How much do you worry about black bears in the backcountry?

[Bowhuntr64]

How much do you worry about black bears when you are camping in the backcountry? Have you ever had any scary moments?

 

[Curtis C]

Don't Worry, Just be aware. Keep a tidy camp and its unlikely you will have any trouble. My first encounter was a little unnerving but now I look forward to seeing black bear in the wild.

C

 

[Matt Cashell]

Black bears?

I've seen scarier dogs.

Here are some not-so-black bears I saw while scouting for deer, though:

[video=youtube;AQmaDILiAc8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQmaDILiAc8&list=UU4cRVh7y8Rt6fTQCDfxJaFg&index=3&feature=plcp[/video]

Seriously, black or grizzly, I worry most about them getting into my camp. I always keep a clean camp and hang food.

 

[dotman]

Just be aware and never let your guard down, that is when a mt lion will get you . I care bear spray and a tiny little 380, the 380 is more of a noise maker for two legged predators. Spray will work on anything furry.

 

[bowinhand]

I worry that one will eat all my food and demolish my tent...usually having a tag keeps them scarce.

 

[a3dhunter]

I never worried about them, but last year I came face to face with blacks bears 3 different times, and two of those were momma bears with cubs. I spotted 25+ bears last year within 200 yards of me in Colorado. I even ran into one cub without her momma bear.

After last year, I think I'm a bear magnet!
I carry a .40 S&W only because I don't own anything bigger, and I don't hunt in grizz country.

 

[Curtis C]

having a tag keeps them scarce.

That has sure worked for me

 

[littlebuf]

I worry that one will eat all my food and demolish my tent...usually having a tag keeps them scarce.

this....honestly if one comes into camp i hope im there.one to keep my camp from getting destroyed 15 miles into the wilderness and two for a nice close to camp shot.dont get many of those

 

[7mag.]

I've had bear tracks in camp in the morning, several times, but have never been bothered by them. I did get a little anxious one night, in the wilderness, when a curious doe stuck her head in the tent, in the middle of the night. I was pretty sure it was a bear until I got the flashlight on her. She doesn't know how close she came to getting shot in the face.

 

[Hoyts n Mulies]

Last year, we stopped back at our base camp for some lunch and as I was digging something out of tent I heard something. When I stood up there was a black bear and two cubs about 10 yards from our tent trapped between a cliff and our tent. I ran for my DSLR but couldn't get any pics before they took off. The funniest thing was that momma swatted a cub in the butt knocking it off it's feet as they were running away squalling.

We seem to run into bears every year in that area but haven't had any trouble save for some trail camera damage.

 

[BuckSnort]

I have had several encounters with them some within spitting distance and a few even closer.. My scariest encounter happened last year after my bro and I packed into an area and ran into some other hunters that had killed one...They cooked some up on the fire that night and offered some to us, we gladly accepted as it was a nice change from our MTN House Meals... Long story short all 4 of us got Trichinosis from it and it Damn near killed me...

Here's a small one my bro and I called in... He got about 12 feet from us

 

[ckleeves]

I worry more about being hit by a falling meteorite than black bears. I think most tense black bear moments are caused by their bad eyesight, I don't think most are trying to be aggressive it just seems that way because they can't really tell what you are. I have only had one bear that stood her ground when I yelled at her but she had 3 cubs and I walked right into her coming down the trail I was going up.

 

[Ryan Avery]

BuckSnort,

What are the symptoms of Trichinosis?

 

[oct71]

I try not to think about it when I'm up there. I have had a few close calls with grizzlies in the spring at my bait sites.

 

[BuckSnort]

BuckSnort,

What are the symptoms of Trichinosis?

Ryan, I first felt it about a week or so after I ate it... Flu like symptoms plus swelling around my eyes...Also very sore and tired muscles especially while sleeping, muscles felt like I was lifting weights (like when you lift until failure)... Here's a post I wrote on another hunting site with more details of the ordeal (keep in mind it was wrote earlier so the dates may seem confusing)..

" I have felt like crap for about 3 weeks now, well a week ago I was driving in town and felt short of breath and tightening of the chest. I pulled off the road thinking it would just go away, it didn't and got worse and worse until I felt like I was gasping for air so I called 911 and went for an ambulance ride to the ER..

At the ER they gave me oxygen and ran tests and x rays, nothing wrong on the x rays and blood work confirmed I was not having a heart attack (I'm 35) So they release me... The EKG did however raise some concern so they advised that I should have a heart stress test done (after they release me)to make sure all is good...

The next few days I was worried something was wrong with my heart.. I got sick of worrying so I went camping for the weekend (this last weekend) to clear my head and relax.. Well on the way home I get a text from a guy I met during a previous backpacking trip in Sept, it says...

"Hey Jason, just wondering if you and your brother got sick after eating that bear we killed, me and &^%&* did Doc thinks we have worms takes 4-6 weeks to start feeling bad"

DING!.. Light goes on..

Rewind to Sept 18th... Me and my bro backpacked into the high country where we met 2 guys that had killed a bear, we joined them at their camp for dinner where we had bear ribs and backstraps.. And looking back some of it was undercooked..

So I called him up and he asked me my symptoms (muscle fatigue,shortness of breath)and they are the same.. Now I figure I better get a hold of my bro since I have not heard from him in a while.. he probably has them too..Turns out he has been sick for 3 weeks with the same symptoms..

They can enter your central nervous system and cause respiratory paralysis ... This is what was happening to me...Scary

Sorry for the long post I'll shorten it up... All 4 of us got sick from the meat.. When the blood work comes back it will confirm that we all have Trichinosis which is very rare, only 12-20 cases in the USA a year.."

 

[Bowhuntr64]

I've had bear tracks in camp in the morning, several times, but have never been bothered by them. I did get a little anxious one night, in the wilderness, when a curious doe stuck her head in the tent, in the middle of the night. I was pretty sure it was a bear until I got the flashlight on her. She doesn't know how close she came to getting shot in the face.

That's hilarious!

 

[justin davis]

I worry about Bears about as much as I worry about being attacked by a shark in Colorado.

Black bears are harmless. I am not afraid of the 4 legged critters in colorado. its the two legged critters that are the scary ones

 

[rodney482]

I always pack a glock .45 in a paddle holster, sits right on my pack belt.

The area we hunted last year was loaded with bears and as soon as we hit the trail we had a bear below us throwing a fit.

Just need to stay aware and be prepared.

 

[Jared Bloomgren]

I have ran across A LOT of black bears in the backcountry. Sometimes more black bears than muleys! With that being said, I haven't had any problems with them. I have came across numerous sows with cubs....face to face....the cubs usually shoot up the nearest tree....and luckily momma hasn't been aggressive and usually put distance between us before turning back to give me another look. By then I was moving away to give them their needed space. It can be a rush!!

 

[a3dhunter]

I have ran across A LOT of black bears in the backcountry. Sometimes more black bears than muleys! With that being said, I haven't had any problems with them. I have came across numerous sows with cubs....face to face....the cubs usually shoot up the nearest tree....and luckily momma hasn't been aggressive and usually put distance between us before turning back to give me another look. By then I was moving away to give them their needed space. It can be a rush!!

Last year was the first time I heard a bear popping her jaws, that snapping sound as the teeth come together can put you on edge.
Didn't have one charge yet though, that is a good thing.