Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Bear Problems in Camp

Anyone have problems with bears raiding your camp at night? I hunt an area where if you don't take precautions, a bear will raid your camp <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />. My friend lost some deer meat a few years ago while everyone was asleep. Tracks in the snow indicated a black bear came into camp and helped himself to one of the hanging deer. A ranger told me its just a matter of time before my camp is raided. Last year I woke up to my hunting pard's yelling in the middle of the night. Luckily he was awake when he heard the bear coming down the trail (packed sandy surface) so when the bear drifted into camp he started yelling. The bear ran off of course. So whats a guy to do with this dilemma? Wait for the inevitable? Maybe a nice confrontation with the firestiks ablazing out the tent? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Has anyone tried out these portable electric fences? I could pack it in before the season and leave it there for use, then retrieve it after the seasons over. Thoughts? This dilemma is really bugging me as I like to sleep well at night.

http://www.safepets.com/dcell.html

MtnHtr

Buy a bear license.

What Rolly said. Can't you hunt bear when you're out at the deer camp?

These problem bears come around camp late at night after everyone is asleep and all is quiet. If you shoot one at night and the authorities come around, you have to prove it was in self-defense. One of the problems is by the time you wake up and poke your head out the tent, the bear is long gone but the damage is done! These are sneaky, well educated bears. If its daylite, I would smoke one in a heartbeat and not think twice about it. Every year is different depending on the available forage for the bears. Strapping a electric wire around camp might be a pain but all it takes is one mischevious bear to ruin your hunt. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

http://www.pcta.org/planning/before_trip/health/bears.asp

MtnHtr

Well, I guess nobody has had any bear problems. You guys are lucky! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

MtnHtr

Mtn Hunter

Rather than pack one of the electric fences, why not set up a cable between two trees to hang your food etc? Pick two trees 30 feet apart and put the cable 20 feet up. Use bags in pairs to counter weight each other and they'll be a minimum of 10 feet off the ground, out of the bears reach. Attach your pots and pans to the outside of your food bags so they'll make noise if they are disturbed.

Another thing that I did was to utilize boulders or rock outcroppings to hang food. I'd pick something nice and vertical that a bear can't climb up, and again, hang food and game out of reach.


BTW - I've spent many,many nights in the Yosemite High country, as well as Sierra National Forest Wilderness (Kaiser Pass, John Muir, Dinkey Lakes) in prime bear territory and never had a problem with bears, even though I've seen quite a few.

Regards,
Scott

I have problems with bears! Hearing them at night and finding their tracks up against the tent makes it tough to sleep during subsequent nights. I have never had them get in my food or tear up equipment but having them in camp is a big negative. I've been following this post hoping someone would make a better suggestion than the electrical fence. I'm inclined to expose the bear to a flash of light, clap of thunder, and claim to know nothing about the bear lying dead near camp.

Capt_e,
Our food storage or cache is secure, but how do we cache our deer meat? If one of us puts a deer down then a 40-60lb sack of deer meat has to be stored overnite in camp. This is a two deer zone so I would like to keep hunting for a second deer especially if the hunting is good. I have in the past packed my 1st deer out to the truck (2.5hr hike min), then drove it down to cold storage and then returned to my camp (3.0hr hike min, uphill). But this takes 3/4 of a day which I could be spending in the woods trying to hammer a whopper.

A 55 gal drum would make a nice storage unit but I think the forestry service would frown on that especially in a wilderness area. We did store one meat bag (in a plastic garbage bag) last year during the daytime suspended over a boulder down into a pool in a creek. Sure enough after a couple days we saw claw (?) marks on the mossy side of the boulder where an animal tried to grab the rope.

MtnHtr

Quarter it and hang it out of reach. I lost part of an elk to a black bear a few years ago. The shoulders were low to the ground and one of them disappeared, as well as a bag of neck roasts. Then the next night, one of the hams got clawed up pretty good, even though it was hanging high enough to just touch it with your fingertips. Apparently they can jump. And use strong rope. Tracks in the snow said it was a sow and cub. -al

How's about getting a pooch to tag along? They miss little,even at night. You could keep him on a run,when out pounding the brush.

Food for thought....................

Here�s my thoughts� <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />



1) Put your cooking tent at least 50 yards from your bedding area. Bury all garbage deep and at least as far away from the main camp as your cooking tent.

2) Use a strong rope and throw it over a sturdy tree limb at least 20 feet in the air at least 50 yards from your main camp. Tie off your venison on the end of the rope and pull the deer up ALMOST to the limb, but not close enough to the limb that the bear can reach the deer by climbing the tree.

3) Buy some �bear strength� pepper spray.

4) String several empty, well-rinsed tin cans together and place them on the ground under the hanging venison.

5) When you can the bear knocking the cans around, do one of two things, depending on your courage� (A) Snuggle down deeper in your sleeping bag where it's safe and DO NOTHING� or� (B) Get out the pepper spray and go spray the bear, but make sure your partner has his rifle handy... and you've got plenty of toilet paper in camp. If that bear comes after you for spraying him, he will probably have "slippery" running... and you'll need the toilet paper after your partner shoots the bear. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />



Just my 5� worth (�Inflation�, ya know� <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> )





Strength & Honor�



Ron T.

Getting the boned out meat out of reach will be fairly easy. I agree that keeping it cool during the start of the season will be tough.

Sink it in sealed bags into a nearby lake? I seriously doubt that bears would go after it, but this is pure speculation.

If there is a creek nearby, and someone is in camp during the day then do like you did before. Use some sort of noise maker like pots and pans to alert you to critters messing with it. Then hang it at night.

Hope for an early storm and cool temperatures, so you can just keep it hanging?

Regards,
Scott

I got a lab-mix dog only he's a little too old (9yrs) and stubborn as a mule. My wife spoiled him rotten and he is a major con artist. My hunting partner has a lap dog which could end up as bear food so thats out.

No nearby lakes to toss sealed bags in. Just a creek, brush and a whole lotta pine trees. I could sneak a metal drum in..............shhhhhh

MtnHtr

Mtn. Hunter, what State are you hunting in?? Here in Idaho, if a bear comes into camp when it's dark and tears up your camp, you do not have to wait until daybreak to shoot it.

Hey, Boise, where are you hunting where you're having the bears come into camp? My two partners and I were lucky enough to be drawn for the Idaho Controlled Bull Elk hunt in Unit 37A (east of the Pahsimeroi River), this Oct. Hope we don't have any bear trouble over there. We do our best to keep a clean camp, but with food for 15 days for three people stored, it's kinda hard to keep it all away from Mr. Bruin, should he arrive.

We three always carry bear tags... and mountain lion tags, along with our elk and deer tags.

Good luck on your hunting this Fall.

L.W.

And I bet there's no snow nearby either...

What kind of forsaken place are you hunting in anyway ? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

And the lake doesn't need to be real close, just a lot closer than having to do the trip back into town.

Scott

Leanwolf, I keep running into bears in Unit 39; we have too many bears. We were camping just the other weekend and had one come into camp and then circle down wind to see if we were worth eating. My 50 lb german wirehaired pointer was barking her a$$ off. The bear did pay much attention to her and stayed with in 150 yards. We shot a couple of rocks just to let the bear know we weren't willing to play. The shots were in the opposite direction of the last bear sighting.

Even if you put the meat in a 55 gal. drum you are going to loose sleep hearing the bear bat the drum around camp. He may end up working up an appetite and decide on a sleeping bag burrito!

Boise, thanks for the info. Yep, I know Unit 39, but haven't hunted there for about three years. More time spent in Sawtooth Zone, and up north in the Grangeville and Red River area. I know there are a lot of bears in almost all these units. A friend of mine kills a bear every year during season in Unit 39.

In 1999, we were hunting Unit 62 (Teton) and a U.S. F.S. Ranger came into camp and warned us to be real careful. A Grizz had torn up a camp about 1/4 mile from our camp, a few days before. Over there, even in the unimproved campsites (where we camped), the F.S. had constructed bearproof boxes from 1/4 inch steel, in which campers could store their food at night, etc. We were very pleased to have those steel boxes nearby, although had no problems with bears. We did see some Grizz tracks: 14 inches PLUS the claws. Makes one take it seriously.

As for becoming a "sleeping bag burrito," I hear ya, man! Attached to my cot is a nylon holster with my S&W 57 .41 Mag., with my heavy handloads, and right beside my cot is my old Rem. 870 with the first round a #00 buck, with the following four rounds being Breneke Rifled Slugs.

I don't want to kill a bear in camp -- or in my tent -- but I'll not allow one to tear up camp... or me.

Good luck. L.W.

I'm hunting the Sierras Nevadas here in California at the mid to upper elevations. I hunt the transitional elevations for migrating bucks towards the end of the season. Usually at least one storm blows thru and we have a decent hunt. Funny thing is we have not had a storm the last two seasons in a row which is extremely rare. I see legal bucks every year but usually pass in hopes of Mr Big making an appearance. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

There are no lakes nearby except downhill a few miles away which makes it tough. The place does not receive alot of pressure as its off the beaten path (well sort of), a few hunters have shown up in the past but usually bug out because they "did not see anything". The bear population is excellent with a few brutes in the neighborhood. This far away from the roads I suspect most of the bears have not been run by houndsmen and have been conditioned by all the summer backpackers who frequent the area. Some years the bears are really thick during the season, it all depends on the berry crop. Last year the berry crop was thin so the bears were scattered which made the bear hunting poor. We did see 3 bears but no shooters.

A partner of mine was followed by a big black bear a few years ago while hiking up the trail. Paul had pulled off the trail for a snack and water for about ten minutes. When Paul returned to the trail there was a large black bear about 100yds down the trail staring at him. He raised his rifle to scope him out and the bear stood there for a moment before blowing out. (no, he did not have a bear tag) Later in the day on his return back down the trail, Paul traced the bears tracks to more than two miles so this bear had followed him a ways. I suspect the deer salami in Paul's pack had something to do with it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

MtnHtr

Mtn Hunter,

Keeping bears out of your camp requires that you maintain a CLEAN camp. NO garbage, food stored away from the sleeping areas and out of reach of the bears. This goes for any game taken. Nice bucks hanging from a pole makes for great pictures BUT you might as well be sending out invitations for the bears to come to your camp. The electric fence idea sounds good but I have never tried it. We usually take along a couple of our dogs as camp guards. [color:"red"]WARNING!!![/color] If you go the dog route make sure the dogs have some size to them. Little dogs attract bears NOT scare them away. They also attract mountain lions. You want a bear in camp? Let that little 10 pound "yapper" run loose and if it runs into a bear that bear will follow him right back to camp. We have had this happen twice when friends brought their little dogs camping with them. The best deterrent for keeping bears out of camp is located right behind your eyes. Lawdog

I know you were hunting in the Sierras, from some earlier descriptions, but I couldn't figure if you were in D6, D7 or D8. Not that it really matters.

The storms sure have come late the last couple years. The first time I tried D7, it had already snowed pretty good and the deer had all left for lower altitudes. When I finally clued into this, I hunted lower. As in too much lower. I did manage to find a major migration trail though. Something to remember if I decide to go back to hunting that area in the late season.

So, like I said, hope for cold temps? Something to counter balance the July we just had?

And, I don't want to presume ignorance, but do you know how to do a counterbalanced food bag system?

Regards,
Scott