hole going right to the brain.