On October 12, 2012, Steve West from La Grande, OR, shot the new muzzle loader world record Grizzly bear in British Columbia. As hunters, we always hear about world records, but the term is slightly watered down in modern times as most of these so called records only manage to beat out the previous records by mere slivers of measurement. However, what makes West’s bear noteworthy is the fact that it beat out the previous record of 23 2/16” by three inches. The score of West’s bear ended up being 26 1/16”, making it a true whopper for the ages and unlikely to be beaten in the near future.
As a bonus, Steve’s entire hunt was captured on video by his own production team from his TV show, “Steve’s Outdoor Adventures.” Kenny Leo, from Price, Utah was the official scorer of the bear for the Boone & Crockett club and said, “This is an incredible bear. And to take a world record on film for television is not something you see every day.” Leo puts his hands on many trophies being an official scorer, this trophy made an impression on him as he simply claimed, “It was a pleasure to be asked to score this bear for Steve.”
Leo was not the only professional person this bear impressed. David Ehrig of the Longhunter Society (National Muzzle Loader Rifle Association), states that, “Hunting with a muzzleloading gun is a magical experience. You only have one shot. It takes the exhilarating experience of hunting one step further, by combining the one shot challenge with a nostalgic awareness that hunting has been done in this way well over 250 years.”
Ehrig added, “We take pride in all hunters’ accomplishments, but it’s quite special when a true trophy like Steve West’s grizzly bear crosses our desk. This was a fantastic accomplishment considering that he was doing it with the added challenge of a TV camera being present.”
Steve West used his CVA .50 caliber ACCURA v2 rifle on the big grizzly. He made a 49 yard shot while on a 10-day hunt with another TV personality, Phil Phillips. West used a Burris FastFire sight with 405 grain Copper Powerbelt Bullets and while using 150 grains of IMR whitehot powder pellets.
For more information and to find out how to see this hunt air on The Outdoor Channel, go to Steve’s website www.steveshunts.com.
