Theoretical situation with a bear in your camp

[CSG]

My friend and I were discussing what we would do if we came upon a bear while we were hunting in a remote location. the situation would be that you have your camp set up a ways (8 hour hike minimum, maybe farther) from your truck and while you are in camp a bear comes up and starts sniffin your fresh kill thats hanging in the tree. You have your rifle and assuming that the regs are non-existant (not trying to start a thread on the rules or ethics of shooting something you don't have a licence for, this was just the scenario we came up with) what would you do.

Not being very knowledegable on bear behaviour I suggested I would leave and come back at a later time. Not wanting to risk provoking a wild animal.

My friend said he would probably throw rocks at the bear and shoot his gun in the air and if the bear didn't leave he would probably shoot it. He felt that if you left camp the bear would destroy it all and would leave you in a situation that you might struggle to survive through

Again, I am NOT trying to start a thread about regs and licences. We were drunk and this was the scenario we came up with.

Anybody have any first hand experience dealing with bears coming into their camp and the behaviour they exibit.

[BCRiverBoater]

I have had bears in camp over night that I never saw and never did see again. They came through and basically did not disturb much. All that happened was we did not sleep very good for awhile.

I also had to shoot a bear for the exact reason you suggest. We had an elk down and hanging in the tree. The first night we awoke to a small black bear on our meat. We yelled ans screamed and he continued to eat. We fired a warning shot and he did not move. We accidentally fired a second warning as the one guy did not hold the light right for the other guy who did not shoot right. He still did not even flinch a bit.

We had seen bears earlier near our camp so we decided he had to be shot. I do not like getting my meat ruined but I hate bears that are used to humans. We shot the bear and he had a ton of bacon lard or grease on him. He obviously came from another camp. We tagged him and that was that. We always have a bear tag for blacks just for this reason. Grizzly...well...I have been semi charged and never shot. I would have to be in a real bind to go down that road not having a tag.

[trapntrav]

easy, dead bear.

[Steeleco]

Get the meat as high as you possibly can and set a couple of smaller fires near there. If your not able to pack all the meat out, I'd be reluctant to shoot the bear unless is was aggressive towards you or your buds. If I was able to get it to the truck easily, and appropriately tagged. BOOM Bouns!!

[Wild one]

If I had a tag dead bear other than that I would try and scare it off but if it gets an nasty and no other option bear dies.

[abbyfireguy]

Simple answer,Dead Bear..
I have had a few close encounters with bears but never in camp after our meat..
We usually wash the skinned quarters with vinegar,sack them and pepper the crap out of the sacked quarters.A couple of small smoldering fires nearby helps.
We also keep our camp very clean with no food waste around and no meat trimmings around.
All hides and trimmings get taken down the road a few K's so they are nowhere near camp.
I really don't cherish the thought of a bear in camp,but I'm not going to take any risks with personal injury to myself or my son who hunts with me.
Bad bear = dead bear, its just that easy..
Might sound flipant, but getting sewn back together at the ER is something I'd rather not participate in:?..
So far so good after 31 years hunting in bear country south of Vanderhoof...:smile:

[In4TheHunt]

I tend to agree with Wild One. that appears to be the most logical.

[kishman]

Fresh Venison and a rug? Win-win as far as I'm concerned:-P!

[Mr. Dean]

Messy camps are an an attractant. Meat poles in camp are just asking for trouble.

Why create a problem?
Why not ensure that everything that can be done, IS done in avoiding unwanted encounters?

This scenerio is just plain silly IMO...... :confused:

[lip_ripper00]

Ok so its a grizz it after dark, no LEH way past shooting light are you going to shoot this bear, would'nt that be poaching?

[abbyfireguy]

Not if its for your protection...I'd rather argue in court in one piece rather than from a casket 6 feet under..:wink:

[BCRiverBoater]

Ok so its a grizz it after dark, no LEH way past shooting light are you going to shoot this bear, would'nt that be poaching?

No tag...after dark...and bear in camp or on meat. Yes poaching.

Grizz in camp chasing you down, chewing on buddy...Not poaching.

[Wolfman]

You could always say the bear had a gun.....;-)


Wolfman

[kastles]

bear is after your elk? protecting property? or is that american?

[hillclimber]

if i think that the bear is dangerous and is not leaving after warning shots etc i would shoot him because i'd rather pay a fine or go to court then go home with one less hunting buddy.

[dougan]

Let Him Smell Your Ass He Will Think Your Dead

[Fixit]

You could always say the bear had a gun.....;-)


Wolfman



just make sure that you wipe your prints off the "planted" gun
that one had me laughing.

[nano]

like Mr. Dean was saying messy camps are bear attractant. keep your camp clean.

[sparky300winmag]

Ok guys we had a mother griz and 2 cubs in camp last year.Possibly because we have a meat cooler with exhaust fans going?Do you think those bears will be in that same spot this year??

[steelheadSABO]

buy a bear tag and hang him in the tree:):):):):):):)

[358mag]

"SSS" Rule
shoot
shovel
shut up

[M.Dean]

Your 8 miles from the truck, there's a griz chewing the shit out of your Elk, you could be next, its your call, shoot and shut up, or try to get some pics before it kills you so the kids can see your last moments before becoming bear scat!!!

[Avalanche123]

So I guess the lesson seems to be: Keep a clean camp, hang your meat away from camp.

I think it is important to keep in mind that you attracted the bear in the first place. Unless he is directly threatening you, I'd attempt to scare him off.

IMHO shoot and shut up isn't cool.

Ditto to what Mr. Dean said.

[gitnadoix]

I may be wrong but to get the ("well you were left with no choice) defence you would have had to do every thing reasonably possible to prevent said occurance.....such as away from camp and outa reach.....If the trees are not tall enough.......um er.....

As for pepper on the sacks.....the shit that bears eat.....I am wondering if it would even slow em down.

After the meat has cooled and skinned over I have put them in severly water proof air tight portage bags and dumped them in creeks.....so far so good....but could just be coincidence

[Hunterguy]

Bears, yes up in the Peace country thats why you won't see any hanging poles, last year a buddy and I set up a camp and decided to do a noon hunt. Were lucky enough to take a nice mulie and broiught it back to camp, skinned it out and hung it. Little lunch and then back to the moose thing, weather getting bad, a little rain and mist with the temp getting lower. Checked the watch, time to return to camp. Drove the quad in, truck in the way, tried to drive around it but noticed that the pole with the deer on it was gone. Hmmmm, just then a grizz jumped from around the front of the pickup and scared the shit out of me. Gunned the quad and went down to the crossroads to wait for my partner. Raining hard now mixed with sleet. Partner is soaked, told him of my encounter, he felt it would be to dangerous for us to go back to camp. Noticed another camp about 15 clicks down the road. Travelled to the camp, explained what had happened and asked if they would give us a ride back to camp in their truck. No problem, arrived in camp with high beams and the horn beeping, truck stops and up on the hood and staring us in the face is this huge grizz, all s--t ourselves. Back to their camp, spent the night and in the morning returned with no sight of the deer or bear, broke camp out of there. Looking back now I always take extra clothing, a little kindling and a tarp on the quad just for an overnighter. How many of us arrive back at camp just at dusk. Something to think about guys, goodluck.

[Evolution]

When I was a Kid my Grandpa and I were away from the camp overnight while we were up hunting moose at Pink Mountain. It was early in September and unusually warm out so we were just sleeping beside the fire. I awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of his Ruger Redhawk going off right beside me. When I cleared my eyes I seen the dead bear. Grandpa said the bear was sniffing my face. Thank god for side arms and old cowboys.

[Little Hawk]

Funny how 'Bear-trouble' topics always get rained on...

I agree it's important to keep a clean camp and hang it high away from camp.


A few years back I was hunting in the Kettle Valley south of Lumby with a buddy from Victoria and his cousin who had lived and hunted the area we were in for nearly 25/yrs. Buddies cousin (our guide) swore up and down he'd "never had problems with bears" as he was dressing out the first muley he'd brought into camp then left it hanging within three feet of the ground. I asked him why he left it so close to the ground? He assured me there wouldn't be any problem. As a guest, I chose to keep my mouth shut; after all, he had a garage full of trophy racks...

Four days or so later, with three deer now hanging in camp, my other buddy (from Vancouver) and I were on the mountain top about a mile away from and directly above camp. We'd separated and had taken up positions on a ridge about 400 yards apart waiting for dusk when buddy suddenly appeared out of nowhere beating a hasty path back in the direction of the truck. I first became aware of it when I thought I heard someone yelling my name faintly above the howling wind. WTF? I finally spotted him and we hooked up and I was curious why he looked pale, like he'd seen a ghost.

He then told me how he was sitting with his back to a stump when suddenly, out of nowhere, comes a huge chocolate grizz lumbering towards him from about 100yds out. He said he froze and the critter passed him at sixty yards and carried on. I asked him which direction it was headed and he pointed towards camp.

A quick check of the wind and I realized what he was likely up to.
It took nearly an hour to get back to camp and by then it was all over.

Guess whose deer got yanked? The biggest of the three; buddies cousin who "never had problems with bears!"

Fortunately the bear had left the area and we had no further incidents that night.

What really pissed me off was that, once the dust settled, the following morning when I found the griz-tracks out on the road (told the whole story; where he came out of the bush, paused to survey the camp etc.) my Victoria buddy and his cousin decide they are going after the bear to... "make him pay."

They ignored my comments about the idea that it was our own-fault for hanging the game so close the ground and that he was just doin' what came natural to him and didn't deserve to die for it.

Off they went and they didn't return for over three hours. No shots fired.

I nearly broke camp and went home I was so pissed. Haven't hunted with either of them since.

Hang em' High!

[stanway]

I carry a black bear tag for this vary reason. If I need to 'use' it, then there are no issues getting checked by a C/O. A $20 tag is cheap insurance to save a lot of time and hassle. Besides, there's always room in the freezer for more sausage.:D

[Mr. Dean]

Funny how 'Bear-trouble' topics always get rained on...

I agree it's important to keep a clean camp and hang it high away from camp.


A few years back I was hunting in the Kettle Valley south of Lumby with a buddy from Victoria and his cousin who had lived and hunted the area we were in for nearly 25/yrs. Buddies cousin (our guide) swore up and down he'd "never had problems with bears" as he was dressing out the first muley he'd brought into camp then left it hanging within three feet of the ground. I asked him why he left it so close to the ground? He assured me there wouldn't be any problem. As a guest, I chose to keep my mouth shut; after all, he had a garage full of trophy racks...

Four days or so later, with three deer now hanging in camp, my other buddy (from Vancouver) and I were on the mountain top about a mile away from and directly above camp. We'd separated and had taken up positions on a ridge about 400 yards apart waiting for dusk when buddy suddenly appeared out of nowhere beating a hasty path back in the direction of the truck. I first became aware of it when I thought I heard someone yelling my name faintly above the howling wind. WTF? I finally spotted him and we hooked up and I was curious why he looked pale, like he'd seen a ghost.

He then told me how he was sitting with his back to a stump when suddenly, out of nowhere, comes a huge chocolate grizz lumbering towards him from about 100yds out. He said he froze and the critter passed him at sixty yards and carried on. I asked him which direction it was headed and he pointed towards camp.

A quick check of the wind and I realized what he was likely up to.
It took nearly an hour to get back to camp and by then it was all over.

Guess whose deer got yanked? The biggest of the three; buddies cousin who "never had problems with bears!"

Fortunately the bear had left the area and we had no further incidents that night.

What really pissed me off was that, once the dust settled, the following morning when I found the griz-tracks out on the road (told the whole story; where he came out of the bush, paused to survey the camp etc.) my Victoria buddy and his cousin decide they are going after the bear to... "make him pay."

They ignored my comments about the idea that it was our own-fault for hanging the game so close the ground and that he was just doin' what came natural to him and didn't deserve to die for it.

Off they went and they didn't return for over three hours. No shots fired.

I nearly broke camp and went home I was so pissed. Haven't hunted with either of them since.

Hang em' High!

Excellent post and well put.
Most of this everyday 'this-n-that' scenerios can all be cancelled if WE do our part of respecting what Mother Nature can bring on.

If you're worried about your meat becoming something else's dinner, take care of it. A few precautions and less haste is all that's needed.


..... And keep it out of camp, along with the clothes that ya wore dressing it. :wink:

[Ron.C]

I would do everything possible to avoid shooting the bear, even if it claimed my deer/elk, unless there was an obvious danger to myself or others. It doen't matter if its in camp or on a mountainside. Like stated above, keep a clean camp and don't give the bears a reason to come in. And for the record, I hate the shoot, shovel, and shut up menatlity. To me, those with that attitude are the ones most likely to prematurely and
needlessly blow away a bear because they have already made up their mind how they are going to deal with it before it happens.

[CSG]

I would do everything possible to avoid shooting the bear, even if it claimed my deer/elk, unless there was an obvious danger to myself or others. It doen't matter if its in camp or on a mountainside. Like stated above, keep a clean camp and don't give the bears a reason to come in. And for the record, I hate the shoot, shovel, and shut up menatlity. To me, those with that attitude are the ones most likely to prematurely and
needlessly blow away a bear because they have already made up their mind how they are going to deal with it before it happens.


that was my mentality as well RonC.

I am all for preventative precautions like hanging your kill as high as possible and keeping your camp clean but I would not kill a bear just because it was going after my kill. The whole scenario that we were discussing was not wether it was right to shoot the bear to protect your kill.

I felt that if you left camp you could come back later, pack up your stuff and get out of there minus your kill. To me, that wouldn't be a big deal. As long as the bear wasn't threatning me, just my kill.

My friend said that if you left camp the bear would tear apart your camp, everything in it. He felt that this would pose a threat to your survival, remember you are a ways from any help, and that it would be justified to kill the thing in the first place to protect yourself from being stranded in a remote area with no gear or food.

I was more interested in wether or not the bear would tear apart your whole camp if you did leave. Or if you could come back and grab your stuff and leave the area safely

[Ron.C]

I'm no bear expert but who can say what a bear would do. It may leave after a good feed of free fresh meat, or it may stick around until it is all consumed. But as per above, eliminate the problem at the source by not hanging any meat in or near camp, and keep all your food stored away from your camp as well. I would personally not kill a bear if it was into my camp in a hard way when I returned, I would try and scare it off it it appeared to be somewhat safe to do so but if not I leave and report it. If it showed up and tried to stick his nose in my tent while I was in it, that's a new ball game and if it didn't run immediately I'd be doing whatever I could to kill it and eliminate the threat. While hunting a remote area out of my backpack two weeks ago, I stored and ate my food a little over 100 yards from my tent on the prevailing downwind side. My food was kept in airtight vaccume seal bags inside a small nylon bag hung around 13 feet " as high as I could get it" by a rope in a lone tree in a fairly open area that I could see clearly for some distance. If for some reason a bear gets into your food cache, you will not starve to death having to hike out 8 k or so without food. To me that situation is far from life threatening as I was armed and there were plenty of grouse/squirrels that would have made for an easy meal. Finally, when away from camp I always carried a survival kit in my pack that contained enough food/water/emerg shelter to easily make it a day or so in an emergency plus the food for the day I carried while hunting. In any case, make sure you report the results of the incident to the CO. It is good information for them to know of kill stealing bears, or bears that seem to be overly comfortable or habituated to people/camps whatever.

[Wolfman]

I've chased a number of bears out of camp just by making loud noises. A couple of times by firing off a 12 gauge too. Never had to shoot one though.

Keeping a clean camp goes a HUGE way to keeping bears out.

As some of the other guys have said - good idea to have a Blackie tag in your wallet just in case, and if its griz, ya better be able to justify shooting it.

Wolfman