Bring a .45 or .357, sleep well. Just got off Deso the ranger said a bear had torn a raft apart for food in the cooler on a raft. Better than in camp.

 

duck tape the cooler closed and string in tree. I would rather have a bear poke around camp than pop my way out..... also bring a gun. I recommend a 410 "Judge". It takes 410 shot gun rounds or 45 colt LR rounds. If you bring pepper spray into Gizz country be sure to bring salt spray too, then you will be fully seasend.

 

...I recommend a 410 "Judge". It takes 410 shot gun rounds or 45 colt LR rounds...

Just make sure you put 45s in there. A 410 shotgun shell is for shooting mice.

 

Can't have a handgun in Canada.

Anyone use one those portable electric fences before?

 

I've rafted in Canada and AK several times with no problems. Keep a clean camp. Some folks strap all the coolers and food dryboxes together in a large "cube", others like myself, leave the coolers/dryboxes strapped down in the boats. Wipe these and your kitchen surfaces down with a spray solution of diluted clorax to help neutralize odors. All trash that can't be burned, should go into rocket boxes, secured in the boats.

Bringing guns into Canada is a major pain in the ass--and you're correct, hand guns are a felony if caught--not worth it--and will probably give a false sense of security at best. At worst, in the confusion of a late night bear in camp encounter, you could end up shooting your fellow boaters, or even more tragically, shoot a hole into your prized inflatable... Bring clearly labeled bear pepper spray instead, much less chance of a bad encounter statistically.

 

I've rafted in Canada and AK several times with no problems. Keep a clean camp. Some folks strap all the coolers and food dryboxes together in a large "cube", others like myself, leave the coolers/dryboxes strapped down in the boats. Wipe these and your kitchen surfaces down with a spray solution of diluted clorax to help neutralize odors. All trash that can't be burned, should go into rocket boxes, secured in the boats.

Bringing guns into Canada is a major pain in the ass--and you're correct, hand guns are a felony if caught--not worth it--and will probably give a false sense of security at best. At worst, in the confusion of a late night bear in camp encounter, you could end up shooting your fellow boaters, or even more tragically, shoot a hole into your prized inflatable... Bring clearly labeled bear pepper spray instead, much less chance of a bad encounter statistically.

At least if you shoot your boat, it's a small patch to fix it, where a bear would probably shred the boat beyond recognition... lol. Just kidding... I have no intension of bringing a gun.

On a trip to AK or Northern Canada I might consider it, but the area I'm going (where the chance of a bear encounter is much lower) and the amount of alcohol that will be consumed, it's not worth the risk to me.

Have you used this bleach solution before and not attracted a bear? The only reason I ask is because I've heard that, while pepper spray is a deterant in high acute doses, it can actually be an attractant to far off bears if it's discharged accidentally or as a test.

 

i have thought about this as well. have a tactical shotgun that would easily fit in a drybag, but i have never brought it. as a former ranger i can tell you that its not that easy to kill a bear, and that a handgun is mostly useless. I have done "battle" with several bears over the years (but never on a river trip).

in academy they taught us that if we need to try to stop one to pick a shoulder and unload into it. you won't kill it w/a handgun but you can disable it if you are lucky. wild bears are not used to loud sounds & i have chased them off w/the sound of the discharge (this is after i was bluff charged, scared the piss out of me!). if that is your plan, pick a spot that is safe to shoot into during daylight so that you don't have to figure it out in the moment.

the thing that worked the best for us in parks was pretty simple. a handful of mothballs inside a sock, soaked in pine sol. its just way too strong for the bears and they want no part of it. you would need a dedicated drybag for it as the smell is insanely strong and would taint the bag for life i would think. but it works like a charm everytime and in fact allowed us to avoid shutting down a campground and rounding up the problem bears. if you prepare this thing, do it outside in a well ventilated area.

 

The mothballs idea is interesting. I'm going to read up on that a bit... thanks.

 

I've heard the pine-sol remedy before as well but without the mothballs.

 

How do you use the pine-sol remedy without the mothballs? Just leave a soaked rag near the boat, or something like that? Put the rag in a few ziplocs and a dedicated dry bag when on the river to keep the smell down?

 

pistols and bears

Been around hunting guns all my life. I am a reasonably skilled marksman. I do not have much faith in my ability to instantly stop a charging bear in it's tracks with any firearm.

Never been charged by a bear, so my opinions are based on research via the internet and a lifetime of reading outdoor hunting magazines.

All the Grizz video charges I have seen are so fast the bear is on top of the person in the blink of an eye.

Two things on pistols. I am a decent shooter. I do not think I could get a pistol out and aimed in time to stop a charging bear. If I did hit the bear, my bet is it would just piss the bear off more. Pistols just do not have the stopping power to put the brakes on a charging big bear.

On my trips in bear country, I started carrying one of the largest cans of bear spray I could find. I honestly believe I have the best chance of stopping a bear with a decent sized spray from a major brand bear spray.

For what it is worth, if a person wanted to shoot and kill a large bear they would be better off with one of the magnum hunting rifles and loads than any pistol. A powerful hunting rifle is way too much weight for most of us to carry and even harder to get out and on target in seconds.

Pepper spray can be carried on your belt or some other easy to access spot. Much easier to carry than a firearm. Price is such that you could buy extras and have them available. And, it does not take much training on pepper spray to be a reasonable competent shooter whereas keeping your pistol / rifle shooting skills takes constant practice.

 

Two things on pistols. I am a decent shooter. I do not think I could get a pistol out and aimed in time to stop a charging bear. If I did hit the bear, my bet is it would just piss the bear off more.
.

yup

they showed us alot of pics & vids. mushroomed 45 slugs that didn't even crack the skull. multiple rounds in the HEART of a bear that just kept charging after being shot by one hell of a marksman. the lewis & clark journals have alot of stories of how tough they are, the best one ending with "and thus, our curiousity about these bears was satisfied". this is after they shot one several times w/giant slugs and then had to climb trees & jump into the river to escape. the bear followed into the river to continue the chase, but then swan to a small island and died 45 minutes later.

in parks we loaded 2 buckshot shells, followed by 2 slugs in all of our shotguns.

 

just straight pine sol in a spray bottle? did they dilute it? sounds simple enough but i wonder if it would have any bad effects on your boats/gear?

 

I was wondering the same thing. Also wondering if it would be overpowering to sleep near.

What if I soaked a rag in it and hung it as a "flag" elevated above the boat where the food is?

 

elctric bear fences work well if the bears are not use to them

 

Can you elaborate on that? What do they do if they're used to them? And have you used them personally?

 

with the pine sol/mothball sock set up i never had to refresh them for the rest of the season. we DID have to make a sign at the entrance gate to explain why there were socks tied to every garbage can in the park.

it was something about the combo that is amazingly "aromatic" up close, but at 15-20 feet wasn't really noticable by people.

A Bear’s Sense of Smell


If someone were to ask you, "how does a bear smell," you could answer in two ways. Bears smell real bad – or so I'm told – or bears smell exceptionally well, as I discuss below.

Bears are thought to have the best sense of smell of any animal on earth. For example, the average dog's sense of smell is 100 times better than a humans. A blood hound's is 300 times better. A bear's sense of smell is 7 times better than a blood hound's or 2,100 times better than a human.

LINK

 

Lots of times camping I "establish my territory". Being an (the) apex predator, I am sure that many wild animals are human averse. At least give them something to think about. Just use a few dribbles and pinch it off and you can cover a pretty good perimeter, esp the main travel corridors.

 

I like this idea! And with the 9 of us consuming beverages throughout the day, supply shouldn't be an issue.

 

In grizzly country a 460 XVR or 500 mag will stop a bear - both rounds have more stopping power than most magnum rifle loads. In small bear country such as Desolation/Grays a .357, .41 mag or 10mm auto with the proper round will have no problem stopping a bear. I enjoy hunting with a hand gun as it provides more of a challenge. In my experience both the .357 and 10 mm with the right round have had no problem knocking down Colorado sized bear. You better be practiced and comfortable with a hand gun if you are going to carry one for self defense in bear country. The moment you need a gun is not the time to learn. At that moment the gun should be instinctively a part of your body.

Prevention is a much better option. Pack the gear up and keep the camp CLEAN. Wipe down the coolers and use good sealing coolers and ammo boxes to keep smells to a minimum. I leave the gear in the boat at night and so far have had no problems. I have heard that it takes a very hungry or garbage trained bear to approach a raft. I am a light sleeper and have scared bears out of camp quickly when I have heard them rummaging around. If there is a lot of bear sign at the camp you have chosen, move down stream. I have used a hand gun discharge to scare off bears effectively. I would rather scare the bear off and move on as soon as possible than shoot one. Having an effective handgun in the back country is an essential tool - I don't leave home with out one. I would be seriously letting down my family if I needed one and didn't have it. If you choose to carry a side arm for self defense make sure you and your family get the proper training, practice and are comfortable with your firearm before taking it along. Teach your kids about guns and get them shooting early in life so there is no mystery or curiosity about firearms.

First and foremost keep a clean camp and don't invite a bear problem. Avoiding a confrontation is always the best course of action.

 

Several people studying wolves have used this technique effectively. Don't know about bears, but it may not hurt. Women during that time of the month would be excepted.

 

I'm definitely no bear expert, nor a gun expert, but I have a buddy that used to lead 1-2 week canoe trips for a camp in northern Ontario, near the arctic circle in polar bear country.

Aside from the standard bear avoidance tactics, his "Bear gun" was a .12 gauge with a mag-light built into the stock that came on when the trigger was depressed. The first shell was birdshot, then as many slugs as the gun would hold. The idea was that the pellets would hopefully blind the bear, and then pray that the slugs break bones and stop the charge. Apparently there's no false charge in polar bears. :shock:

 

sorry if repeating anything but here's my input...

for the cooler, cam strap the hell out of it for the night. put pots and pans on top to serve as a "warning system" to wake you or someone up. start everyone up and get yelling and making a racket to scare it off. the cam straps aren't going to keep it out long term but they buy you time. it's much safer to chase off a bear BEFORE he's into your food,no doubt.

do some research on BRFC's too. i use them for trips to AK,ect. they work great. i've had the privilege to watch a brown try and bust ours open for nearly an hour at a safe distance on a ridge.

and the best prevention to bear problems is using just your brain. i'm not abit anti gun but remember statistically you stand a far,far better chance of injuring or killing yourself or someone in your party with the gun than being hurt/killed by a bear. paranoid gun nuts shitting their pants every time they see a bear in the wild scare me a whole lot more than the bears any day. and again, not anti gun one bit just anti stupid people with guns.

 

paranoid gun nuts shitting their pants every time they see a bear in the wild scare me a whole lot more than the bears any day. and again, not anti gun one bit just anti stupid people with guns.

indeed, but want gun if I am being charged. If i had pepper spray i would'nt just go spraying it at every bear, same with a gun.

 

Pepper spray? Please. Won't work if there's a breeze, and it wears off in 30 minutes and he'll be pissed. Get a gun. Aim for the shoulder and you'll stop him.

Also, I understand that a Yeti cooler with a padlock on it is considered 'bear proof' by the National Parks. Just don't leave it on your boat.

 

I vote prevention too, but when it come down to it I want a gun and not pepper spray. My buddy went to Baffin Island in the canadian arctic with a can of bear spray, his Inuit guide told him to get a can of salt spray too, so he would be "fully seasond" for the offending bear.

 

So much conflicting opinions here, some have merit: clean camp, camp away from food/food preparation areas, secure food containers and non-burnable trash, avoid scented items in your tent (deodorants, toothpaste, candy, chapstick, etc) no man-strater type guys allowed....

According to one highly regarded bear biologists study: firearms are almost 10 times less effective in deterring aggressive bear charges--the majority of bear charges are bluffs which the people who had firearms and used them, ended up provoking the bear, resulting in injury or death. Whereas, those using bear spray/or not using (but having it on them), were much less likely to experience injury or death. Draw your own conclusions, but my experience in grizzly/coastal brown bear country is--pepper spray and the above camping guidelines seem to work--so far .

Remember; if you have bear spray in a hostile bear encounter, you don't even have to be the fastest runner to escape--it works on humans too...

 

Pepper spray works I had to use it on a pissed grizzly. If I had a gun I would haved used five on it an last one for me. No way a gun would have stopped it. Also Simpleman in order to shoot it in the shoulder it has to be running across your path and not really possing a threat so why shoot it? Just sayin. But keep anyways keep a clean camp have cooking area away from sleeping area and storage area away from those two and you sohould be safe for the most part. But key to no bear problems are clean camp and bear spray. If those two dont work get a gun and save the last round for your self

 

The rafters who were eaten on the Hulahula (I think it was), did have a 12 ga with them. But that sounded like a real bad ass bear. Maybe like the one Doug Peacock did ring around the bonfire with while waving trash bags for half the night. So sleep with the bear spray handy. Oh, and since the autopsys conducted after the "Night of the Grizzly" showed that sexual activity may have been a contributary enticement, use abstinence.

Also, after a Selway kayak self support I wandered about the Pros and Cons of hanging food up a tree in the breeze as opposed to repacking it in my air tight sto float. Cheers, Leroy!

 

Interesting... these rafters had a 12-guage and it didn't save them. Maybe if they didn't think they were safe because of the 12-guage, more time and consideration would be taken to try to avoid the encounter in the first place? I don't know the details of this encounter, so maybe I'm off base here.

If you are doing kayak self-support, hanging your food is easy (because it's light), and is definately recommended. Being up in the breeze is unlikely to make it any easier for the bear to smell your food (it will already be very easy for them), but it does mean that the bear won't start to associate kayakers with a source of easy food because he was able to eat yours. This is the biggest danger... not to you, necessarily in the instance the bear gets you food, but because the bear will now be more comfortable around people and will in fact seek out such encounters because the bear knows it can get food there. This is a future problem bear, and is a serious safety concern.

 

You are worred abt rafting in CO?!? When we were camping on the Kananaskis, on a hike we saw bear scat that was bigger than anything I have ever seen. Big around as a tin can and a pile as big as a big horse would do!

 

You are worred abt rafting in CO?!?

I actually meant that I'd be more worried about boating in CO due to all the people who are apparently carrying guns everywhere they go. I really do find it quite alarming that people keep mentioning a gun as the way to deal with a bear.

I personally feel it's questionable that a small gun (that could be packed into the backcountry) would provide any measure of safety if a bear really decided it was going to hurt you. And even if I am wrong about that, I am unnerved by how little discussion has taken place on avoidance measures, likely due to the confidence that seems to be inspired by carrying a gun into the backcountry with you.

There are some instances when I bear has stalked and killed humans, the VAST majority of incidents are easily avoidable with some simples measure and no weapons other than bear spray.

On the trip I am planning, there are enough people (9 of us), in an area that likely does not contain bears that are comfortable with human presence (like in an established campground), so I think the chances of an encounter are quite small in my case. I will use some of the avoidance suggestions mentioned here that I haven't thought of and hope for the best... and I will be carrying bear spray as a last resort.

 

The best combo is pepper spray and a 12 ga as back-up. Pepper spray works better than a gun but a 12 ga. gives one confidence. Also bears don't attack groups of people so stay to close and walk towards the bear as a group. Most bears don't want to fight and are not sure about a group of people moveing towards them. I have lots of bear storys from Alaska but flying is way more dangerous than bears. Bottom line don't spend a lot of time worring about bears.

 

Bear mitigation steps:

Safe clean camp:

Bear Spray:

870:

I have seen a bear in a tree shot with a .357, perfect line of sight, close up, and the thing would not die. It was scary to see how much lead a back bear could take. I advocate a firearm in bear country, but only as a last resort, spray seems to be more effective. I think just shooting a bear is a good way to piss off a large animal made of nothing more than muscle and teeth.

 

Check out the video clip at the bottom of this webpage... Engel USA

You already have tons of great advice on here, no need for repeat input. My one camping encounter with a bear was on Flaming Gorge. I looked at my dog (one tough dog possibly pitbull in her mix) her ears were pulled back and eyes were huge as we listened to this huffing bear walk around the tent. Not a peep out of her and the bear moved on. Proper storage of food, and changing clothes after cooking dinner, saved us that evening IMO.

 

Nice clip. I've seen something similar for a Yeti Cooler (the Tundra, I think). I have a Yeti, but it's an older model that fits in my boat perfectly, and doesn't have the looking top to make in bear-proof. I will likely purchase one of the bear-proof versions when I get a new boat.