Are bear fences worth it?

[chevyman181]

Hello, I was wondering if anyone has ever used one of the light weight bear fences for backpacking and hunting in grizzly country?

If you have, are they worth the weight and setup time?

Something like this.

Bearwatch Systems - Electric Bear Fences - Portable and Lightweight

Portable and lightweight electric bear fences designed for camping - Feel safer and sleep better in bear country with a layer of electric deterrence against wildlife.

bearwatchsystems.com

 

[Bonasababy]

I am more familiar with fences for beehives but the idea is the same. Wire spacing, adequate voltage, and proper grounding are essential.

See this: https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/assis...at/beehive_protection_with_electric_fence.pdf

 

[cgasner1]

I had a bear steal a water bladder out of camp the fence got knocked over when it lit the bear up but kept it from getting into anything else

 

[Bonasababy]

I had a bear steal a water bladder out of camp the fence got knocked over when it lit the bear up but kept it from getting into anything else

Wire spacing problems lead to them going in rather than out when zapped. We recomend 7,000 volts or more for blacks here. Not sure if you'd want more for griz.

 

[cgasner1]

Wire spacing problems lead to them going in rather than out when zapped. We recomend 7,000 volts or more for blacks here. Not sure if you'd want more for griz.

Idk the fence I have is a backpacking one designed for grizzlies.

 

[longbow51]

Yes, for sure. We had one around our wall tent in elk camp for years. Cooked in it and never had a problem and grizzlies were all over the place.

 

[Rogerdoger]

I have not used it for backpacking, but we use it for overnight rafting trips. We put it around our kitchen and food and camp 100 yards down shore. Never have had any issues, area we go borders glacier so population is large. I have been thinking of getting a second for our camp since I have my 3 and 6 year old in tent.

 

[SerialScience]

I use one around my meat when I can't hang it. No issues so far but hard to say if a bear has encountered it.

 

[chevyman181]

@Twobyfour

 

[Ben Long]

I used a remote electric fence around a base camp in the Bob in a September elk hunt. Kept the kitchen and the meat safe. Seemed to work well. Every system has its pluses and minuses. I've never used the ultralight models but they seem like a good idea where hanging trees are scarce. Keep us posted on what you find out.

 

[BearFoot]

Keep the camp clean, and piss all around. Let them know a big dog lives here!

 

[SerialScience]

Just some food for thought @chevyman181, I’m probably going to upgrade to this Energizer for my hunts. Definitely heavier than the UDAP ones, especially the battery. But it’s 16x the joules of the “backpacking” ones.

 

[Wyoming270]

No best its gonna do is make the bear come after yiu. i live and hunt where bears roam. Dont make an easy meal for them and they will leave you alone. Carry a loaded pistol and dont sneak up on them. Additionally, the come in to the smell of food not humans so keep your cooking area and food well down wind of you when you sleep. You will hear them messing with that long before they approach you. This gives plentlu of time to wake up and fetch a light and a pistol.

 

[cgasner1]

I put my fence in the tote tonight. I got lost on onx yesterday and found a new lake I’d like to explore that’s 40 miles from the cabin we may end up camping out for a night or two

 

[chevyman181]

Just some food for thought @chevyman181, I’m probably going to upgrade to this Energizer for my hunts. Definitely heavier than the UDAP ones, especially the battery. But it’s 16x the joules of the “backpacking” ones.

Are you going with a bearwatchsystems one or a different brand? Thx

 

[Irrelevant]

IDK if they work, but that damn sure let you sleep better. So it was worth it to me.

 

[SerialScience]

Are you going with a bearwatchsystems one or a different brand? Thx

I have a UDAP lightweight fence. At the time Amazon had them for $200, looks pretty much the exact same specs as the standard bearwatch system one.

In the future I will just take my UDAP fence with a beefed up energizer.

 

[BearFoot]

Amazed to see a fence around a tent, yet meat hanging yards away unprotected. Whats a bear want?

 

[buffybr]

Back in the '80s I had a favorite elk/moose area near West Yellowstone, MT that I hunted for many years. Some years we would pack a tent camp in 5 or so miles from the end on the road, other years we would just camp at the end of the road and hunt from there.

The end of the road site had a small grassy meadow with a creek running through it, perfect for my horses. I strung an electric fence, powered by my truck battery, around a portion of it.

One day there was a couple of inches of snow on the ground, and as I walked around checking the fence, there was a set of grizzly tracks that came down the hill to the electric fence. At the fence, the tracks immediately made a 90* turn as the bear ran away. I can just imagine the shock that he got whhen his wet nose touched that electric wire.

Another time, also with a little snow on the ground, a set of moose tracks came off the hill, through the fence, then his tracks and the tracks of both of my horses went through the other side of the fenced area, and the next day I found my horses about 1/2 mile away. That trip was in mid to late September, during the moose rut, and I think a love sick bull moose thought my horses were cow moose, and my horses didn't want any part of him.