Bloody pack and bears

[fargoflyfish]

I am doing an archery hunt at the end of september in 323 in SW MT. Last time I went there was a fair amount of bear activity, but we didn't have any encounters. If we end up getting an elk and carrying it out we plan to continue hunting for the other person's elk. Is it dangerous to be walking around in bear country with a bloody pack? Do you put your meat in a plastic bag when carrying out to keep the blood off your pack?

 

[onpoint]

I am doing an archery hunt at the end of september in 323 in SW MT. Last time I went there was a fair amount of bear activity, but we didn't have any encounters. If we end up getting an elk and carrying it out we plan to continue hunting for the other person's elk. Is it dangerous to be walking around in bear country with a bloody pack? Do you put your meat in a plastic bag when carrying out to keep the blood off your pack?

I spent some time working in the upper ends of Elk River and the W. Fk. this summer. Lots of bear activity. It's kind of one of the "new" hot spots for G Bears. Dangerous is defined differently by a lot of folks. I won't go into my definition, but safe to say - I pay close attention to what I'm doing. I also tend to think of the outcome for the bear(s)..... Been some bad deals in that particular country the past few years. Plastic bags ain't too good for meat. You could always hunt Beattie Gulch on the YNP boundary if you really like thrills

 

[NDcoyote]

This will be our 3rd year hunting that unit, haven't seen any bears or sign yet but have heard plenty about them being in the area. Wouldn't do anything different with a bloody pack than I would with a clean one. Always hang it a good distance from camp unless it's in the truck or trailer and always be very aware of your surroundings, especially when calling. Last year when we were out there we talked to some others who had heard that an outfitter was moving his camp due to bears responding to calls.

 

[Southern Elk]

I had a run in with a sow grizzly and her cub there. It almost ended badly for one of us. What concerns me more than bears is the amount of hunting pressure the Gravellies get now. I've seen OTC units in CO with less pressure. Last year was like a zoo with people everywhere. To answer your question I'd be dang sure a bloody pack was nowhere near my tent at night.

 

[windymtnman]

Regarding the aspect of this post dealing with putting meat in a plastic bag.
I have some homemade game bags, made with a lightweight synthetic material, whose purpose is to be compact in my pack, not weigh as much as cotton, allow the meat to breathe, but the flies to not penetrate. All that said, when it comes time to pack meat in a canvass pack pannier, I'm putting it in a garbage bag for the couple hours it might take to get it out. I figure if it's cooled down, that time expanse is a worthwhile trade off to having permanent bloodstains on expensive equipment.
Each to their own.....

 

[fargoflyfish]

Thanks for the advice. I was thinking about letting it cool down first and then use the plastic bag only while carrying it too.

 

[.280 Remington]

I've never not had a bloody pack when using plastic bags. Maybe some heavy mil stuff would not rip, but if you're using garbage sack type plastic, you'll still have blood in your pack.

 

[Dinkshooter]

Ha! just wait til the blood also gets on your sleeping bag in your pack, then you'll really be sleeping with one eye open

 

[NDcoyote]

Bear burrito supreme!

 

[fargoflyfish]

Bear burrito supreme!

Thats exactly what I'm trying to avoid. haha.

 

[Hunting Wife]

I don't think walking around with a bloody pack is any worse than walking around with snacks or a salami sandwich in there. A lot of things smell like food to a hungry fall bear, and blood is probably not the most enticing smell you have on you. They have an absolutely incredible sense of smell. Always a good idea to keep some bear spray on your hip or shoulder strap regardless of what you have in your pack.

Just for the sake of keeping a clean camp, treat anything bloody (packs, clothes, etc.) like food and hang it.

 

[.280 Remington]

I don't think walking around with a bloody pack is any worse than walking around with snacks or a salami sandwich in there. A lot of things smell like food to a hungry fall bear, and blood is probably not the most enticing smell you have on you. They have an absolutely incredible sense of smell. Always a good idea to keep some bear spray on your hip or shoulder strap regardless of what you have in your pack.

Just for the sake of keeping a clean camp, treat anything bloody (packs, clothes, etc.) like food and hang it.

I've never smelled my salami sandwich from outside of my pack. I can usually smell a pack full of meat from a few feet away. That tells me it is a much more powerful scent.

Also, critters have evolved for thousands of years to get a little worked up at the smell/sight/taste of blood.

I'd much rather be around a grizzly with a sandwich in my pack than a quarter of an elk.

 

[Hunting Wife]

I've never smelled my salami sandwich from outside of my pack. I can usually smell a pack full of meat from a few feet away. That tells me it is a much more powerful scent.

Also, critters have evolved for thousands of years to get a little worked up at the smell/sight/taste of blood.

I'd much rather be around a grizzly with a sandwich in my pack than a quarter of an elk.

It was my understanding he was asking about continuing to hunt with a pack that had gotten bloody after packing out a previously harvested elk. I assume he will not be continuing to hunt with a pack full of meat, but who knows? Maybe he's an animal like that.

I think they estimate a griz has about 7 times better olfaction than a bloodhound, so what you smell in a pack is probably irrelevant. Bears get worked up over a lot of smells - they are omnivores and opportunists of the highest order, particularly in the fall.

 

[.280 Remington]

It was my understanding he was asking about continuing to hunt with a pack that had gotten bloody after packing out a previously harvested elk. I assume he will not be continuing to hunt with a pack full of meat, but who knows? Maybe he's an animal like that.

I think they estimate a griz has about 7 times better olfaction than a bloodhound, so what you smell in a pack is probably irrelevant. Bears get worked up over a lot of smells - they are omnivores and opportunists of the highest order, particularly in the fall.

Even after the meat is gone my packs still stink like heck until they get washed out.

If I can smell a strong odor, I can't imagine what the bears smell. If I can't smell something, they probably smell it less. Kinda like a person that is hard of hearing. Just because they can't hear as good, it doesn't mean they can't hear the loud sounds.

But please, do tell if you have personal experience.

 

[Hunting Wife]

Even after the meat is gone my packs still stink like heck until they get washed out.

If I can smell a strong odor, I can't imagine what the bears smell. If I can't smell something, they probably smell it less. Kinda like a person that is hard of hearing. Just because they can't hear as good, it doesn't mean they can't hear the loud sounds.

But please, do tell if you have personal experience.

I see what you're saying and I'm not disagreeing that the meat smell is strong. I'm just saying that some of the other things in your pack that you and I can't smell are probably still plain as day to a bear, and a bear might not find the blood to be the most enticing smell coming from your pack. I used to share an office with some of the state bear guys years ago, and heard some pretty interesting stories about bear behavior from some of their incident investigations. For instance, there were times that bears were observed to pass up easily accessible quarters/meat that were improperly stored, and go root around in a backpack to get a leftover sandwich or cookies. They have also been observed to bypass a cooler full of food, only to search out and eat the bottle of sunscreen someone left in the tent. Not trying to pick a fight here, just observing that sometimes there's no rhyme or reason to what a bear finds attractive, and their experience of scent in the world is so vastly different than ours as to not even be comparable.

Sorry OP for derailing your thread...regardless of all of the above, in the original scenario I would still be much more concerned with surprising a bear while out sneaking around and/or calling one in than actually having one search me out. If they are smelling your pack they are also smelling YOU, which is deterrent enough for MOST bears. But you never know, so carry your bear spray. If any bear does scent trail your pack with you in it, you've got a whole lot of trouble on your hands.