Those 12ga blank perimeter trip wire things

Dos Perros

Dos Perros

WKR
Joined
Jul 30, 2015
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Lenexa, KS
The Instagram clickbait got me. Headed to grizz country for some fishing with my boy in a couple weeks. Areas we have been in before but may camp in some more remote areas, higher, with higher likelihood of running into bears. I honestly sleep like chit when he's with me because I am acutely aware that I am solely responsible for his well-being, a responsibility that probably drives more emotion than logic. To that end, I'm thinking of using those trip wire devices with a 12 gauge blank shell as a perimeter alarm. Not necessarily because I think it'll deter a bear, but more because (assuming I believe it works) I can rest easy knowing I'll get a wake-up call.

So what say you? Anyone ever used one? Anyone ever been woken up by one going off?
 
Get an electronic bear fence. Blanks can still cause injury to a person and I would be hesitant to use them around a camp with a kid. Also, a 12 ga blank waking you up for a small animal going through your camp is the most likely outcome.
 
I have a pack alarm that I sometimes take. Bought it so the wife would sleep better at night when I introduced her to back country hunting. Light, doesn't take up much space and loud as hell when it goes off. If it's triggered the noise is a real motivator to get out of bag and see what set it off!
 
Not gonna lie, thinking about them for our Moose camp this year. Seems cheap and easy, not sure what they may do other than just waking me up. Not sure how much an electric bear fence is, but may look into it just to know.
 
Camped on a remote river and fished for a week 2 years ago. Grizz everywhere. Had tracks through camp at night and saw bears everyday. Never had a worry in the tent. Was much more concerned busting one out of a bed while bushwhacking to a new spot.
 
The electric fence is a better option IMO. Saw some guys using one in Wy and they said they are very happy with it.
 
eamyrick said:
Camped on a remote river and fished for a week 2 years ago. Grizz everywhere. Had tracks through camp at night and saw bears everyday. Never had a worry in the tent. Was much more concerned busting one out of a bed while bushwhacking to a new spot.
Click to expand...

As I mentioned, it's mostly emotional. There are a LOT of bears in there though. I worry about the one that has been conditioned to get food from campers. Young bears making their way in the world for the first time. Or old ones struggling to hold on. This area seems to be ground zero for human grizzly bear conflicts and it has been well documented.
 
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Dos Perros said:
As I mentioned, it's mostly emotional. There are a LOT of bears in there though. I worry about the one that has been conditioned to get food from campers. Young bears making their way in the world for the first time. Or old ones struggling to hold on. This area seems to be ground zero for human grizzly bear conflicts and it has been well documented.
Click to expand...

I figured I'd share my source documentation:

Documented known and probable grizzly bear mortalities in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, 2015-2022 (ver. 2.0, April 2023)

We evaluate mortalities for population segments within the DMA by deriving estimates of total mortality for independent-age (≥2 years old) females and independent-age males, including estimates of unknown/unreported mortalities based on Cherry et al. (2002). We then determine the total annual...
www.sciencebase.gov www.sciencebase.gov

The Excel is pretty sobering to go through. Essentially, in the GYE, the vast majority of grizzly bear mortality is human caused, and of that large slice of pie most of it is either in self-defense or management removal of a bad bear.
 
Marbles said:

Miscellaneous - Used & Demo - SWFA Outdoors

www.swfa.com www.swfa.com

Best deal on a fence. I picked up a demo, not in perfect condition, but functional.

They may be out though.

Cabela's looks to have the next best price. https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/udap-electric-bear-fence
Click to expand...

That is definitely more in my price range, and I would buy if they had one. Wonder if a dude could piece together a system that stock folks might use, assume that would be pretty robust and cost efficient.
 
After seeing the Dan Pickar / Eastman's video I wouldn't count on a bear fence to be a sufficient deterrent. I guess it would still wake you up but the area I'd want to cover would probably be spendy. Maybe not.

I did a test on this 12 ga blank trip wire. I'm sure it has to do with the blanks I was able to source, but it is definitely not the BOOM of a shotgun, more like a pop, on the order of Blackcat fireworks kinda pop. It'll wake me up. I don't perceive it to be very dangerous. Probably more worried about fire potential than anything else. Will have to be smart setting it up.
 
Dos Perros said:
After seeing the Dan Pickar / Eastman's video I wouldn't count on a bear fence to be a sufficient deterrent. I guess it would still wake you up but the area I'd want to cover would probably be spendy. Maybe not.

I did a test on this 12 ga blank trip wire. I'm sure it has to do with the blanks I was able to source, but it is definitely not the BOOM of a shotgun, more like a pop, on the order of Blackcat fireworks kinda pop. It'll wake me up. I don't perceive it to be very dangerous. Probably more worried about fire potential than anything else. Will have to be smart setting it up.
Click to expand...
I watched that video. But who knows if it was really active. Didn’t even test it!
 
Fishing line with some pots and pans will wake you up without making you have to get rid of your now soiled sleeping bag.
 
Dos Perros said:
The Instagram clickbait got me. Headed to grizz country for some fishing with my boy in a couple weeks. Areas we have been in before but may camp in some more remote areas, higher, with higher likelihood of running into bears. I honestly sleep like chit when he's with me because I am acutely aware that I am solely responsible for his well-being, a responsibility that probably drives more emotion than logic. To that end, I'm thinking of using those trip wire devices with a 12 gauge blank shell as a perimeter alarm. Not necessarily because I think it'll deter a bear, but more because (assuming I believe it works) I can rest easy knowing I'll get a wake-up call.

So what say you? Anyone ever used one? Anyone ever been woken up by one going off?
Click to expand...
We have been making these 12G Perimeter Trip Alarms for years. I can confirm they do work well, assuming you get ones like ours that have a strong spring. There are many kockoffs out there that source cheaper material such as the spring, and it won't set off all primers.

But assuming you have a quality variant, yes and they work quite well. The average sound rating is 130 dB, but can go up to about 170dB depending on the blank you use.

Here is a recent video of Sensible Prepper going over them:
 
I use one of these. I bought a couple off the previous owner, the new owners are Canadian.
In any case, works well for us over the last 10 or so years of hunting in BC Griz country. Not a deterrent in any way, but sets a nice large perimeter around your camp that gives you some audible notice when something enters it. Also used it around meat left in the bush that required multiple trips to pack out

https://packalarm.com/
 
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