Bivy out tempts me but fears keep me at bay

[StupidLightweight]

OP, you are being ridiculous. Camp out. You'll be fine. There's a million ways to die on a hunt, but I assure you, getting eaten by a black bear isn't even in the top 900,000. The biggest danger on virtually every excursion away from home is driving.

 

[mpb21]

There's scarier stuff in TX in the form of creepy crawlers than black bears in CO.

Bring an old AM/FM radio and play that at night if you're concerned but you will absolutely be just fine.

 

[cbeard64]

I’m a fellow Texan. The others are right don’t let black bears stop you. You’re in way more danger driving to the trailhead than from a black bear bothering you.

 

[Marble]

Debating picking up a shelter and bag instead of truck camping this season in CO (second time out west). Have a few spots a couple miles in and cutting that hike out could be beneficial for obvious reasons….now here’s the rub, I’m from Texas and had never seen a bear until last year…I know, to people who live there black bears are almost overgrown raccoons but to this fella, they make me nervous. Now I know they’re not going to see me and come running to eat me but they could come poking around my tent etc and make for a long sleepless night…I feel like I am being ridiculous

It isn't ridiculous for you to have those feelings of what is really unknown to you. But it is ridiculous for you to limit your experience because of it. I'm 48 and have backpacked in CA (often the highest bear density in the US) and have never had an issue with a bear in the back country. I often see 6-12 bears in a single valley in one day here.

I usually put on ear plugs at night so I don't hear anything. If during archery I carry a pistol. If rifle season, I don't.

Hang your food in a tree. Go kill something

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[aMurderOfCrows]

You know what’ll scare the shit out of you in the middle of the night? An effing beef cow.

*1 on this! Especially if there’s more than one and they freak out and start blasting through the trees in all directions.

Bears aren’t really the concern, it’s mountain lions. Those are scary. I’ve seen more cats than bears in NM in the last 10 years.

 

[dwhite0622]

After the first night, you won’t even think about it. The nice part is once you’ve done one backpacking trip, it won’t be an unknown any more. It could open a lot of experiences for you. Good luck!

 

[Mike 338]

I wouldn't worry to much about it. You can get hit by a car just checking your mailbox, struck by lightning playing golf, random home invasion because your door was unlocked for a few minutes, interrupt a armed robbery in a convenience market, be attacked by a pit bull while taking a walk in your own neighborhood... the list goes on and on. The likelihood of death and/or dismemberment is so much higher in your regular environment that it's hardly worth mentioning the odds of a bear attack, particularly if you hang your food away from camp. Really, it's an irrational fear. What you should have a healthy respect for is twisted or broken ankles, getting lost, being caught in life threatening weather and that sort of thing. IMO, the most sketchy thing about a spike camp is finding it again in low light conditions. That's a real thing and can happen virtually on a daily basis.

 

[Dakota_Rookie]

What you should have a healthy respect for is twisted or broken ankles, getting lost, being caught in life threatening weather and that sort of thing. IMO, the most sketchy thing about a spike camp is finding it again in low light conditions. That's a real thing and can happen virtually on a daily basis.

This is usually what's in the back of my mind really no matter how far I am from my truck, in any environment, especially when I'm alone. It'd be really easy to fall on the wrong branch or slip and hit your head on the perfect rock.

 

[TaperPin]

Now I know they’re not going to see me and come running to eat me but they could come poking around my tent etc and make for a long sleepless night…I feel like I am being ridiculous

Bears do eat some people. A coworker helped recover a gal pulled out of her tent in Yellowstone by a grizzly - they eat the guts first so what’s left after the first day makes for quite the grizzly photo.

Blacks eat fewer people than grizzlies. Low density areas are safer just due to the numbers. Clean camps prevent most encounters, and camp placement reduces odds even more.

It’s still common in many places to pepper bears with bird shot - if my body hurt all the time, only one eye worked, I was really hungry from having a hard time getting around, I’d probably eat someone to. The closer you are to places that pepper habituated bears the more your odds go up.

If there is a problem bear, you probably won’t be the first person to encounter it. There’s a local story of a bear getting into camps in a certain heavily traveled drainage and later that summer mysteriously someone disappeared without a trace. Had he checked for bear problems and simply backpacked somewhere else, he might have died in a car accident or old age, but he still would eventually die.

There comes a point where you decide if the risk is worth the reward and just do it. I’m a light sleeper and use a tiny am/fm radio and ear buds to drown out night noises, but the night is full of animals that sound scary. At some level you simply accept that if something bad happens hopefully you’ll get a shot off and if not that’s that. The odds are higher that “sleep walking” causes more firearm discharges at night than any animal. Even folks that don’t sleep walk do things half awake that might as well be in deep sleep.

News Max has the father and mother in law so convinced they will be killed by illegals at the grocery store that we rarely see them, or they want to walk around in socially awkward ways with pistol in hand - everyone deals with danger differently. *chuckle*

 

[69Switchbacks]

We saw 4 bears last season in CO on our archery elk hunt. Not one of them had any interest in us. Just keep food out of your tent and carry it with you when hunting preferably. Didn’t have any issues.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Bears are a non-issue, but you need to do something to be sure you get some sleep. I don't like plugs because I feel they're a security threat (we hunt and camp on the border and deal with two-legged rats), but a radio or some sort of noise like a phone app to drown out the damn mice and deer that'll startle you is a good idea. You don't need it, but for peace of mind to help you relax and sleep well some fishing sting and bells are fairly lightweight and can be strung around camp to help make you feel secure so your mind can relax.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

I DO appreciate your honesty. I will disagree with the majority here. Depending on the area and density...I think bear loitering around your camp if a realistic situation.

And me telling you NOT to be concerned does Zero for you. If heights were a personal issue for me...saying "don't be scared Bro" does nothing.

Only thing I can really add is.....honestly...most Black bears....are pretty dinky. It's actually HARD to find a Toad. I would guess that in the lower 48, outside of a National Park...majority of the bears are pretty dinky and sub 150lbs. Just not that impressive.
And maybe keeping the mindset they're large Raccoons may help. Which I feel they are.


And hunt your balls off until you pass out....

And finally, in most areas...there's gonna be a TON of shit that goes Bump in the night. Elk, Deer, Mtn Goats eating your salty pack harness.....and RODENTS.

Just get some reps. And try to sleep longer, stay longer, etc. Build off on and add to it the next rep. Enjoy it rather than run from it

 

[Maverick1]

…I feel like I am being ridiculous

Yes, you are.

 

[aMurderOfCrows]

Everybody says don’t be worried but then you hear about a dude getting dragged off his porch and eaten in Arizona.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I’ve had brown bears come into my camp on 3 different occasions. Cow moose with calf’s too.

 

[Live_weighT34]

Be bear aware but don’t be bear scared. If you want to hunt mountains just accept that you’re gonna have bears.

As for sleeping under a tarp or in a bivy sack in bear country, a Glock 19 with 115 Hornady critical defense & Costco melatonin pills work wonders for 1. Confidence 2. A half decent nights sleep on the ground.

 

[mighteywhitehunter]

Its all good... spike out in the the Ol Bear Burrito... I mean Bivy... You will be fine.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Its all good... spike out in the the Ol Bear Burrito... I mean Bivy... You will be fine.

Sprinkle some cheese around it!

 

[BBob]

Everybody says don’t be worried but then you hear about a dude getting dragged off his porch and eaten in Arizona.

Imma way more afraid of these guys in AZ than the black bears

 

[Mike 338]

Everybody says don’t be worried but then you hear about a dude getting dragged off his porch and eaten in Arizona.

"A dude"... as in singular. Lots of hunters/campers in the field every year. Not sure how that translates into odds but it's probably somewhere close to being hit in your bed by a falling aircraft. You are right that another persons concerns are his regardless of my opinion but the concerns will most certainly wane the more eventless nights he/she spends without being mauled.

Interestingly however I am pretty concerned about spending time in a designated campground. Seems there's always some drunk loudmouth itching for a conflict 20 yards away. I'd never go camping if that's how I had to camp. Oh, and not to mention campground bears that are real enough.