Bear Defense?

M

median

Joined
Jul 3, 2013
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I'm going on a camping trip with my girlfriend, and her family, to the Sierra Nevada's in a couple of weeks. One of my clients recommended getting "bear spray". I'm assuming he was just talking about pepper spray. Does anyone know the best thing for this? There are lots of bears up there. They often sneak into your camp (looking for food) unnoticed until it's too late.

What is a good product for this?
 
Bear spray is not the same as pepper spray, it's much more powerful and engulfing. You should be able to find some at a sporting goods store, they have it almost everywhere here anyways. Not too sure what kind of bears you have there but keep a clean camp site and do your best not to tempt them with anything.
 
Bear bangers are good too, with black bears anyways. They are small easy to carry and send a bear running! They should be pretty easy to find too
 
median said:
I'm going on a camping trip with my girlfriend, and her family, to the Sierra Nevada's in a couple of weeks. One of my clients recommended getting "bear spray". I'm assuming he was just talking about pepper spray. Does anyone know the best thing for this? There are lots of bears up there. They often sneak into your camp (looking for food) unnoticed until it's too late.

What is a good product for this?
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12 gauge Shotgun loaded with magnum slugs.

bear spray is the same as any other pepper spray, just in a larger container.
 
don't cook near where you sleep, or store food where you sleep. Hang it out of reach away from your campsite.
 
I was actually wondering if there was anything to place around the campsite that would deter the bears? Not sure though.
 
Not sure about that, I would think I would have heard if there was but maybe we will both learn something!
Not sure of the chemical make up differences in the bear spray and pepper spray but they certainly don't spray the same compared to what I have experienced!
If we are talking about black bears they are generally pretty easy to scare away. As mentioned, don't give them a reason to come around and if they do scare them away. Have a good camping trip!
 
median said:
I was actually wondering if there was anything to place around the campsite that would deter the bears? Not sure though.
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Grizzly urine? :D I don't think there's anything that you can hang around the campsite that will do this, but you've had some good advice already.
 
Les (The Survivorman) once said that pissing around your camp site (on all the nearby trees etc) can deter other animals. Not sure if this is true.
 
Number one, keep the campsite clean. Food smells and garbage are bear magnets. Bear spray is fine as a last resort, but a spray can is not something I would want to put my life or loved ones on the line with. Get a big gun. I see you are an american. Take a large calliber handgun and a shot gun with mag loads with you, as the very least to protect you and your family. Take advantage of your firearms laws for full protection, being up close with bears is no fun, day or night.
 
I worry about them coming into the campsite at night, and I certainly do own firearms. I'm just thinking of other methods for defense as well (i.e. - pepper spray etc). What other methods are good?
 
Bufford said:
Number one, keep the campsite clean. Food smells and garbage are bear magnets. Bear spray is fine as a last resort, but a spray can is not something I would want to put my life or loved ones on the line with. Get a big gun. I see you are an american. Take a large calliber handgun and a shot gun with mag loads with you, as the very least to protect you and your family. Take advantage of your firearms laws for full protection, being up close with bears is no fun, day or night.
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Gun laws in the states are not quite as sensible as people think. If you are licensed and legal to own/carry/use in one state, it does not mean that you are legal in the state next door. Research the gun laws where you are going. I would say the best you are going to be able to do against a bear is a large caliber rifle or shotgun slugs. I wouldn't piss around with piss, bear/pepper spray or anything less lethal if I had the choice of a rifle or shotgun. I'd take a .44 magnum pistol over bear/pepper spray.
 
I am with Rat...


12G, pump, 3 inch Mag slugs or sabot.

Handgun...

.44mg, 10mm or super redjawk in 454 Casull

p
 
Check the regulations where you intend to hike and camp. Some require a bear vault for your food etc. Some suggest hanging food even in a cannister 75' away from camp. And cooking 75' away in another direction forming a triangle. Some areas recommend bear spray. it has a different strength and pattern that regular pepper spray. You might pose the question on a hiking specific forum. Just don't mention guns. Or knives.
 
The suggestions for firearms seem to be a bit extreme, especially when compared to the option of a bear spray. Spray willl get rid of the bear, probably weighs a deal less when you hike, and won't kill an innocent animal. I've backpacked and camped all over Canada, where we have more bears than you can shake a stick at and never had a problem. Keep a clean camp, don't bring food or other "smelly" substances into your tent, and hang your food away from your base. Certainly no reason to shoot anything.
 
plue said:
The suggestions for firearms seem to be a bit extreme, especially when compared to the option of a bear spray. Spray willl get rid of the bear, probably weighs a deal less when you hike, and won't kill an innocent animal. I've backpacked and camped all over Canada, where we have more bears than you can shake a stick at and never had a problem. Keep a clean camp, don't bring food or other "smelly" substances into your tent, and hang your food away from your base. Certainly no reason to shoot anything.
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Bears will be bears. They are neither innocent nor guilty. I don't think anyone was suggesting to go around executing bears willy-nilly. But bears in North America have killed and injured innocent people more frequently as their populations increase and they become habituated to human presence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_bear_attacks_in_North_America
 
I usually avoid these threads, as they tend to follow a predictable course, but here goes - I live, travel and hunt in grizzly country. I own numerous firearms and practice with them regularly, but when it comes to bear defense, I carry spray. I'll leave it at that.
 
Smithhammer said:
I usually avoid these threads, as they tend to follow a predictable course, but here goes - I live, travel and hunt in grizzly country. I own numerous firearms and practice with them regularly, but when it comes to bear defense, I carry spray. I'll leave it at that.
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Agreed. Check out the links folks...

http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/grizzly/bear spray.pdf

http://missoulian.com/news/state-an...cle_b0d338b6-7638-11e1-b809-0019bb2963f4.html

University of Calgary bear expert Steve Herrero was involved in two separate studies that looked at the effectiveness of bear spray and firearms in bear attacks. The bottom line: Ninety-eight percent of those who used bear spray walked away from their encounter unharmed, and none of the people or bears involved died. With firearms, 56 percent of the users were subsequently injured, and 61 percent of the bears died.
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Interesting. Were the number and circumstances involving both the firearm cases and the spray cases identical? Habitat, species and persons? Remember that 100% of humans who never see a bear in their lives die. ;)
 
Go the Timothy Treadwell route all you want. I am sure a Canadian bear professor doesn't have a bias against firearms.

There is a big difference between a nuisance bear and one that's going to make a meal of you. A stiff breeze will not render a firearm useless and blind the user. The op wanted viable defense options. Bear spray is a fair weather close range bear deterrent, and not something I would trust my life to.
 
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