Bear safety in RTT's and soft sided campers/tents
- Thread starter upcruiser
- Start date
mountainpete
Spamicus Eliminatus
Never had an issue and I have notified the agent at the border.
STREGA
Explorer
Corey, the Kel Tec looks bad ********. I currently have a Remington 870 home defense 12g, holds 6 rounds in mag and 1 in chamber, 18" barrel so its easy to swing in confined spaces and is very reliable.
I really don't want to shoot a bear so besides maintaining a clean camp, bear spray will be my first choice of defense with the shotgun as a backup if needed.
I really don't want to shoot a bear so besides maintaining a clean camp, bear spray will be my first choice of defense with the shotgun as a backup if needed.
To me, this is the most reasonable approach, and the one I also use. The one addition that I make, however, is that I typically camp with my dog. His advanced senses give me a little pre-warning which can buy precious time. Also, I can tell you from hunting in both Oregon and Colorado, bears don't like barking dogs very much (they're too much work for them I think).
STREGA
Explorer
I forgot about the dog, even though he is a small guy his senses are good and always has my back.
Corey
OverCamping Specialist
PS
Since this bear spray expires in four years, I think I am going to keep it in my FJ too.
It would be good for an attempted car jacking, or a raging road rager
My alarm has an anti car jacking built in that will disable my rig after so many feet if someone attempts to jack it from me, but the spray might come in handy too, and less lethal than me pulling my G36 out.
Since this bear spray expires in four years, I think I am going to keep it in my FJ too.
It would be good for an attempted car jacking, or a raging road rager
My alarm has an anti car jacking built in that will disable my rig after so many feet if someone attempts to jack it from me, but the spray might come in handy too, and less lethal than me pulling my G36 out.
austintaco
Explorer
soooooo...If you opt for bear spray, and a Bear approaches your campsite, what do you do after you spray the Bear? I watched that youtube video and he states to walk, not run, back the way you came, but if you are camping and at your site, do you jump in the truck and try to high tail it out of your location?
Since this is about Bears and RTT, what about all of your gear and stuff still at camp? When is it safe to go back and retrieve the yard sale and trail of stuff that you left in your wake?
Since this is about Bears and RTT, what about all of your gear and stuff still at camp? When is it safe to go back and retrieve the yard sale and trail of stuff that you left in your wake?
mountainpete
Spamicus Eliminatus
1 - First check the wind. If you spray into the wind, you might get the bear but you will also be on the ground deciding if being mauled by the bear was a better or worse fate. I have inhaled high quality bear spray. It's beyond awful.
2 - Spray a short shot first. If that doesn't cause the bear to do a 180 you need to spray again with a 3 second spray.
3 - Always stay calm since you never know if there are other bears. Slowly walk back to your vehicle and get inside.
4 - If you left stuff in the camp area and you sprayed in the camp area, you may not be able to go back for 30 min if the air is very calm or heavily wooded. If the wind was in your favor and the bear ran away, you don't need to wait long before grabbing your stuff. The bear won't be back there for a while.
It's very possible to scare a bear out of camp and then stay in that location. Many black bears will be curious enough to come back though so caution is needed. In the end, follow your gut. If you feel like you need to move on (or anyone else in the camp does), just move on. It's not worth it to be worried all the time about another bear.
Pete
johnnyrover
Observer
Bear Spray was the most effective deterent we used for black, white and brown bears.(also can be effective on other animals as well)
For me and the groups I would lead, spray was a much easier tool to carry, train and use. When in Nunuvat and Northern Manitobo, someone in the party also carried a shotgun. We did have one guy who brought his own shotgun, and it never left his side. The poor guy was terrified of bears. He got over his fear a bit when we were walking the shoreline and came upon a male polar bear at about 50 yards. Thing is, he was afraid because he had no experience...
I have pictures of grizzly, wolf, and black bear scat left next to my tent overnight. Guess my snoring kept them away (or brought them in). Heck, I crawled out of my tent one night above treeline to take care of a full bladder. There was a bull moose at 20 feet. Thought I was done, he just stood there and watched. I finished, and then he wandered off.
Keep a clean tent, be respectuful of your surroundings, and enjoy ALL of the experience.
For me and the groups I would lead, spray was a much easier tool to carry, train and use. When in Nunuvat and Northern Manitobo, someone in the party also carried a shotgun. We did have one guy who brought his own shotgun, and it never left his side. The poor guy was terrified of bears. He got over his fear a bit when we were walking the shoreline and came upon a male polar bear at about 50 yards. Thing is, he was afraid because he had no experience...
I have pictures of grizzly, wolf, and black bear scat left next to my tent overnight. Guess my snoring kept them away (or brought them in). Heck, I crawled out of my tent one night above treeline to take care of a full bladder. There was a bull moose at 20 feet. Thought I was done, he just stood there and watched. I finished, and then he wandered off.
Keep a clean tent, be respectuful of your surroundings, and enjoy ALL of the experience.
upcruiser
Perpetual Transient
Ah, missed that. Was catching up on this thread via my phone. Ok, so a Cheese Whiz canister to spray the perimeter will work well though right?
Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
Depends. On one sea kayak trip in Glacier Bay National Park, a bear was cruising the beach and determined to walk right up to our camp, mostly because our camp was in his path more than anything. It took him five agonizing minutes for him to make the slow saunter up towards our camp. The wind was calm and two of us ended up spraying him with two full cans. He split in a BIG hurry, and didn't stop until he was several hundred yards down the beach. That left us with the next dilemma...now what? Glacier Bay NP is a cage-less zoo. Anywhere else we would have moved to would have been equally prone to a bear encounter. We just went back to the normal bear-smart drills. Lots of noise, no food was cooked that night, we stayed alert and kept our other two cans of spray close by.
If you let bears make you nuts, they will. Be smart, not paranoid and you'll be fine.
aknightinak
Active member
Right there. ^
There are two further subgroups of bears up here among the brown, black, and white that I didn't see mentioned - human habituated and not.
Things like cubs and food caches aside, I would much rather run into a NON-human habituated bear. They behave more like one would expect a wild animal to behave as in they typically want nothing to do with people.
I would be wary about relying on a dog. It can as easily be the case that the bear turns on the dog, in which case the dog's instinct will probably be to run right back to you with the bear on its heels.
If you follow "protocol," be aware of your surroundings, make noise while you're hiking (a lot of noise if you're beside running water), keep a clean camp, store food in a hard-sided vehicle or bear box, and don't try to pet it if you see one, I wouldn't expect a problem.
I have typically carried both a shotgun and bear spray. As I get older, if it's not hunting season, I spare the weight and just take the bear spray.
Even getting older, I still sleep on the ground, sometimes not even in a tent. I did almost get stepped on by a big ol' boar once, but it was more intent on hassling my buddy and his dog 50 feet away, who were camped in his truck under the camper shell. He had also left his cooler by the tailgate when he turned in.
This li'l lady, her cubs, and I met one morning at an initial distance of about 20 feet. We bumbled upon each other and both looked up at about the same instant. I swear she had an "Oh, ----" look on her face also, but I doubt she was as close to wetting herself as I was. I turned her around by standing my ground, yelling at her to get lost, and lobbing rocks in their general direction (not pelting them with stones).
Speaking for myself and not trying to sound like a Treadwell, I've always felt really honored in my close encounters with bears. Only twice in almost 20 years of living here have I really been worried by one.
wgwood
New member
Bears
First off, I took all these photos...
Secondly, none of this pertains to Grizzly's. They have a different mindset.
Blacks and Browns can recognize coolers in the back of a car:
They can peel open a window:
Put the cooler in your trunk or cover with a towel.
Use bear boxes as intended, not as a table:
If a bear wants your car, just give them the keys:
Or, set up a decoy:
Just keep enjoying the outdoors, be smart, and you will avoid this:
Regards,
Greg
First off, I took all these photos...
Secondly, none of this pertains to Grizzly's. They have a different mindset.
Blacks and Browns can recognize coolers in the back of a car:
They can peel open a window:
Put the cooler in your trunk or cover with a towel.
Use bear boxes as intended, not as a table:
If a bear wants your car, just give them the keys:
Or, set up a decoy:
Just keep enjoying the outdoors, be smart, and you will avoid this:
Regards,
Greg
We camp in black bear country all the time...on teh ground in a tent. moving to a RTT this year though. In the last 8 years, I have only had one bear encounter. people we were camping with did NOT follow my rules. middle of the night it sounded like a train wreck. they left their portable grille on a folding table out and through sweet potatoes in the firepit. i did not check the campsite as i went to be early. both of my 80lb labs had that low growl and I gave them teh "signal" and than were trying to figure out why Dad hit the truck's alarm, premiter lighting on my roofrack and went out WITHOUT them to investigate. Dogs can get harmed as easily as we can!
I honestly see no difference in being in a soft sided tent or rtt. only difference is a little height. bears can get up on trucks easily enough.
Rules I follow:
* I keep a clean site!
* I Check for tracks, $hit, signs of bear, cats, gametrails, 500 yards around the camp before we set up....if we can range out that far.
* food stays in sealed air tight bins (like the dogfood containers you get at petco. they work great.
* coolers stay in the truck AND are covered with blankets/ clothes, etc. bears know what they look like and if they see them, your truck, gear is done!
* We never sleep in the clothes we cooked in and those too go into a container. that smell of campfire, food stays on your clothes.
I also have bearspray at reach when sleeping...along with my Glock and Rem 870. I have never had to use them in defense against a bear or cat to date. However, i have fired the bearspray to learn how it works AND leanred about the predators where I am visting. It's their land, I'm just passing through.
The one thing I would like to get is something to neutralize the spray in the vent myself or my dogs get hit with the spray. Does anyone know of or carry anything like that...other than water?
I honestly see no difference in being in a soft sided tent or rtt. only difference is a little height. bears can get up on trucks easily enough.
Rules I follow:
* I keep a clean site!
* I Check for tracks, $hit, signs of bear, cats, gametrails, 500 yards around the camp before we set up....if we can range out that far.
* food stays in sealed air tight bins (like the dogfood containers you get at petco. they work great.
* coolers stay in the truck AND are covered with blankets/ clothes, etc. bears know what they look like and if they see them, your truck, gear is done!
* We never sleep in the clothes we cooked in and those too go into a container. that smell of campfire, food stays on your clothes.
I also have bearspray at reach when sleeping...along with my Glock and Rem 870. I have never had to use them in defense against a bear or cat to date. However, i have fired the bearspray to learn how it works AND leanred about the predators where I am visting. It's their land, I'm just passing through.
The one thing I would like to get is something to neutralize the spray in the vent myself or my dogs get hit with the spray. Does anyone know of or carry anything like that...other than water?