hobo bear canister!!!

[Bushman5]

This is not a safe way to operate. Please, re-consider your tactics here. This is an unsafe and unreasonable way to operate in bear country. If you acknowledge this, but enjoy your own personal style of safety measures, it would be advisable to attach a disclaimer to your statement to deter any relatively "green" outdoorsmen from adopting this method. Someone could be hurt or killed if they took your statement to be advice.

much like any info on these or any forum, its always best to seek out LOCALS who are familiar with the areas one is travelling to :thumbup:

 

[MustardMan]

They sell bear bags EVERYWHERE around here and they're all used with a lanyard for throwing around a tree branch so as to hang the bag at least ten feet off the ground and ten feet away from the trunk. This is supposed to keep a bear out of my food? Ya, right.

Bear bags are NOT the same thing as bear canisters.

More importantly, bear bagging has been used extremely effectively for a long time. In highly populated hiking destinations, bears have figured out how to get them down, but in an area that's not overrun by hikers, bear bagging is quite effective if done correctly.

One of the reasons many parks are banning bear bagging and requiring bear canisters is because many people do NOT do it correctly.

 

[LMT66]

Priceless. Bears are very innovative, they always seem to find a way. Which is why my .357 rests on my chest, my food stays in my pack and my pack stays right next to me in my tent. Never had issues that way.

You will in time.

 

[Ramm9]

They sell bear bags EVERYWHERE around here and they're all used with a lanyard for throwing around a tree branch so as to hang the bag at least ten feet off the ground ....... We have millions of square miles of public land,.

Ummm, folks shouldn't have to explain the difference between a "bear bag" and a "bear resistant container" with someone that has as much wilderness experience as you tell us you do.....and since you embellish it often also, Idaho does not have millions of square miles of public land.

 

[Iboschi]

They sell bear bags EVERYWHERE around here and they're all used with a lanyard for throwing around a tree branch so as to hang the bag at least ten feet off the ground and ten feet away from the trunk. This is supposed to keep a bear out of my food? Ya, right. The last year I've spent in Idaho backcountry I've NEVER had an issue with it. The only time I came remotely close was when we had a pack of coyotes run through our 30+ person camp on the Snake River in Hell's Canyon. Bears, at least around here, are skittish in general-the slightest sound or smell of humans will send them packing. We have millions of square miles of public land, and although we have lots of wildlife, they don't have much experience with human interaction, as they have room to exist away from human society. Whereas a Wisconsin whitetail will sit and stare at you ten yards away, if an Idaho whitetail were to smell you upwind of them they'd be long gone by the time you ever see them. I'd like to see a bear that can't get into a 3 pound plastic bin get into a metal soup can that's burried in a pack. I know they can do it, I'm just saying, I don't care what anyone says, they aren't failsafes.

Bear bags and bear canisters are very different. Bear canisters are a nearly idiot proof, means of keeping the bears out of your food. The O.P. and the rest of the posters here are under the impression our discussion was about Bear canisters.

Food in bag + bag in tent + gun on chest = BAD IDEA! How many of us here have gently told you it isn't a safe or worthwhile tactic.

much like any info on these or any forum, its always best to seek out LOCALS who are familiar with the areas one is travelling to :thumbup:

I'm not entirely clear how your post addresses my previous post. At any rate, canisters are pretty much the failsafe everywhere right now. No matter where you are. Local information doesn't really change the status quo.

Bear bags are NOT the same thing as bear canisters.

More importantly, bear bagging has been used extremely effectively for a long time. In highly populated hiking destinations, bears have figured out how to get them down, but in an area that's not overrun by hikers, bear bagging is quite effective if done correctly.

One of the reasons many parks are banning bear bagging and requiring bear canisters is because many people do NOT do it correctly.

Well said!

 

[Superfuzz]

PayetteRucker,

BearProof Containers are a must in Bear Country for all the reasons listed. I would never reccomend/sanction food in my tent/sleeping area, in Bear Country, ever! Food prep and storage should always be done at a seperate location, imo.

I have to agree with the others, your insistance on flouting good common sense will eventually lead to a tragic encounter with several hundred pounds of hungry critter...pissed-off critter if you shoot it with a .357. Belligerance with a Bear almost always ends in EpicFail.

I hope this doesnt come back to, pardon the pun, bite you. Of course, if this is all so much BS then it is moot.

'Fuzz

 

[kvaughn]

My Hobo Bear Canister is a .357 Magnum with 124 grain Federal Self Defense Jacketed Hollowpoints. I live in one of the most dangerous bear/lion/wolf areas in the country and don't bother with a 'bear canister'. IMO 99.99% of the time it's not needed and when it is needed a protein canister isn't going to make a difference anyway. I don't care who says what, black bears climb trees. I've seen it with my own eyes, they might as well be Matt Segal on a 5.10b rock face. Another idea cooked up by the outdoor gear companies to get you to drop 30 dollars on another piece of unnecessary equipment. But that's just my opinion.

:foot::thumbdn::yawn:--What a fun read!

 

[pitdog]

Somebody told me that bears can smell food right through the can. So I asked the ranger. He said, "No, bears associate the shape of the can with food. We had a bear break into a gas station in West Yellowstone, and it ate 3 cans of oil and a filter."

A Bears sense of smell is that great that they can actually smell traces of food from the canning plant on the food cans !

 

[stingray4540]

I know most of what I have to say has already been posted, but let me reiterate just to drive these points home.

OP: No, your silicone will not keep the smell of your food from a bear. Do you know how much better a blood hound can smell than a human? A bear can smell 7 times better than a blood hound. Think about that.

Bear canisters are NOT the same as bear bags.

Bear bags: are hung from trees in areas that bears do not have much experience with humans. In those types of areas, bags hung PROPERLY from a tree is very effective.

Bear cans: Are designed so that a bear can NOT get inside. The lids are made so that they can not be opened without a tool, or with dexterity that most bears don't posses. The bodies are an indestructible material that can't be cut, smashed, or broken.
You do NOT hang a bear can, and you do not attache any cord or material to the can, otherwise you are just providing a convenient handle for the bear to carry off all your food to who knows where. Leave your can on the ground or wedged under/between a tree, as far away from your camp as possible.
Places that require bear canisters, almost always require an APPROVED bear canister. There are no "hobo bear cans".

PayetteRucker: Your strategy may be working for you at the moment, but please refrain from giving out possibly life threatening advise on a public forum. If you want to carry a gun for protection, that is fine, I would do the same if I could. But, under NO circumstance should you EVER sleep with your food when in bear country. If you truly do spend time in bear country, it is only a matter of time before an animal pays you a visit trying to get to that food in your tent. And even if you do get a chance to get a few shots off before you are incapacitated, you will have unnecessarily killed an animal that had no intention of doing you harm, and that you have no intention of eating. Besides that fact that you will likely sustain injuries in the process.

 

[Ren the devils trailboss]

I don't have any trees within 15 miles of where I hike to hang a bear canister from. 357 may not be ideal but it's reliable and is sure as hell alot better than a swiss army knife if Mama Bear brings Baby Bear around camp sniffing for food. If I can't kill a bear with 6 rounds of .357 it probably deserves to take me anyway.

ROFLMAO Im no bear but I can smell your bull manure from here!! we are talking live bears here not the bears on your game system.

 

[Shoki]

I usually hang a bag but I'd also like to get a canister. I've never had any issues hanging even when camping in early spring when the bears are definitely awake and hungry. As mentioned, hanging still works fine if you are in an area where the bears haven't figured out how to retrieve the food. As an extra precaution, I like to hang my food over water and at least 15-20 feet up. It's worked well except for the raccoon incident. I still don't know how those buggers managed to get into the bag.
Food in the tent is just asking for a mauling. If I slept with a plasma cannon and a vorpal blade on my chest I'd still keep the food well away. It only takes a second for a bear to nom your face, just ask Timothy Treadwell's ghost. I almost punched a buddy of mine when he forgot to take a candy wrapper and his toothpaste out of his pack and didn't realize it until morning.

 

[ffchris]

I'm new here, so first off, hello. My Dad has a friend who is a Fish and Game officer. THis gentleman left an apple on the seat of his truck and a black bear pealed the cab open like a tuna tin to get to it. Somehow I don't think a plastic bear canister is more resiliant than a Ford truck cab.

 

[stingray4540]

I'm new here, so first off, hello. My Dad has a friend who is a Fish and Game officer. THis gentleman left an apple on the seat of his truck and a black bear pealed the cab open like a tuna tin to get to it. Somehow I don't think a plastic bear canister is more resiliant than a Ford truck cab.

Actually, you'd be surprised...

There's a lot more to it than just the strength of the material, although sheet metal, isn't much of a barrier. A lot of it has to do with leverage, as well as other factors. For instance, it's real hard to pull something apart when you can't get a firm grasp on either end, but put a handle of both ends and it comes apart easily. Get what I'm saying?

Oh, and that's besides the fact that approved bear cans are tested WITH bears...

 

[Shoki]

I'm new here, so first off, hello. My Dad has a friend who is a Fish and Game officer. THis gentleman left an apple on the seat of his truck and a black bear pealed the cab open like a tuna tin to get to it. Somehow I don't think a plastic bear canister is more resiliant than a Ford truck cab.

Although this isn't a black bear, just a wussy grizzly, here's a canister in action:

[youtube]tMoIbMogg-Q[/youtube]

Fish and Game officers BS too, I have a friend who heard it.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Welcome to Bladeforums!

Somehow I don't think a plastic bear canister is more resiliant than a Ford truck cab.

Yes, it is. The size and shape don't give the bear anything to grab, it keeps rolling away from him, and the plastic is strong enough to withstand any crushing force he can apply.

 

[carspidey]

A simple "No your idea won't work" would have suffice...

Fun thread though...

Everytime I post threads, i think they'll die out after three posts, but most of them turn out to be pretty interesting... with useful, very useful information...

thanks...

 

[MustardMan]

Somehow I don't think a plastic bear canister is more resiliant than a Ford truck cab.

As others have pointed out - you think wrong. Bear canisters have been extensively tested against real live bears, and have been proven extremely successful. The only stories I can recall about bears getting into canisters was a flawed design where the bears were able to unscrew the lid. Even in that case, the canister wasn't broken.


They are made from a very tough plastic, in a shape that doesn't give the bear anywhere to grip or get leverage. Basic physics at work, kids.

 

[PayetteRucker]

I've never even seen anyone around here use one of those things. So what did people use in the backcountry back when bear populations were so much higher and there was no such thing as a 'bear canister?'

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Who knows? But the ones who slept in the pantry didn't come back to tell us about it.

 

[Shoki]

I've never even seen anyone around here use one of those things. So what did people use in the backcountry back when bear populations were so much higher and there was no such thing as a 'bear canister?'

They hung their packs from trees, 10-15' above the ground.