# Tents and Bears



## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

Other than the normal precautionary things such as keeping food, garbage, tooth paste, deodorant, etc. in a secure place or high up; are there any other tips to help lessen the chance of a bear coming into camp/destroying tents while spending time camping in a bear rich environment?


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

I always try to be loud at camp. Sometimes if you are having issues with a bear at camp(happens often down on the La Sals&#55357;&#56841 leave a radio on playing something preferably a talk show.


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

johnnycake said:


> I always try to be loud at camp. Sometimes if you are having issues with a bear at camp(happens often down on the La Sals��) leave a radio on playing something preferably a talk show.


Thanks for the advice!


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## Dunkem (May 8, 2012)

Sure you thought of it , but bear spray, at least 2 cans.(its crap when one quites working.)


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

I know of a couple of hunters that used to hunt the Book Cliffs all the time for deer before they close it. They would take all their empty beer cans with a few rocks in them and string them around camp on a heavy string. Anything that came within 10' of their tent would start them to a rattling. 

Now if you don't drink beer you can always use Coke or Pepsi cans. 

Bear spray is also good. Just don't spray it around camp thinking that it will keep bears away. The National Park Service did some test on doing that and figured that the bears would just use it as a condiment when they dragged you out of the tent. But it sure does work in stopping them when you fog them.


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

The National Park Service did some test on doing that and figured that the bears would just use it as a condiment when they dragged you out of the tent. :shock:

Gulp - thanks...


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## gdog (Sep 13, 2007)

Bring a dog or two to keep around camp.


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

I have nothing to add aside from this video: 




Watch at about 2:00


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

CPAjeff said:


> Other than the normal precautionary things such as keeping food, garbage, tooth paste, deodorant, etc. in a secure place or high up; are there any other tips to help lessen the chance of a bear coming into camp/destroying tents while spending time camping in a bear rich environment?


Carry a bear permit and you'll be fine.

.


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

Bax* - thanks, that totally makes me feel better about sleeping in a tent!


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

wyogoob said:


> Carry a bear permit and you'll be fine.
> 
> .


Can I borrow your thunderboomer?


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## MuscleWhitefish (Jan 13, 2015)

Hang Gym Clothes around camp and mark your territory with piss.

Also, UDAP makes an electrical fense. http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/sear...nce&x=10&y=6&WTz_l=Header;Search-All+Products

Solo Hunter Tim Burnett uses an alarm 




There are options, but IMO they are more about having a piece of mind. Keeping a clean camp and hanging your food is the best option at keeping them away.


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

CPAjeff said:


> Bax* - thanks, that totally makes me feel better about sleeping in a tent!


 Just don't run over a bear with your truck, and you'll be fine :mrgreen:


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

I generally sleep on the ground unless the weather is bad, and besides, I've had two tents tore up by bears. So tents aren't safe in bear country.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

MuscleWhitefish said:


> Hang Gym Clothes around camp and mark your territory with piss.
> 
> Also, UDAP makes an electrical fense. http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/search.cmd?form_state=searchForm&N=0&fsch=true&Ntk=AllProducts&Ntt=bear+fence&x=10&y=6&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products
> 
> ...


That's cool. How many decibels is it when its in a bear's stomach?

Hey, check out the bear poop, bottom right in the picture


.


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## MuscleWhitefish (Jan 13, 2015)

wyogoob said:


> That's cool. How many decibels is it when its in a bear's stomach?
> 
> Hey, check out the bear poop, bottom right in the picture
> 
> ...


A 114 dB outside the stomach will be 114 dB inside the stomach.

If the frequency is in the higher range >1000 Hertz it will travel poorly through the bears stomach and through the hide. You may see a reduction to 60-80 dB.

If the frequency is in the lower range <1000 Hertz it will travel well through and you may only receive a reduction to 90-100 dB.

Think subwoofer in a car. You can hear the bass, but rarely hear the treble.

Low Frequencies travel well through media and high frequencies travel poorly through media.

The same concept works in a bear.


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

wyogoob said:


> That's cool. How many decibels is it when its in a bear's stomach?
> 
> Hey, check out the bear poop, bottom right in the picture
> 
> ...


Did you find that nice pile in the morning when you stepped out of the tent or when you came back from hunting?

Hey, what are you going to be sleeping in on your bighorn hunt? Doesn't the area you drew have a good population of grizzlies?


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## backcountry (May 19, 2016)

Other options include:

1) Changing out of any clothing you cooked in. 
2) Storing food in IGBC containers or those tested as scent proof
3) Avoid heavily camped locales as they tend have noticeably more food debris and therefor bears associate them with scavenging
4) I have known people to leave a small, open container of ammonia out on tables/etc but never seen it tested or confirmed

Bear rich locales can be fine but bear habituated areas are hard to mitigate. Sadly if you know an area has tons of bears and have been known to visit camps there isn't much you can do beyond some of the items listed. Once a bear has successfully gotten food from humans it is hard to reduce the tendency to associate us with it again. Its one of the reasons agencies either terminate the animal or evacuate them to remote places (still questionable). I would avoid those places like the plaque.


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

Watch what you eat. My nephew ate so much chili nobody could stand to be around him, he had to sleep in the pup tent. That night a bear 'swiped' his tent but we figured the smell was too much for the bear so he left. He still has the tent with the bear claw rips to prove it.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

I'm a little paranoid about bears and tents after that kid got killed in AF canyon years back, while sleeping in a tent surrounded by several other tents with family inside.

The bear bit through the tent onto his head, killing him instantly. Then it tore open the tent and drug off the boys body... it was only at that point someone else work up and saw what was going on. 

Kid was dead before he had a chance to wake up.


-DallanC


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

DallanC said:


> I'm a little paranoid about bears and tents after that kid got killed in AF canyon years back, while sleeping in a tent surrounded by several other tents with family inside.
> 
> The bear bit through the tent onto his head, killing him instantly. Then it tore open the tent and drug off the boys body... it was only at that point someone else work up and saw what was going on.
> 
> ...


Wow, that is a sad deal for sure. I really appreciate all the great feedback that has been given on this thread. I believe I am going to stay in a trailer instead of a tent now!


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Just be sure to apply the bear spray all over your body, liberally, every 4-6 hours. More if you go swimming.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Bears like it when you do that. 

Just like putting Tobasco sauce on a pickled egg.


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

Great idea johnnycake - I was thinking I'd kill a beaver a week before the hunt, leave it out in the sun to get nice and smelly, then tie a rope to it and drag it behind me as a nice cover scent!;-)


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

This is my favorite thread.


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

There is really nothing more to do in addition to what has already been mentioned.

I favor the chili, farting a lot and a firearm under your pillow. :smile: This is common practice in my camp.

Make sure the chili has a lot of garlic in it.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

CPAjeff said:


> Did you find that nice pile in the morning when you stepped out of the tent or when you came back from hunting?
> 
> Hey, what are you going to be sleeping in on your bighorn hunt? Doesn't the area you drew have a good population of grizzlies?


The bear came to camp in the evening while my brother and I were out bow hunting. The thing was huge and it was living on the dead carcass of a raghorn bull above our camp. They say the bear was shot during the fall bear hunt and it weighed over 400 lbs. I slept on the ground during the bow hunt and the only thing that tried to whip me was a couple bull elk in the middle of the night.

I have a WY Bighorn Sheep Area 2 tag. It has the highest concentration of grizzly bears in the lower 48, higher than Yellowstone NP, and I won't be too far from the Park border I guess. I'll be sleeping on a cot in a tent surrounded by noisy farm animals.

.


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## Kevin D (Sep 15, 2007)

A hound dog buddy tells the story of a time he was camping in Idaho with his bear dogs on a pursuit only hunt. He was in a recently purchased tent trailer with his hounds staked all around when in the middle of the night the dogs all started barking and going crazy. He yelled at them to shut up but when they persisted he grabbed a stick and went outside to teach them a lesson. 

He quieted the dogs thinking they were barking at a cow or a deer or something and went back to bed. A few minutes later he heard something rummaging around and munching on his dog food he had stashed under the trailer. About that time the dogs all piped in again and thinking one of his mutts must've got loose and was raiding the dog food, he went outside to corral the wayward mutt..........that's when he came face to face with the bear.

He said it was only a little 150 pounder, but when you're only 3 feet away standing in your underwear in the dark it was still pretty intimidating. The bear ran off so he gathered up all the dog food and other bear attractants and stashed them in the truck and trailer, then again went back to bed.

Just as he was about to fall asleep again he heard a giant RIPPP!! and looked up just in time to see a bear paw reach through the newly torn canvas of his tent trailer and snatch a big bag of Doritos he had sitting his table. 

By this time he had had enough, even though Idaho law says you can only turn your dogs loose during daylight hours, he cut one of his hounds loose hoping to chase the unwelcomed marauder away. The bear only ran to the nearest tree and scampered up. He let the dog tree for a while then tied it back up. Fully awake now he sat back and watched and after a time the bear climbed down and scampered back into the forest. 

Thinking that the problem was solved he tried to settle back down and salvage what was left of the night. That's when he felt the trailer start rocking again and the bear paw reappear and start fishing around his table for more edibles.

The eastern skies were starting to lighten up by this time and he figured it was close enough to legal hunting hours to teach the bear a lesson. So this time he unleashed his whole pack on the offending beast.......only this time it didn't climb the first tree it came to, it ran, and ran, and ran some more. By noon he had dogs scattered all across a 15 mile section of the mountain range. He was the rest of the days gathering up dogs as one by one they slowly tired and made their way down off the mountain..

In the end, the bear eluded the dogs, ruined his night, ruined his day, and ruined his newly acquired tent trailer. He kept the tent trailer for a couple more seasons, I've seen the patch work repair to the damaged canvas right over the table, but as soon as he was able to afford it he purchased hard side trailer.....:fear:


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

Just rented this bad boy for my elk and bear hunt! Just need to add the anti-aircraft gun I picked up at Smith and Edwards and I am ready to go hunting!! -8/- -8/-


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Jeff, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but uh... You might have a really tiny...err...


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Kevin D said:


> A hound dog buddy tells the story of a time he was camping in Idaho with his bear dogs on a pursuit only hunt. He was in a recently purchased tent trailer with his hounds staked all around when in the middle of the night the dogs all started barking and going crazy. He yelled at them to shut up but when they persisted he grabbed a stick and went outside to teach them a lesson.
> 
> He quieted the dogs thinking they were barking at a cow or a deer or something and went back to bed. A few minutes later he heard something rummaging around and munching on his dog food he had stashed under the trailer. About that time the dogs all piped in again and thinking one of his mutts must've got loose and was raiding the dog food, he went outside to corral the wayward mutt..........that's when he came face to face with the bear.
> 
> ...


That's a goodun.

.


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

johnnycake said:


> Jeff, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but uh... You might have a really tiny...err...


Tiny.... chance of killing a bear on a spot and stalk hunt?? ;-)
It's a depressing complex that I've dealt with everyday since drawing the tag. :shock:


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## bekins24 (Sep 22, 2015)

Just pick up one of these http://www.tentsile.com/ and hope that the bear doesn't climb a tree and ambush you from above. hahahah


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## surf n' turf (Oct 20, 2008)

I have camped in some of the most bear dense areas in Idaho for quite a few years now and never had a problem. In areas where they are hunted I think bears are quite aware of the bad connection to humans. Its in national parks that I believe the most problems occur, one due to the density of people and two because the bears have no fear of humans.


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

bekins24 said:


> Just pick up one of these http://www.tentsile.com/ and hope that the bear doesn't climb a tree and ambush you from above. hahahah


Hey, those things look neato!

Since I cannot bait or use dogs on my bear hunt, I am thinking I could "accidently" spill some donuts and Doritos underneath one of those tents and then shoot the bear from it when the he comes in. I can see the conversation with the CO dude going something like...

CO - "Can you tell me why there are donuts and Doritos under your treestand?"
Me - "Treestand? He-- man, that's my tent."
CO - "Did you shoot the bear from your treestand-tent-thingie?"
Me - "Yep - self defense. Would you have wanted to come down from your treetent with that thing walking around down here?!?"

Man, it is a really slow week at work!!


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## bekins24 (Sep 22, 2015)

CPAjeff said:


> Hey, those things look neato!
> 
> Since I cannot bait or use dogs on my bear hunt, I am thinking I could "accidently" spill some donuts and Doritos underneath one of those tents and then shoot the bear from it when the he comes in. I can see the conversation with the CO dude going something like...
> 
> ...


Good thinking! I wonder if you could legally hunt from one of these if you had a bait station tag.... then you wouldn't ever have to leave your stand! I'll admit thinking about a bear climbing a tree and then jumping on top of you made me laugh a little as I was typing it.


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

bekins24 said:


> Good thinking! I wonder if you could legally hunt from one of these if you had a bait station tag.... then you wouldn't ever have to leave your stand! I'll admit thinking about a bear climbing a tree and then jumping on top of you made me laugh a little as I was typing it.


Ha ha thanks!

This thread sure went to downhill fast, but at least there are some funny parts.


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## AF CYN (Mar 19, 2009)

This post reminds me of an experience I posted about several years ago. I basically surrounded my tent with a wall of brush and logs. It makes me laugh looking back--dragging stuff from all over the place in the rain because I was so scared of that bear. 
http://utahwildlife.net/forum/29-other-kinds-animals/15595-bearicade.html

On a serious note, keeping a clean camp and having some backup (bear spray or gun) are all you need to sleep in peace.


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## Jedidiah (Oct 10, 2014)

Those tree tents...I'm just waiting for a bear attack story where the bear climbs one tree and chews through the rope, then climbs down and pulls on that rope repeatedly until he rips the tent open and snacks on the scrambled hippies that tumble out.


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

Critter said:


> Bear spray is also good. Just don't spray it around camp thinking that it will keep bears away. The National Park Service did some test on doing that and figured that the bears would just use it as a condiment when they dragged you out of the tent. But it sure does work in stopping them when you fog them.


 I've actually had opposite results with bear spray. Not around camps but with things that bears tear up on a daily basis. Like the insulation on pipes, outlet covers on buildings, 4 wheeler tires...etc. I couldn't keep insulation on a water line for more than I day so I sprayed it with bear spray and they never touched it again.
I wouldn't spray it around camp though. It sucks to handle something with spray on it and an hour later you scratch you face or go take a pee and WOW that burns!
A bear fence works very well. Get one. Keep your camp as odor-free as possible. Hang ALL food, including your cooler, out on a tree limb. Hang the clothes you cook in up high too. Don't tie your rope to the same tree as your food. I lost a bag of goat meat that way. Have some spray handy around camp. If you're tracking a wounded bear, you can keep your spray but for all around general use, bear spray works great.
I wouldn't be too afraid of bears but be cautious.


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## backcountry (May 19, 2016)

Jedidiah said:


> Those tree tents...I'm just waiting for a bear attack story where the bear climbs one tree and chews through the rope, then climbs down and pulls on that rope repeatedly until he rips the tent open and snacks on the scrambled hippies that tumble out.


Hehe.... I was a dirtbag for years and several of our friends on the Appalachian Trail earned the nickname "Bear Bait" for similar reasons. Never "too serious" but enough to be weary of bears for the six month journey.



longbow said:


> I've actually had opposite results with bear spray. Not around camps but with things that bears tear up on a daily basis. Like the insulation on pipes, outlet covers on buildings, 4 wheeler tires...etc. I couldn't keep insulation on a water line for more than I day so I sprayed it with bear spray and they never touched it again.
> I wouldn't spray it around camp though. It sucks to handle something with spray on it and an hour later you scratch you face or go take a pee and WOW that burns!A bear fence works very well. Get one. Keep your camp as odor-free as possible. Hang ALL food, including your cooler, out on a tree limb. Hang the clothes you cook in up high too. Don't tie your rope to the same tree as your food. I lost a bag of goat meat that way. Have some spray handy around camp. If you're tracking a wounded bear, you can keep your spray but for all around general use, bear spray works great.
> I wouldn't be too afraid of bears but be cautious.


Bears in heavily camped areas in the east coast and wilderness areas now have the ability to cut traditional rope hangs. The counter-balance method is the one most recommended. Also, the Ursack is now grizzly rated and recognized in many areas as appropriate bear-proof food storage. Unless you are in Yosemite or Yellowstone area placing food inside a truck is likely still better for car camping.

Bear fences and bear-proof containers (coolers and dry boxes) are likely going to be the norm and requirement more often within 10-15 years. We just overlap too nicely with their habitat in our most popular camping locales. More and more rivers we raft every year require them. I personally don't have much interest to hunt bear but I am starting to consider a management hunt on one of our favorite stretches of river as most of my friends and I have had close calls the last five years. We spent 2 hours chasing one out of camp a few years back. A friend was chased out of camp at 3 am and had to float 4 miles down river by moonlight. Compare that to the Idaho rivers that have noticeable hunting pressure where the bear encounters in camp are rare and seem there is an obvious choice.


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## BigT (Mar 11, 2011)

Last year, when scouting where your hunting for bear this fall we tented it overnight to get the trail cams set up the next morning.

We were camped probably not far from where you'll be camped this fall. There was a herd of sheep on the hill side above us with the big sheep dogs protecting them. Those dogs were going bananas all night. I remember looking at my phone at about 2 am as the dogs were so violently barking when I heard a loud roar... Those dogs had been chasing a bear around for a couple of hours that night not 300 yards from where we were at. 

Having said that, I've never had any issues down there with bear in camp. Having said that too.... I don't tent it there anymore down there!


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