IS A TWENTY TWO “ENOUGH GUN”

The “double deuce” has to be if that is all you have. But let’s stop and think a moment.

What is the biggest and most dangerous animal on the North American continent? Teddy Roosevelt thought it is the “grisly bear,” more commonly called the grizzly. Some say the Kodiak subspecies is more dangerous but while the Kodiak is larger, the grisly bear often has the shorter temper.

As evinced by the Arctic saying that if you see bear scat and you have time to look at it closely enough to see what the bear is eating, it was left by a black bear. If you have time to look at it from all angles before you are charged it was left by a Kodiak. If you see it before you are charged it was left by a Grizzly. And then there is the Polar Bear. If you see a polar bears scat it will be from inside the bear.

However, the size or species of the bear that killed you will not greatly matter to your widow. So for the duration of this post, let’s agree that griz is the most dangerous of bears. Why?

Back when I was a lot younger, the news trickled down from Canada of a new worlds record grizzly having been killed. This old fellow was missing a few teeth, so he invaded an Indian village (Athabaskan in the original report) looking for a nice easy to catch kid or two to chow down on. The kids were bear wise and alerted that most dangerous member of the human species, a Mama.

Who took her fully loaded Nylon 66, and emptied it into Ol’ Man Griz. Fourteen long rifles did the job. Griz laid down on the spot, kicked a few times, and mama put another tube of 14 LR’s into the carcass for insurance.

Think about it. If a .22 is enough gun for griz, it’s enough gun. Period. But there is no margin for error.

If a .22 is what you have, use it when you have to. Because a .22 is a lethal weapon. But a .38 is a more lethal weapon. And a .45 is more lethal yet. So there is much more margin for error with the larger handgun.

By the same token, innumerable deer have been turned into venison with the “lowly” .22. But a lot have gotten away wounded. A lot that would have made a good meal for the family. The 30/30 is a much more powerful rifle – so there is more margin for error. And much less chance of a fine game animal crawling off in the brush, to die in agony.

Of course, the shooter has to do his part. We still rag an old boy about shooting one antler off a deer with a .300 Winchester Magnum. It knocked the deer out. But that four point sure came alive when he tried to get his hunting buddy to take his picture cradling the head of his “kill.” The mighty hunter was hurt a whole lot worse than the deer when that episode was over.

Stranger