Do You Sleep With Your Food in Bear Country?

[BoilerBowHunter]

I was always taught to hang anything with scent away from the tent including food (obviously) but also toothpaste, etc. How many people are doing this vs sleeping with food in their tent? If you are sleeping with food in your tent, is it just the convenience factor of not having to mess with hanging it in the evening and retrieving it in the morning?

There seem to be very differing viewpoints on this, and I'm curious to see the split of what people are actually doing in the field.

*Question is aimed at any bear country - black or grizzly*

 

[Ucsdryder]

Black or grizzly?

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

This depends on where the hunt is and type of bear for me.

 

[Mudpuddle]

I'm not gonna lie, I don't want a bear in my tent while I'm sleeping. Not even a black bear.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

Yes, I do, but I'm currently not hunting in Idaho, Montana or Wyoming. Everywhere else though, food is right in the tent alongside of me.

 

[Aaron-in-CO]

I think we would get better data if you make a new thread/poll with multi-selectable answers of
- black (lower 48)
- grizzly/black (lower 48)
- coastal Alaska
- interior Alaska

But to answer your question:
In black bear country, yes. Grizzly bear country, no.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

I sleep very near my meat and packed food in bear country. The closer your food is to you and your scent the better the protective border. Outside that small zone around the tent are urine markers up to 3 feet in the willows and around the parameter of camp. Any bear that challenges that 50-ft circle is dead on contact without hesitation, but have never had one challenge that tight circle.

The farther the food from camp the more comfortable bears are to investigate and steal.

Meat cache is treated the same way. 100-ft is my limit, not 100 yards.

 

[Dave0317]

I follow the advice in this post by Andrew Skurka that I read a while back. Note the criteria he discusses. If you are close to established camp sites, or the area has regulations for storage, follow those. But when way off trail, not in an established camp site, I like his advice.

Admission: Yes, I sleep with my food - Skurka Adventures

Under what conditions is it acceptably safe to sleep with food, instead of using another overnight storage method like canisters?

andrewskurka.com

 

[Dave_]

In black bear country I usually ust have my food hanging on a tree somewhere in a dry bag. It's not hung high, mostly just to keep chipmunks out of it. I probably still have snacks still in my backpack in the tent regularly.

In grizzly country I dont mess around. Practice proper bear safe methods.

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[BoilerBowHunter]

The question was aimed at bear country generically - black or grizzly. I'm not sure I Understand the desire to differentiate. Personally, I don't like my odds against a black bear any better than I do a grizzly haha

 

[BoilerBowHunter]

I follow the advice in this post by Andrew Skurka that I read a while back. Note the criteria he discusses. If you are close to established camp sites, or the area has regulations for storage, follow those. But when way off trail, not in an established camp site, I like his advice.

Admission: Yes, I sleep with my food - Skurka Adventures

Under what conditions is it acceptably safe to sleep with food, instead of using another overnight storage method like canisters?

andrewskurka.com

I did see that when looking for some resources on this. It's logical. But it is also a fair amount of research. If you're in the same area all the time then this would make more sense to me. If you're moving around, then it seems more complicated. What takes more time - researching "bear risk" or just hanging a bag (rhetorical question).

 

[Ucsdryder]

The question was aimed at bear country generically - black or grizzly. I'm not sure I Understand the desire to differentiate. Personally, I don't like my odds against a black bear any better than I do a grizzly haha

You’re comparing 2 different animals. Thus the differentiation.

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

I hang in grizzly country but don't bother in black bear. If it is a high density blackie area or have seen a lot of sign, I might hang when I am not in camp just because I don't want something tearing into my tent/gear while not there.

 

[Poser]

I always hang it unless I'm above treeline. In that case, I never leave food unattended in camp.

There was a rescue recently in Colorado where a couple returned to find their tent and sleeping bags trashed by a bear after leaving food in their tent. This resulted in a call to S and R about 9:30 at night.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

Personally, I don't like my odds against a black bear any better than I do a grizzly haha

Yeah, a brown/grizzly will just slap you around and bite you a few times, and then run off. A black bear however, will actually kill you and eat you, literally. Either one isn't good, though.

 

[Dave0317]

I did see that when looking for some resources on this. It's logical. But it is also a fair amount of research. If you're in the same area all the time then this would make more sense to me. If you're moving around, then it seems more complicated. What takes more time - researching "bear risk" or just hanging a bag (rhetorical question).

Yeah, if you hunt multiple out of state hunts each year, I see your point. For most of us, researching a specific GMU or two per year is not difficult. Generally though I also take an assessment of the specific area. So, for example, I’ve been in areas where there are established camp grounds, with bear problems. Once you get a couple miles away from that and up another 1,000 feet of elevation you hardly see bears or bear sign.

I also wouldn’t camp right on a game trail with bear poop on it. Even if I think they aren’t human-habituated, I don’t want to tempt them by being right on their turf with food on the ground either.

 

[Josh Boyd]

If I am camping in an area where a food-conditioned bear is a possibility, I’ll hang it close by. If I’m off trail and in country rarely visited by humans my food is usually in my tent.
This is for lower 48 black and grizzly habitat.


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[Ucsdryder]

I always hang it unless I'm above treeline. In that case, I never leave food unattended in camp.

There was a rescue recently in Colorado where a couple returned to find their tent and sleeping bags trashed by a bear after leaving food in their tent. This resulted in a call to S and R about 9:30 at night.

“uh yeah… is this S/R… yeah a bear ate my food. Can you bring me some more? Or come get me?”

 

[Ucsdryder]

I can’t be the only one more worried about the damn mice chewing holes in my food and coming home with hantavirus or something rather than a black bear deciding to ransack my tent with me in it. Effing mice.

 

[Scoot]

The question was aimed at bear country generically - black or grizzly. I'm not sure I Understand the desire to differentiate. Personally, I don't like my odds against a black bear any better than I do a grizzly haha

How much experience do you have with each? Pretty sure the answer is "not much", or the question you asked simply shows how much you "don't get it". They're different critters. If you treat them the same, that's your prerogative, but it's reflective of how much you understand about the differences between them.
Your response makes as much sense as suggesting you'd approach a random street thug in the same way you'd approach a random high school teacher-- after all, they're both just humans.