Grizzly Bear Deterrents while Backpack Camping (increased safety while sleeping)

[rjthehunter]

I have heard mothballs are a deterrent.
Who wants to carry mothballs.

More than a handful of times I have byvied on a ledge. One way in.

I think you have grizzlies mixed up with mice! I'd rather get eaten by a bear than smell moth balls 24/7 lol

The only issue with one way in, is that there's only 1 way out also...

 

[Hem]

I think you have grizzlies mixed up with mice! I'd rather get eaten by a bear than smell moth balls 24/7 lol

The only issue with one way in, is that there's only 1 way out also...

No, seriously on the mothballs. Maybe folklore. No matter how you wrap them the stench is there.
I sleep better with one way in.

 

[rjthehunter]

No, seriously on the mothballs. Maybe folklore. No matter how you wrap them the stench is there.
I sleep better with one way in.

I guess it leaves you with one direction to shoot/spray!

 

[Hem]

I guess it leaves you with one direction to shoot/spray!

Psychological advantage!

 

[perma]

I dip my bear spray in bacon grease. That way if the get me I get the last FU.

Sig worthy

 

[Brad]

Aside from the usual precautions, my primary line of defense is what I call "bear plugs." I put them in each ear when I go to sleep and drift off into total denial

 

[daltrix99]

Aside from the usual precautions, my primary line of defense is what I call "bear plugs." I put them in each ear when I go to sleep and drift off into total denial
View attachment 311065

It works! Seriously I’ve done this so many times. Squirrels sound like demons at night. Ignorance is bliss.

 

[WildWill]

Bring someone along that snores super loud....like Cushman...

A couple years ago me and my brother were camped in western Wyoming elk hunting. I was sound asleep in my hammock when my brother started yelling Bear! I rolled out of the hammock not so gracefully grabbing the 1911 in the hammocks pocket. Brother comes scrambling out his little tent bear spray and flashlight in hand. We search around and find nothing he swears he heard a bear growl. Whatever I'm tired go back to bed. He was to wired after that to go back to sleep immediately. That morning he told me while he lay there trying to go to sleep I began snoring he became convinced I woke him with a particularly loud one that sounded to him like a bear.

 

[Luke_with_a_lab]

You could always get some llamas. They are great security at night. They'll alarm call if anything comes into camp.

 

[Magnum Sherpa]

The chance of being attacked by a grizzly is small. The chance of being attacked by one in your tent is extremely small, especially if you keep food and attractants out of your tent. I read a book about grizzly attacks and if I recall correctly, only 2% of the attacks that produced serious injuries happened to people in tents.

 

[Dan O]

The chance of being attacked by a grizzly is small. The chance of being attacked by one in your tent is extremely small, especially if you keep food and attractants out of your tent. I read a book about grizzly attacks and if I recall correctly, only 2% of the attacks that produced serious injuries happened to people in tents.

I believe it was two summers ago the Grizzly attack in Ovando that killed a lady in her tent. It was noted that there was or had been food in her tent. This occurred in the park in Ovando. I don't remember all the details but I think the bear had been run off earlier in the evening.

 

[MTLabrador]

Sleeping in a tent around them is something that you just have to get used to. Even though sleeping in a tent probably seems scarier, you’re a lot more likely to run into a bear when you’re out hiking around, and especially when returning to pack meat.

All that said I just about shot a muley doe in the face when I returned for the last load of meat on my bull 2 years ago. I saw eyes light up right next to where I had the hindquarter and head stashed and pulled that pistol faster Doc Holliday. In hindsight, packing meat at midnight in grizzly central was a stupid idea and I should have had my rifle with me.

 

[F250]

I’d rather sleep in a tent in grizzly country than sleep in a tent in Central Park NY !

 

[LuketheDog]

I take a shit load of melatonin. At least then if I get into a rodeo while I’m sleeping I’ll think it’s just one of my messed up dreams.

I tend to be overly confident in the dream too.

This is what I did in brown bear country last fall, I took those little Slumber melatonin hot cocoa packets that Mt Ops has, it's only thing they make that I'll buy. I slept like a rock for 11 nights and let the other guys worry about the bears. We did have an electronic tripwire thing up that would make a real high-pitched noise if it was triggered, but I didn't care, I probably wouldn't have woken up anyway.

 

[nrpate05]

My wife took this stuff called Unisom while she was pregnant. It helped her so I took it backpack hunting this past fall and it worked like a dream! If I was in serious grizz country I'd think about one of those electric fences.

 

[PRO MO]

Along with number 1 on your list, keep a very clean camp and don't, under any circumstances have any food or snacks in or near camp, it's easy to forget that granola bar in your pack.

Also if you have meat, or a bloody pack, keep it far away from camp.

A bad fart in the night is going to put out more odor than a granola bar enclosed in a wrapper. i think people overthink the scent issue sometimes. we use a bear fence and hang food, but i don't worry if i forget a little granola bar, or chapstick, or a toothbrush, or whiskey. all of which i've been yelled at for by my hunting partner.

 

[Straight Arrow]

A bad fart in the night is going to put out more odor than a granola bar enclosed in a wrapper.

That is true. However, there has been enough human presence in bear country that the bears nose distinguishes the difference between the smell of human, even human farts, than that of food enclosed in a wrapper. Believe what you wish ... but don't expect an invite to my camp overnight ... whether it be excessive farting or in-tent snacking!

i think people overthink the scent issue sometimes.

Disagree! I think people ignore the scent issue mostly.
Anecdote: Before setting up camp at a remote backcountry campsite in the Bechler River region of Yellowstone, I spent almost an hour picking up candy wrappers and other garbage at
sites where tents had obviously been set.

 

[Magnum Sherpa]

I believe it was two summers ago the Grizzly attack in Ovando that killed a lady in her tent. It was noted that there was or had been food in her tent. This occurred in the park in Ovando. I don't remember all the details but I think the bear had been run off earlier in the evening.

I remember that. They reported that she had food in her tent the first time the bear came, after which they ran it off. She supposedly never removed the food, the bear came back again, and we know the rest of the story. I’m not sure if removing the food after the first visit would have changed the outcome, since the bear could likely still smell the residual odor even if she did.

 

[Straight Arrow]

If you ever have the opportunity visit the Grizzly Center in West Yellowstone, where there are demonstrations of bear behavior and particularly of their incredible sense of smell and ingenuity & strength. Foods are secured and hidden from the bears, who are in their den spaces. They are released and it's though they have xray vision, as they go directly to the food and begin dismantling whatever containment to get to the food. Also "bear-proof" containers are tested there and it's entertaining to watch the bears do their thing in attempting (and sometimes succeeding) in opening the containers. It certainly gives one incentive to practice "bear aware" precautions when visiting the bears' habitat!

 

[appaloosa]

Not helpful while archery hunting, but the biggest deterrent is noise. As you backpack hike continue talking, singing, arguing, just talking loudly to the griz. They want to see you less than you want to run into them, so they move away from you. Keep anything with any odor away from wherever you sleep. Bears have incredible sense of smell ... from miles away! A griz can smell a little capped tube of toothpaste tucked way in the bottom of your pack, so stow it up high or in bear proof container far away from tent.

We encountered what's shown below every day during a seven day backpack trip through the Thorofare of Yellowstone and Washakie Wilderness, an area with a dense population of griz. We never did even see a bear.

View attachment 311036
View attachment 311037

FYi,
this is a black bear track....