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Tips for hiking in bear country

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SteveinAlaska said:
This half breed eskimo started carrying a rifle back about 1960 around the homestead in Alaska along with being raised by a father with WW2 combat experience. The camera hobby just started a couple of years ago. I have found out how to pack a Mauser G98 with Sellier & Bellot 196 grain ammo next to the Leica & Zeiss. As others of you have posted, It's "heads up'" on any trek in the bush. Pay attention of where you are and what's around you and you will do OK. But personally, I need to be packing a little heat for me to feel safe.
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Ahh, someone with lots of grizzly experience. Do you do anything to let them know you're coming?

Murray
 
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It is always good to make noise in bear country. Pepper Spray works on grizzlies, it may or may not work on black bears. Grizzlies attack as a territory defense. It is practically unheard of for a grizzly to eat a person. The only time this will happen is if the bear is hyperphagic (desparate to put on fat before hibernation). Black bear attacks, per capita (bear capita, that is), are less frequent. But the black bear is much more likely to attack because he intends to eat you. So currently accepted wisdom is to fight off a black bear, but become completely unthreatening to a grizzly. A tough choice in the heat of the moment! There are many instances of well armed hunters being killed. Even if you get off a shot and manage to hit the bear, you won't likely bring it down. And if it's a grizzly, you have reinforced to it that you are a threat.

The reality is that you are much more likely to be killed by a falling tree that a bear. "Widowmaker" is the woodsman's term for a dead tree, not a live bear.
 
44 Magnum Revolver (I am not totally joking)...
Actually one of your best bets along with all these bells and whistles are large dogs. Also remember the species matter some bears (like polar bears) think you are food. Others are just threatened by your presence.
 
I'm of two minds about the large dog. One story is that the dog chases the bear, the bear realizes he's running from a small (by bear standards) animal at the same time the dog realizes, "hey, this thing is really big". The dog runs to its "protector" (you) with the bear hot on its heels. On the other hand, a good dog who doesn't chase wild animals is a great early warning system for a bear's presence. For the past few years I've taken "Dakota" with me (who some of you saw on a postcard), but I wouldn't trust any of my other dogs as much as I love them. Dakota does let me know when there are other animals around (moose and bear) but I don't know what her reaction might be to an attack by one. It might be, "Thanks for the distraction for me to get my furry butt out of here Dad" or she might try to protect me. I'll rely on the bear spray.
If you think you really need a gun, I think the best one is 5-shot shotgun loaded alternately with SSG's and slugs.
 
johnnywalker said:
.....If you think you really need a gun, I think the best one is 5-shot shotgun loaded alternately with SSG's and slugs.
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John hits the nail on the headÂ….. The best bear gun is a shotgun loaded alternately with buckshot and slugs. But when I pack my 8x10 kit and tripod, the shotgun is just too heavy and cumbersome. Occasionally I will carry a .44 Mag loaded with hot bear loads, but most times I only carry the bear spray. I never go off road without the bear spray, even though I may have a gun.

If I really think there are bears in the area, and that I really need a gun, then I just don't go.
 
As of yesterday, the number of feet found is now six.
Ooops. Appears No. 6 is a hoax. Some ass**** stuffed an animal paw in a running shoe.
 
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So what I am understanding from this thread is that I need to carry a left handed bear spray, a right handed shotgun or magnum, and wear running shoes just in case I need to be identified later? Does that just about sum it up? :smile:

I have always been more scared of two legged creatures than four. i guess the magnum would help with that if I am ever in a remote area.

Is it true that bears will go for the family jewels first if their intent is to eat you? Just curious. I heard that somewhere.
 
I have only experience with black bears (wilderness ranger for 10 seasons in northern CA). In black bear country I don't take any special precautions except hang up my food at night. One night I didn't and a bear grabbed my one of my sacks of food. I had to chase that SOB thru the woods...managed to get enough food back to stay out in the wilderness for the rest of the trip.

The only time a black bear was halfway threatening was once when it had a cub up a tree...fortunately the trail lead away from the tree, so no problem.

Grizzleys I would treat a lot differently.

Vaughn
 
patrickjames said:
So what I am understanding from this thread is that I need to carry a left handed bear spray, a right handed shotgun or magnum, and wear running shoes just in case I need to be identified later? Does that just about sum it up? :smile:
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You forgot dog tags (US military metal ID tags for our international contingent) inside the shoe. They're having a tough time with the DNA in the dear departed feet. The running shoes are primarily for outrunning your companion, which means you don't have to outrun the bear. A grizzly can cover 100 meters in about 4 seconds according to the tracker Tom Brown, so getting the jump on your companion is the main thing.

Lee
 
patrickjames said:
So what I am understanding from this thread is that I need to carry a left handed bear spray, a right handed shotgun or magnum, and wear running shoes just in case I need to be identified later? Does that just about sum it up? :smile:

I have always been more scared of two legged creatures than four. i guess the magnum would help with that if I am ever in a remote area.

Is it true that bears will go for the family jewels first if their intent is to eat you? Just curious. I heard that somewhere.
Click to expand...

In my experience people who work in the woods rarely carry anything but bear spray, which would work on all creatures. Any gun that would kill a bear is just too heavy to pack around all day.

Never heard of bears going after the family jewels first, but in that case I guess the bears would refer to them as, "Mountain Oysters"
 
patrickjames said:
So what I am understanding from this thread is that I need to carry a left handed bear spray, a right handed shotgun or magnum, and wear running shoes just in case I need to be identified later? Does that just about sum it up? :smile:

I have always been more scared of two legged creatures than four. i guess the magnum would help with that if I am ever in a remote area.

Is it true that bears will go for the family jewels first if their intent is to eat you? Just curious. I heard that somewhere.
Click to expand...

You forgot to add "be accompanied by someone very unfit that you can easily out-run" My Canadian friend may have invited me along into the Rockies for that reason: he kept trying to walk faster than me but didn't realise I'd spent three months in training for the trip.
 
MurrayMinchin said:
Those bells drive me nuts!

Grizzly crap is 'twistier' than black bear crap, and sometimes it's pretty easy to tell because you can just imagine how large the bear must have been to have a butt hole big enough to get a turd that huge out!!

Pepper spray does work on grizzlies, not that I've had to use it yet........

Murray
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Murray,

If you have visited 'other' regions of your province (especially those that are popular for OoP and/or non-Canuckian tourist types, the Fort Steele camp ground has this educational type sign in differentiating the black/grizzly types.

Ken
 

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Good one :D

I've heard of people spraying their tents and clothes with pepper spray thinking it should be applied like insect repellant.

What's an OoP?

Murray
 
I'm afraid I can't do the liberal "reason-with-the-bear" thing.

I haven't a problem with the MACE and peanut butter but if I can't take my Model 29 S&W into bear country with me, I ain't going!

I've no intention of becoming some of that "twisty" stuff Murray was talking about.
 
Liberal???
Given the choice of your model 29 and pepper spray, I'd take the pepper spray any day. You'd have to be very accurate with your first shot, or else you're just going to piss off the bear.
 
MurrayMinchin said:
Good one :D

I've heard of people spraying their tents and clothes with pepper spray thinking it should be applied like insect repellant.

What's an OoP?

Murray
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Spraying your tent with pepper spray will actually ATTRACT a bear as it smells food like to them.
 
I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but if chased by a bear, you don't have to be able to run faster than the bear, just faster than your companion. :wink:
 
frank said:
I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but if chased by a bear, you don't have to be able to run faster than the bear, just faster than your companion. :wink:
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Only a dozen times or so, but it bears repeating.

OUCH!

Lee
 
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