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I’m not going to be doing my Adirondack wall tent deer hunting trip this year, at least not like I have done the past couple years. I have joined a hunting club, actually 2 adjoining clubs, in the Cranberry Lake region of the Adirondacks. The motivating reasons are this area has been logged and the forest managed over its history resulting in higher deer numbers than I am accustomed to in the “forever wild” region in the high peaks. The other reason for the change is the opportunity to build our own camp on timber company land. The camp didn’t materialize this year, but that’s where the wall tent comes in. I would like to set up camp for the duration of hunting season, early October- late November. My biggest concern is a bear trashing the tent. There are more bears in this region that I encountered in the high peaks, and a canvas tent saturated with cooking smells left unattended could be asking for trouble. Any suggestions on what to do to keep bears away? I’m thinking about trying a solar powered electric fence around the perimeter. Maybe cayenne pepper sprinkled around?
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Joined: Sep 2004
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I’m not a bear expert, but small ears usually indicate a big bear. This photo was taken 1/4 mile from my camp site.
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Joined: Sep 2004
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There is also a very healthy moose population in the region. 40 years ago moose were non existent in the Adirondacks, now they are nearly commonplace.
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 13,662
Campfire Outfitter
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Set up an electric fence to run off a solar charger/deep cycle battery. May not be foolproof, but for the price/effort I can't imagine it wouldn't be good peace of mind. Some polytape, step in posts, and a go at it.
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Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 5,179
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2020
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Moth balls and sulfur spread around the tents perimeter? Supposedly works for rattlesnakes.
Life is good live it while you can.
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Joined: Sep 2009
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Sep 2009
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The guy who puts bee hives on our property, every year, uses portable solar powered electric fences.
Paul.
"Kids who grow up hunting, fishing & trapping, do not mug little old Ladies"
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Joined: Sep 2004
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Great pictures! Good luck with the hunt!
Semper Fi
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Joined: Sep 2004
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Allways enjoy your posts Miguel keep them coming.mb
" Cheapest velocity in the world comes from a long barrel and I sure do like them. MB "
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Joined: Feb 2009
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Me too. I can’t wait to see how it pans out for you. I spent Monday and Tuesday in the Moose River Plains area. Kicked 3 deer, saw 1 tail for 9.5 miles of walking. Pretty sparse down there, but all they have to eat is moss, ferns and mushrooms. Some logging would be so beneficial for all wildlife up there but good old NYS will never allow it.
They say everything happens for a reason. For me that reason is usually because I've made some bad decisions that I need to pay for.
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Joined: Jun 2010
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Electric fence is cheap insurance.
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Joined: Jun 2010
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I too greatly enjoy your Upstate my posts!
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 78
Campfire Greenhorn
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Campfire Greenhorn
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 78 |
Miguel,
I too really enjoy your posts! I spent many a year (I was stationed at Ft. Drum for 10 years) hunting the Tug Hill / High-market areas and you are doing exactly what I wanted to do while I was there and never did. Enjoy your hunt and keep the posts coming!
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,427 Likes: 13
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,427 Likes: 13 |
The OP says he's not interested in an electric fence but this is for anyone who is interested. I use a portable electric fence for my pack llamas when I camp near the truck. The fence is too heavy and bulky to pack in. I just grabbed some photos from the web. You can find anything here at a local farm store except possibly the charger or energizer. The 1st time you set this up, it'll take a while. Once you get it right, it'll be much faster next time. Here's a good article put out by the state of Montana on bear fences. They're a lot more elaborate than most guys need but it'll give you some ideas. BEAR FENCESI set up a 50x50 fence. It takes me about 30 min to set the whole thing up. I use 3 wires for the llamas. For bears, I'd suggest 4 or 5. You can buy bear fence kits but they're mostly for backpacking and are barely big enough to go around a pup tent. This one is MUCH larger. Plastic step-in posts are pretty cheap, like $5 to $6 each for 4'ers. For a 50x50, I use 9 posts. 1 for each corner and 1 intermediate on each side, plus 1 more for a gate. I guy out the corners with ropes and 2 stakes. The intermediates don't need guy ropes. I suggest wire tape at least 1" wide to be very visible. With these posts, just clip the tape into the hooks. With the llamas, all 3 wires are hot as their feet will give a good ground. A bear's feet are wide and less likely to make a good ground. I suggest 5 wires for a bear fence - 3 hot and 3 ground. Make the top, center, and bottom hot and the other 2 grounds to increase the chances of the bear hitting both a hot and a ground at the same time. If the ground is damp, all hots will work as the bear will be grounded. You'll need a good ground for the charger. If the ground is damp, any steel or copper rod pounded a foot or more in the ground will work. Here, it's usually quite dry that time of year. I use 2 rods hooked together with heavy wire. I dig a shallow hole about 6" deep and a foot across for each rod about 2' apart. I drive 1 rod in each hole then fill them with water to soak up the ground. Adding more water after it soaks in will make a better ground. I use this battery charger from Kencove, called a Strip Grazer. it uses either 8 D-cells (total of 12V) or it can be hooked to any 12v battery. A charger uses almost no power unless an animal hits it. 8 D cells will last a month. Using a larger 12v battery will last for many months as long as the battery will hold a charge on it's own. A solar charger isn't needed for just a fall hunting camp. STRIP GRAZER This one will put out about 1/3 joule. Bigger ones will put out a lot more juice which would be better for bears. You want to get their full attention. Some guys smear peanut button the on the hot wires to lure the bear into licking it. Once he's been shocked a couple times, he usually won't try again. There are exceptions.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
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Camp is lookin' deer ready, Miguel. Hope you score on one of those bruiser Adirondack bucks.
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