Guide Alan Blackwell reported yesterday in Burns Lake. British Columbia, that a hunter has killed what may be the largest grizzly bear ever shot. It weighed 1200 pounds at the time of its death.

The skull has to be allowed to dry and shrink for three months before final measurements, so we won't know for sure if the bear is a world record until November or December. Blackwell said yesterday.

The bear was nine feet. one inch. in length. and its skull measured almost 27 inches across.

The marksman was Mike Caspersen. a 22-year-old from Madison. Wis Caspersen, who made the kill in early September, stalked the bear to within 150 yards before shooting it through the heart. The encounter took place in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, 280 miles north of Vanconver.