DIY Bear Fence

[colonel00]

Long story short, on our caribou trip this year, we may be stashing a raft and tent and other supplies while we hike further in. Since we will possibly be away from the gear for several days, I thought a bear fence might be handy insurance. I looked around at some of the available kits but it became pretty clear that this was a fairly simple DIY project. I will have to get all the specifics together regarding costs and stuff but essentially, at its heaviest configuration with 5' poles, three 125' wires and the line tester, it comes in at 3lbs 11oz. I can easily shave this down to under 3lbs for more of a "true" backpack hunt. There are also different ways to configure the wires. I can have all three has "hot" positive wires relying on the grounding stake to create a good ground. However, if I am in an area where I don't get a good ground, I can change any of the wires to be negative if need be.

Just leaving out the extra sections of poles I get 6oz back and with shorter/fewer wires and dumping the line tester, I should be well under 3lbs.

Now, to be fair, I just put this together today so it will take some time to see how it performs in the field. However, this is basically the same charger as the UDAP bear fence (Newer model) and standard polywire for this type of application. I had to take it down so I could mow but I will put it back up and see if I can get some neighborhood kids to be test subjects

Oh and many thanks for the comments and suggestions from those both here on this forum and over at AOD

 

[Hunt'nFish]

I think you need to put a box of donuts in the center for it to be a fair test.
What kid... um I mean bear, can't resist donuts.
Hunt'nFish

 

[mtswampfox]

Wow I thought the old man down the street who yelled at us for cutting across his lawn was bad ass

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

What a crafty guy you are. First sewing, now a diy kid zapper.

 

[colonel00]

Just gearing up for Halloween

 

[three5x5s]

Dont know if you will have any trees to use, but you can tie plastic insulaters to the trees an save a pole or 2. heavy poundage fishing line should hold up. There are serval different types of plastic insulaters. I would probably try the round ones with holes thru the middle.

 

[colonel00]

Yeah, no trees where we are going but good tip for other situations. Plus, we are rafting in so right isn't a huge favor on this one.

 

[Manosteel]

That is awesome! Keep us posted on how she works! Pics of it in action would be priceless

 

[colonel00]

Yeah, well, as much as I would like to get video of kids shocking themselves for the comedy factor, I think there might be some law I would be violating. Now for the trip, if I can score a spare GoPro or other camera, I would love to setup some video. Actually, anyone want to donate a game camera or two? One with video capability would be awesome.

 

[Snipershirt]

I feel safer already! Great job Brad!

 

[colonel00]

Just for you, bud.

Oh, and tomorrow, I may try to crank it up to 1.21 gigawatts and maybe we can travel through time.

 

[Brock A]

Maybe this will keep littlebuf in his tent when he sleep walks on our hunts! Nice job!

 

[colonel00]

Maybe this will keep littlebuf in his tent when sleep walks on our hunts! Nice job!

See, there you go, maybe it's more about keeping "us" in as opposed to keeping the rest out.

 

[Fixitman]

Pretty neat deal. Maybe I should come over and test it out!!
I have several trail cams with video if you need one also got a small video cam I picked up at Rogers that might work for you

 

[Tim M]

very nice Brad, you will definitely have to let us know how it works out.

 

[rayporter]

bou country may not have strong enough trees to put insulators on, but if it does you can carry string [ i use plastic hay string] to reduce wt and allow a strong corner tie. this will allow you stretch the fence tighter.

i dont carry the tester when i carry the fence. you can use the tester at home to check the fence and then check the spark at the ground clip. you can gauge how hot it is from the spark. luck-ray

 

[colonel00]

very nice Brad, you will definitely have to let us know how it works out.

Well, I am kinda hoping that I never actually have to find out how well it works. Although, I am still entertaining the game camera idea.

bou country may not have strong enough trees to put insulators on, but if it does you can carry string [ i use plastic hay string] to reduce wt and allow a strong corner tie. this will allow you stretch the fence tighter.

i dont carry the tester when i carry the fence. you can use the tester at home to check the fence and then check the spark at the ground clip. you can gauge how hot it is from the spark. luck-ray

Yeah, I doubt there will be anything to tie off to on the tundra but since we are rafting in, the poles aren't that big of a deal. I will have to check out the string you mention in case I ever want to take this into the woods. Have you ever tried with regular old paracord? I usually have some lengths of that on me so that would just allow it to serve another purpose.

In regards to the tester, I'm not sure what charger you use but this one pulses. I tried to look for a spark but in the bright daylight it is impossible to see. Now, I can hear it pulsing so I know it is working. However, at 2oz, the little charger will still probably be taken on along since it gives a quick, "accurate" reading of the supplied voltage.

 

[JustOneMoreShot]

I like this DIY a lot!

 

[colonel00]

I've had a few people send me PM's so I said I would update this thread with a little more detail. Here are the basic parts that you will need. If you don't have a local farm supply store, check out farmsupplystore.com or valleyvet.com. I got my charger and tester from Valley Vet and the rest came from a local store.

Speedrite AN20 Charger - ~$75

Polywire - I picked up 200m of 6-wire polywire from a local store for $25 or so but you can order online. - ~$25

5' Tomato Stakes - Found at any garden store - ~$8

Aluminum Stake - Fashioned from an aluminum rod purchased at Lowe's - ~$3

Aluminum Tubing - I just happened to have some that fit perfectly on the tomato stakes. If you really want to make one of these and can't find the tubing, PM me.

Random wire and alligator clips - Clips were purchased at the hardware store and the wire was just scrap in the garage.

 

[colonel00]

So here are my two possible configurations. First is the heavy setup with full length poles and 3-125' runs of wire. This is a heavy package at 3lbs 13oz and would probably only be used for float hunts and drop hunts with minimal hiking. FYI, for the wire, I picked up one of those extension cord wraps from Walmart for under a dollar and cut it down to shave some weight and bulk.

And here is my light setup with just 2 sections of pole for 40" height and 3-80' runs of wire. Coming in at 2lbs 14oz, I have shaved almost a pound off of the kit.

Here is another picture of it set up. The charger just hangs from one of the wires. It isn't the easiest to see but I then have one of the alligator clip wires running from the charger to the bottom wire. On the middle wire I have the other alligator clip running over to the ground stake.

I decided to give it a test run to see how it all worked. Wearing tennis shoes, I could touch the wire with the back of my hand and feel a little zap. Something similar to a static shock from running around on carpet in your socks. It was enough to get your attention but nothing I would consider a deterrent. However, if I kicked off one shoe (still wearing a sock) and touched a wire with the back of my hand it was enough to send my hand muscles into a spasm and it carried a minor zap of pain. Remember, this charger pulses so it just hits you and goes away then comes back instead of being constant. Still, I would imagine that this kind of whack on the nose of a curious bear would at least send it back from which it came.

One more thing I will add, when using the tester around the perimeter, I noticed that I could still hear the wires pulsing at the opposite corner and it almost sounded like it was sparking. So, I am going to test it more to see if I was indeed losing juice if the plastic coating on the poles isn't enough of an insulator.