Motion Sensors for bears

[NuggetHoarder]

Red pepper spray stopped bears’ undesirable behavior 92% of the time when used on brown bears,
90%for black bears, and 100%for polar bears. Of all persons carrying sprays, 98%were uninjured by bears in close-range encounters.

Statistics can be turned around to suit your preference. For instance, let's look at the statement above from a different perspective...

Red Pepper spray FAILED to stop bear's undesirable behavior a whopping 8% of the time when used on brown bears, and an incredible 10% of the time on black bears, and 0% on polar bears. Of all persons carrying sprays, a full 2% WERE INJURED by bears in close-range encounters.

Statistics can be a really bummer, can't they Sorry, I couldn't resist turning the numbers around to prove my point.

Anyway, do you really want to risk being in the 2%?

I know it's a contentious issue, and I would absolutely hate to kill a bear in Alaska, but I refuse to be in the 2% category. Sorry that's just me.

As I mentioned in my first post, the most important thing is to keep a clean campsite.

 

[Rando]

I agree about keeping a clean camp etc. The thing is, the statistics for using a firearm are worse than those for using pepper spray:
http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/grizzly/bear spray.pdf

In this case is doesn't matter if you turn it around or not as it is 50%.

Statistics can be turned around to suit your preference. For instance, let's look at the statement above from a different perspective...

Red Pepper spray FAILED to stop bear's undesirable behavior a whopping 8% of the time when used on brown bears, and an incredible 10% of the time on black bears, and 0% on polar bears. Of all persons carrying sprays, a full 2% WERE INJURED by bears in close-range encounters.

Statistics can be a really bummer, can't they Sorry, I couldn't resist turning the numbers around to prove my point.

Anyway, do you really want to risk being in the 2%?

I know it's a contentious issue, and I would absolutely hate to kill a bear in Alaska, but I refuse to be in the 2% category. Sorry that's just me.

As I mentioned in my first post, the most important thing is to keep a clean campsite.

 

[lowenbrau]

A few comments.
1) Rubiclone, go get your gun licence and buy a gun. It is important that we Canadians do that.
2) Surprisingly, you can't take it to Alaska for bear protection.
3) Practice good camp cleanliness and remember that more than the kitchen is important. Toothpaste and latrines are attractive to bears.


I've been lucky, all my bear encounters have been non threatening.

 

[NuggetHoarder]

Arizona Fish and Game has an interesting tidbit on their FAQ website about food and trash...

http://www.azgfd.gov/faq/LivingWithWildlife.shtml
Garbage stored outside is by far the biggest attractant to bears. Results show that if you leave your garbage outside, you have a 68 percent chance of being visited by a bear. If you live on the edge of a housing development or next to a thick wooded area within a housing area and leave your garbage outside, your chances increase to more than 70 percent. However, if you store your garbage in a garage or shed until the morning of collection, you have only a 2 percent chance of a bear visit, regardless of where you live.​

Arizona is definitely not Alaska, but the idea is the same - keep a super clean campsite.

As far as the Fish and Wildlife info you posted about carrying guns... I refuse to take any advice from those guys regarding guns. Like the Forest Service and National Park Service, they actively promote a policy where no one carries guns for protection except themselves. They wouldn't support that study if it meant they had to go unarmed.

Rando, I apologize for flipping the stats around. It's really a situation that will never be solved - too many personal opinions. I think people should do whatever they are comfortable with and they should practice with whatever weapon they choose.

I setup a UDAP bear fence around my tent sometimes when I'm in bear country and it's marginal security at best, but it makes me sleep better at night. (And I did accidentally zap myself on the fence once - yeeeeeooooowwwww it works!). I doubt it would stop a bear who is dead set on coming into my camp, but I do it anyway.

 

[Rubiclone]

im sure we can all go on for days defending each side, im sure each side has its pros and cons, depending on whatever makes you feel more comfortable. Moral of the story is i guess, that i will be carrying a large canister of bear spray. We will be sleeping on the roof of our 80 series, and keep all our food stored inside in sealed containers, or in a fridge. Also all our garbage will be inside those large Ammo cans which are water proof (probably not 100% smell proof) but they have the ability to create a vaccuum when changing altitude so thats probably as close as we'll get.

Thanks for all the info, ill keep looking at some motion sensors, either ditch the idea completely or i will post up pictures of the installation towards the summer when i start my diesel swap/expo build.

thanks again.

 

[Photomike]

I agree with others about the clean campsite. Other thing that you can do is buy a portable air horn. Will do a lot more to scare away a bear from a distance, pepper spray you have to be a little too close.

 

[dumolebob]

Bears see very well in the dark so lights will not help!

Ok, let’s get serious…

Before you carry a gun and not bear spray PLEASE Google the subject. You’ll see that most of the time the gun gets you in trouble FAST! There have been lots of studies on the subject.

Bear spray is many times more potent than the spray you buy to deter humans or dogs!

We’ve camp using ground tents almost exclusively in grizzle country for over thirty years. Far and away your best defense against bears is to NOT attract them. Keep your camp clean, which means NO FOOD SMELLS - AT ALL! NO FOOD SMELLS - AT ALL!

Picnic tables usually have lots of smells so scrub them down with water, soap and a little peroxide! Don’t try to burn leftovers in a fire pit. Put all food , pots, and used containers out of reach. The interior of your vehicle is not good enough as some bears know all about humans putting their goodies in their vehicle and they make a game of getting to it. Hang food in trees or bear proof boxes, or get one of those steel thief proof tool boxes.

Make sure the people there before left it 110% clean. This error can cost dearly. If you were preceded by pigs the bears will have become habituated to that fact and come a looking. That got folks attacked and killed just outside Yellowstone last year. They did things right, but the people there before them did things wrong.

There is lots of good info on the Internet (Some especially terrific info from Canadians). Do your homework, but that said try to relax and enjoy. You can worry yourself into a state, but as long as you pay attention the chances of running into a deranged human are far greater than a bear!

Take your advice from professionals. That doesn't include me, gun nuts or people just guessing!:Wow1:

 

[NuggetHoarder]

This thread kinda took off on a gun vs. spray tangent, and I thought I'd bring it back to the OP's question concerning motion detectors. In my first post I mentioned two items which I thought I might elaborate on...

• MURS Infrared detector drivewayalarmproducts.com $120
• MURS handheld radio receiver drivewayalarmproducts.com $90

.

Both of these items run on AA batteries and the burn time is very good. The batteries will last for months. The range is also good. I've been as far away as about 1/2 mile from my camp and it worked when my gf walked back to camp and set it off.

As Matt S mentioned in his post, there is no nighttime in Alaska in the summer so using lights is not going to be very effective.

What I like about the MURS system is that there are a lot of items out there that are using MURS which opens up many possibilities. You could have more than one detector setup, and you can have more than one handheld receiver. I also like that the system is self contained with it's own battery supplies, and I like that I can leave camp and still maintain some security. The handheld unit can also be used to communicate with other people in your party if they have a MURS radio.

For me, the main idea of using the MURS system is not necessarily to scare the bear away, it's more to alert you that something or someone has intruded into your space. I sleep very soundly, so this is perfect for me. I keep the handheld in my tent and it's loud enough to wake me up.

You can find more information about MURS on wikipedia at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-Use_Radio_Service

I also noticed that Cabela's now has a MURS sensor and MURS handheld available for about the same prices I posted above.

Overall, I'd have to say I'm very happy with the setup I have and it helps me sleep better at night. If I'm really worried about bears in the area, I pull out my bear fence and string that around my tent and Jeep but I rarely ever use it - only if I am spooked. For the most part, I just use the MURS system to detect animals and humans and that's plenty.

 

[GR8ADV]

Too funny, I clicked on this link thinking it said motion sensors for BEER. Which by the way could be a good idea off road.

That said now that I am here, I spent a month motorcycle camping with my son in AK last summer. Just don't worry about it. Just use common sense, NO food left out, NO food or anything that goes in your mouth like toothpaste etc, in a tent, and if you can, eat away from your camp site, that is good, but not necessary. Black bears, the most common, want less to do with you than you with them. For grizzlies, if you keep a clean camp you should have no problem. Having them wonder around bothering you is pretty rare.

I would buy some bear spray while i was there just in case you have an encounter while hiking. But in general, fagetaboutit.

 

[thedjjack]

Clean camp is all that is needed. If you follow this rule you are more likely to shot yourself with the gun then have a bear problem.

Also, Bear spray should be stored inside a plastic pipe with screw on end caps for travel. It eats plastic and wiring and blows up in vehicles in the sun. I have seen a work truck totaled by a can going off.

 

[KANZ]

A motion detector might go off when smaller animals like rabbits come close. So you won’t get a good night’s sleep this way.
The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee website lists bear proof containers http://www.igbconline.org/BEAR_RESISTANT_Oct2010.pdf - prevention might help letting you sleep better. The chances that a grizzly will approach you are very slim anyway.

 

[UNI]

Click Here: Steal Armor

 

[cico7]

I often camp in an area where bears are hunted. Good and bad.

The bear being hunted, tend to stay away from people areas.

Down side, they are hunted with dogs. If you hear the dogs barking, listen.
If they are in one place, the bear is treed. If the barking is coming toward you,
leave!

Get in your Jeep, don't have to worry much about food then. Running bears
won't stop to smell the kitchen.

We did have a problem once, the dogs kept hanging around our camp. :coffeedrink:

 

[snowbear]

Always interesting to 'listen' to folks discuss bears. I am no expert. Been treed twice. Two guys I grew up with were both killed by bears in south east Alaska.

Everywhere is different.

If you stay on the road system any bear you see already knows people mean food and most of them are going to ignore you or run away when they see you. Keeping clean camps is good advice but not that critical. A bears nose is so sensitive that you can't clean enough to kill the smells. Nothing wrong with taking the precaution. Our moose camp is in bear country and we have bears come by every year (usually at night). We have one whole trailer dedicated to cooking, stoves, oven, propane, ice chests,lots of food and it's always right in the middle of camp. Never had a bear touch it or our camp.

It is a totally different story when in remote areas where bears don't often see people. Electric fences are becoming the most common protection when sleeping. They are extremely effective.

I set a camp on a semi-remote river one year, cut and stacked firewood and left nothing but cots in the tent. Come back a week later and a little blackie just had to go in the tent to check it out. A bit if duct tape and the tent lasted the rest of the trip.

The number one thing about bears is they are unpredictable. Some don't like noise, some don't like lights or fires, some are curious. Be smart. When hiking in brush make noise. Keep your dog close. If you see a bear don't run. If a bear charges, don't run!!! If you have fish, leave them on the bank and back away slowly. If you see a cub and don't see the sow get outa there.

You don't have to have a firearm but I prefer one. My wife hikes solo all the time and prefers spray. Both have been proven to work.

The best bear is a dead bear ;-)))

 

[bob91yj]

We had a bear in our camp at Rubicon Springs a few years back. Scared the bejeesus out of me.

My wife and I were in a pup tent when I heard it come in to camp. It ransacked my buddies tent first, they were gone to a party at the main camp. Then it headed straight to my tent, I had been peeking out under the door flap watching it, I dropped the flap and waited to see what was going to happen. All I had for protection was a 3-Dcell Mag Lite. It rubbed its nose along the tent fabric sniffing the tent, and moved on.

We had seen evidence of bears, care taker told us there had been bears. Rubicon Springs is used daily as a camp ground, so the bears are familiar with people.

Our food was not in bear proof containers. My coolers and food box were shoved under my Jeep. It was a PITA to get them under there, the bear shwooped them out of their like he owned them.

The bear actually came to our camp twice. The guys from the first tent came back to camp spooking it. Apparently the bag of Oreo's I'd been saving all week were too tempting and it had to come back for them. We cleaned up a bit after the first visit, coolers under the Jeep again. The bear was back, shwooped them out again and had at it. The third guy in our group got out of his tent, got the campfire between himself and the bear. He built the fire up, watching the bear, and giving me the play by play of what was going on.

The bear had NO fear of people.

I now carry a .357 with me when in the back country. I'm not a gun guy/hunter, but I want options if it happens again. I don't advertise that I have a gun. I understand that it may be illegal to have it in parks and other areas, that's a risk I'm willing to take. I'll plead "stupidity" if I ever had to use it , I'm great at pulling that one off!