Troubles with bears

[Duke]

We've hung food out in the White Mountain of Arizona. Bears climb great and have tried to break the branches on the trees we hung it across/in. One of them roared and charged the tent and roared again and his nose was denting in the tent with rainfly zipped down. Almost as scared as I've ever been (attacked by thugs in New Orleans).Tried to remember- don't shoot thick skull...will piss it off; try for smile under the smile as a neck shot could take out central nervous system; a deadly wound would still allow minutes of pouncing due to the slow circulatory system of Ursus. Yep, I now carry a big canister of spray in it's own readily accessible worn holster. 

A couple days later we were hiking and noticed a Class C with side window torn out. We approached slowly, no bear and no person hurting. Talked to the owner later...really tore the place up.

Similar event camped at Black River fishing. We never clean fish near camp & always downwind from camp; never cook right by where we intend to sleep (I no longer sleep in tents in bear country). There, two bears sniffed one of our Broncos, the one with the food stored in it. They climbed up on the hood, tried to get the windshield "open", mangled a wiper, climbed on top and tried to bash their way in...gave up. Next trip I looked out one daybreak and there was a cinnamon colored black bear near the fire pit licking a dropped marshmallow  off a rock...looked over his head at my gun still sitting on the camp chair where I'd left it....doh!  :s

Sometimes at that river we spread a few mothballs around where we sleep, a perimeter of sorts. Might help, no visitors- yet. Might just be an old tale. Snopes doesn't know.

I alway have keys in ignition (having to fumble for them not good) if in camp in bear country. Moving the vehicle back and forth would stop a breech.

Actually saw somebody camped with a battery operated "bear protection fence":
 https://www.amazon.com/UDAP-BEF-Shock-Electric-Fence/dp/B001QGXNCY

 

[everett ruess]

My issue with bear spray is that if the wind is coming at you you spray yourself too. Then the bear has a blind spicy meal.

 

[Duke]

My issue with bear spray is that if the wind is coming at you you spray yourself too. Then the bear has a blind spicy meal.

It would be useless inside a tent too...until the first claw rip.

I have wondered if having spray might have changed the outcome when my friend was hiking and a bear charged which her dog responded to- and was killed & eaten.

Or if this lady had kept it handy:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...weeks-after-bear-attack-idUSTRE76P5LJ20110726

I know that one evening hiking back to camp, barely could I see a bear turning over logs for grubs. I tried to move downwind of him as their sense of smell is better than eyesight and stepped on a branch to a loud "crack". Bear stopped rooting around...the silence was deafening, especially since their padded feet affords decent stealth. I had spray- in my day pack. That's when I added the holster.  They can run 30 mile per hour, I cant.

 

[ColdBrook]

It would be useless inside a tent too...until the first claw rip.

Just so you know bears don't always use claws to rip the tent.  First rip in our tent was when bear bit it and tore a huge tri-corner hole big enough for it to walk right into the tent.  The teeth marks proved it was a bite to the tent wall.  By the way the bear proceeded to return later and reached up and tore out all the screen windows-it obviously had previous experience biting and tearing up tents.   (We weren't in the campsite when the bear attacked the tent luckily)

Bears also learn quickly to get on roof of vehicles and jump up and down until they bend the frame and can then ripe off the doors. Not a good experience.

To this day I am still terrified of bears- all this happened 40 years ago by black bears.

 

[sreesekelley]

A long time ago while on a field problem at Ft Lewis WA myself and two other privates had the honor of sitting all night in a foxhole at a fork in the road with a machine gun. At some point Bigfoot became a subject of discussion. There was moonlight but not a full moon and the road was a dirt road. At some point during the night a huge mass came thundering down the road. With only blanks, all we could do was press ourselves against the side of the foxhole. For the rest of the night we took turns taking breaks inside the mess tent. As it turned out, the monster thundering down the road was a herd of wild horses. The next morning I asked the Captain about contingency plans for bigfoot. he patted his .45 and pointed to his jeep.

My lesson was not to talk about scary crap when out in the woods.

 

[Duke]

 roof of vehicles and jump up and down until they bend the frame and can then ripe off the doors. Not a good experience.

To this day I am still terrified of bears- all this happened 40 years ago by black bears.

Thanks ColdBrook, though I'd seen it...I did not realise those bears know how to loosen up a spam can vehicle...guess I'm even more impressed with Broncos since they did not.

Black Bears have far more encounters, because more of us are in their natural territory.

Three miles from where I am now, a Black Bear mauled a horse, again a few months back. Horse-owner tracked the bear and dispatched it. 600 pounds! 

When kayaking in Alaska we got near many Browns which are related to but 50% larger than Grizz.
Saw one 1500 pound boar run as fast as a thoroughbred to attack another male and wondered why I was tenting on Admiralty Island for 5 nights.

Ran into a film crew studying these Brown Bears and they were all toting .375H&Hs. They told us a German kayaker had gone missing two months prior and they joined the search. All that was found was one shoe, with his foot inside.

Bears are no joke