Precautions in G-bear country

[blb078]

If you hang a strobing light over an animal that you have to leave before finishing the field dressing, the light is very effective at keeping a grizzly off of the carcass while you are gone.

Never thought of that but I can see were that'd definitely work. Problem is who carries a strobing light into the back country. I can see leaving a small transistor radio w/the volume up working like that too and they only weigh a few ounces.

 

[O'Really]

Pine-Sol

 

[Shrek]

I'm heading to grizzly country , at least a few in the area I'm told and I have never heard of pinesol to keep away bears. Pour it around camp ? Soak a towel and hang it on the upwind side of camp ? Please explain.

 

[rhendrix]

I'm hunting in black bear country this year, Utah doesn't have a large black bear population but its large enough to make me wanna be cautious, ill be carrying bear spray with me, and ill keep my food, camp, and cooking area all a 100 yards apart if possible. I can't figure out what I should do to help me sleep easier though, i'll be solo for the whole trip. Can't really afford a side arm, and the old string and bell trick would only freak me out more since I'd have no way of defending myself. Does using pine-sol really work? Any other ideas?

 

[Shrek]

Btw , I was looking at a Taurus titanium ul 44 mag at the gun show last weekend. It seemed like a reasonable carry for bear , " only" 28oz. Anyone used one ?

 

[Buster]

Nobody has mentioned a high lumen flashlight. A fenix or a Surefire with 100to 300 lumens will drive a bear away more effectively than most things when you are traveling or are at camp. A headlamp will also work but its reassuring to have a bolt of light at hand.

The other thing is that if you read Alaska Bear Tales by Larry Kanuit or any of his other bear stories and then have difficulty sleeping in the wilderness you will find that the more you are out in the country(number of days out) the easier it gets to just sleep anyways. You still should consider situational awareness but just don't worry that you are going to get mauled for sure. You can be aware without being stupid. The triangle thing is good. mothballs around the campsite are good(very light). I guess some people use pinesol.(same deal) This can provide you with some comfort.

It is hard to find a tree in the country that I hunt. I try to find a rock outcropping. I pee around it and then I will set my food cache(generally in a rubberized Sealine bag) under a gap in the rocks. I will put some kind of metallic( empty stove canister or hiking pole near it.) I have never had the ground squirrels or bears bother it.

This is just my view but I haven't been eaten yet.

Sincerely,
Thomas

Still hoping for an explanation on "the triangle thing".

 

[rhendrix]

Buster, read my post...the triangle is literally making your camp in one spot, where you eat in another spot, and where you store your food in another place. You'd want all of these places to be 50-100 yards apart preferably.

 

[Bighorse]

I think its a triagle of Storage, Cooking, and sleeping.

I don't buy the Pine Sol BS. A bear is way smarter with his nose than that. In fact just having that strong smell gets their attention. A smart bear knows its a weird smell. They can differentiate smells unlike a human. They are picking out the elements of Pine Sol and figuring out what county they came from and what purfume the grandma wore that mixed it up at the plant. They can smell other items in and around your camp too. If they want it then you got problems. The best thing happening there is you've made your presence clearly evident. That can be done with many other substances. Fire for example, at least in a Rainforest, Fire is an obvious human indicator. But your stinky nylon tent is also.

I've always felt that if a bear wants to hunt you then your screwed.

When I'm humping out a heavy load and the brush is beating me then I'm a sitting duck.

I carry a .416 Ruger Alaskan as bear protection. I've shot coastal Black Bears with pisol. No thanks.....I want a real gun for defense.

Bears are smelling on a level beyond our comprehension I'm sure.

 

[tater]

Dr. Stephen Herrero's book on bear attack causes and prevention is still the most comprehensive piece of literature written on the subject. It's hard to find any literature that does not reference it, even though it is probably 20+ years old. I believe he is still Emeritus at U of AB, and still living in the Koots.

It points out that the bears to fear are those that have had the highest exposure/least negative interactions with humans, whether in parks, on fishing rivers, or in wilderness interface areas of high traffic.

Way too much information to quote here, but highly recommended reading if you are in big bear country.
But be forewarned, the attack/mauling case studies are graphic and leave little to the imagination.

 

[Sam Millard]

A lot of good info in this thread. Here in the northernmost chunk of Idaho, there is a healthy population of grizzlies. I hunt blackies in the section of the unit that has the densest population of grizz. It always amazes me how they go out of their way to avoid humans. If you give them enough warning, you will probably never even know they were there!

Having said that, I always make sure my head is out of my ass while in grizz country. I look at potential camp sites for any bear sign and previous human sign. Bears will return to a popular camp site for years if people are careless with their food and garbage. I never leave food in a tent or pack and always clean up as well as possible after eating.

As far as defense against a charging bear, I've always been wary of folks I've taken with me who are packing some version of the latest biggest magnum. I'm sure there are folks who are talented with them, but most of us aren't I have a friend who studies bears at WSU. I have watched 400 pound grizzlies fight over apples thrown over the fence to them. Their speed is hard to describe to somebody who has never seen them run! I suspect that from 10 yards or closer, your brain probably wouldn't be able to tell your hand to draw...I think it would be way better to do everything possible to avoid the encounter rather than think it can be controlled with a weapon of any sort.

USFWS biologists were snaring grizzlies in the drainage I was scouting last year. I went into the snare sites with them a couple of times. They swear by bear spray. That's all they were packing when doing random checks. When they caught one, one of them had the dart gun while the other one kept a Rem 870 with slugs on the bear. One morning, they heard a cub bawling on a set. They gathered up as many warm bodies as possible to swarm the site in case the sow was around. Turned out it was the sow who was caught and her 2 yearling cubs wouldn't leave. They said a sow will rarely defend a yearling when faced with 4 to 5 guys coming in, but can get very nasty when she has newborns! The point being that there is strength in numbers, but avoid sows with little ones at all costs.

If you see one at a distance and want to avoid it, give it a wide berth with the wind at your back and make enough noise to let it know you are there but not so much it thinks you are a threat. Bears are like dogs with their body language and hierarchy. Give it plenty of opportunity to hit the flight button instead of the fight switch!

 

[dryflyguy]

Never thought of that but I can see were that'd definitely work. Problem is who carries a strobing light into the back country. I can see leaving a small transistor radio w/the volume up working like that too and they only weigh a few ounces.

My headlamp strobes. I left it hanging on a branch directly over a mule deer in an area thick with grizzly. We didn't get back with the horses until about 2am, so needless to say the approach was very cautious.

That reminds me of another tip. If you have to leave a fresh kill, I recommend gutting it, separating the gut pile from the carcass by a good, long distance. If you are able to leave the carcass in an open area, that is best. If a grizzly has claimed it, there isn't much you can do. They will usually eat the entrails first and it is always better to have that carcass out in the open. Seems obvious as I am typing this, but you never know what may not be obvious to someone else. DO NOT quarter the animal or remove the hide if you have to leave it. A grizzly is far less likely to drag a whole carcass any distance as compared to quarters. Grizzly will piss on a kill to claim it and that is plenty enough reason to leave the hide on.

 

[Eagle]

I'm hunting in black bear country this year, Utah doesn't have a large black bear population but its large enough to make me wanna be cautious, ill be carrying bear spray with me, and ill keep my food, camp, and cooking area all a 100 yards apart if possible. I can't figure out what I should do to help me sleep easier though, i'll be solo for the whole trip. Can't really afford a side arm, and the old string and bell trick would only freak me out more since I'd have no way of defending myself. Does using pine-sol really work? Any other ideas?

I don't worry much about blacks. I hang my food, but aside from that, don't really take any other precautions. A black won't bluff charge you like a grizz, if they charge you, it's because they want to eat you and they see you as prey, so you should fight back with everything you've got. Honestly though, black bear attacks are extremely rare and are genearlly the result of someone attempting to feed yogi. Hang your food and don't worry about them.

 

[Buster]

Glad to see this thread is active, and with educating posts. Hope it accounts for at least one less bad bear encounter this fall.

 

[Wrongside]

You mean these guys?



I'd echo all the CLEAN camp advice. Food and toilet far away as feasible. Noise when possible. Hunt as needed and be alert. Gun over bear spray every time. And not worry about the poor ol' bruin...

I know a few guys that have had bear trouble and it's been accidental encounters more than anything. Kill sites or Momma Bear being protective.

 

[Buster]

I don't get it, they look so cute and fuzzy. They even loved it when timothy treadwell sang to them...

 

[Wrongside]

Haha! Oh ya, they are cute and neat to watch! They liked Timothy so much they eventually had him over for dinner...

I was thinking about this subject a bit more... I also know a couple guys that have had 'big cat' troubles. Those fellas were actually being actively hunted...

 

[crazy_davey]

I know a few guys that have had bear trouble and it's been accidental encounters more than anything. Kill sites or Momma Bear being protective.

One of those guys might say wrong place at the wrong time on more than one occasion . A pissed off grizzly will get your attention in a hurry and will most certainly give you a healthy dose of respect for the wild backcountry we love to visit.

Face to face with a big kitty is no fun either, especially when you have no gun in hand(been there as well).

Did I ever tell you about the time I came about two feet from stepping on a tiny grizzly cub? Stepped over a log and there it was on the other side. That was a hair raising experience to say the least...

 

[Buster]

Crazy-Davey, it seems like the western slopes of Alberta have a lot of problem cats. Known a few people over the years that have run in into aggressive cougars, especially in 402 for some reason.

My biggest piece of advice though, to avoid bear problems is...... DON'T STEP ON THEIR CUBS!

 

[Wrongside]

LoL! That'd make a guy kinda tense and sweaty! It would be extra cute and fuzzy tho...

 

[realunlucky]

Did I ever tell you about the time I came about two feet from stepping on a tiny grizzly cub? Stepped over a log and there it was on the other side. That was a hair raising experience to say the least...

That sounds like one crazy story davey