Caribou Gear Tarp

Sleeping peacefully in griz country

Being from Australia, I have no knowledge of Grizzlies. So forgive me if this sounds a bit ridiculous. But what about using some of that bear deterrent spray on the ground, forming a circle around camp at say 50 yards out. Freshening up the dose every night before bed time ? Just a thought from afar.
Interesting thought but everything I’ve read on bear spray says to vacate the area after discharge because as the spray dissipates the fragrance becomes appealing or attractant to bears. Based on that I wouldn’t recommend this strategy.
 
Being from Australia, I have no knowledge of Grizzlies. So forgive me if this sounds a bit ridiculous. But what about using some of that bear deterrent spray on the ground, forming a circle around camp at say 50 yards out. Freshening up the dose every night before bed time ? Just a thought from afar.
Bear spray is essentially a pepper / chemical spray which really shocks the respiratory system and irritates eyes and nasal passages. In order for it to do so during a bear encounter, the bear must move through / into the cloud of spray which hopefully you have dispersed out from you at about the same level as the bear's eyes, mouth, and nose. Once the particles of the spray settle to the ground the spray is inert and ineffective. As stated previously, some of the sprays even contain pepper and chemicals which may produce an odor attractive to wildlife, an odor perceived as a potential food or perhaps just a point of curiosity.

So, no it's not like a spray you might employ to detract insects due to the odor. Bear spray is meant to deter due to the respiratory distress and the irritations imposed.
 
 
There was a guy, Charlie Vandergaw who fed bears and made a bunch of friends. He would put electric fence around his planes for protection, but had no need for anything else.
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Vandergaw, a former bear hunter, has confessed to having close calls with bears
 
This came up in a prior thread, linked above: Anyone seen the Myth Busters episode where they loaded a mini van with heaps of donuts, scented garbage, etc...
Brought in a bear and tried various deterrents placed around the mini van?

None worked... The bear always got to the treats, except cayenne pepper. Things that make you go, "hmmm"...


Cayenne pepper deters bears.
CONFIRMED

To the Build Team’s astonishment, the bear was so repulsed by the cayenne pepper that rather than go near the minivan, he found his way through the hot wire and tried to walk off into the woods before being corralled by his handler.

I brought up a friend who frequently hunts in bear country (The Bob) and he mentioned their party sprays the bushes surrounding the game that can not pack out on the first trek.
On occasion, they've seen tracks in the general area though none ever disturbed their meat.

After sharing this, Ben Long reached out to a friend within Counter Assault he received the same info as I had however, I was also told by both a bit more than Ben was informed (or shared).

1.) In my query with both Counter Assault and UDAP, both informed me no scientific testing has been conducted to confirm or deny bear spray on the bushes will deter therefore they err on the side of caution from sharing anything to suggest it may deter a bear. I asked if that was for liability sake and both companies shared absolutely... Certainly understandable. 😉

Back to the Myth Busters episode... Interesting. Not something I've tried as I've been content with simply hoisting or, location dependant, leaving it in the shade or snow and returning with caution.

It's an interesting thought about the use of cayenne pepper.
 
"It's an interesting thought about the use of cayenne pepper."

Perhaps it warrants aerial spraying of backcountry campsites with a mixture of cayenne pepper and tabasco sauce.:D
Suddenly the wilderness backpacking experience seems less appealing as cayenne pepper potentially permeates the previously pristine landscape.
 
Can't say for sure but you guys probably talked Bluejeep into going turkey huntin instead.
LoL

I've spent a few nights out since this post, and I was surprised how well I actually slept (except for one cold, wet, windy night). I did take extra precautions. Such as making sure I ate dinner and had my food bag back up in the tree before dark (I did keep glassing until complete darkness, I just wanted to cook and eat while I could still see), making lots of noise on my way back to camp, and sleeping with my headlamp on my head instead of beside me. I also skipped the earplugs on the windy night, although I don't think I would of been able to hear less had I put them in on account of all the noise from the nearby burned trees cracking and coming down.
 
Biggest thing is no food whatsoever near tent. Hang all food high and at least 20-30 feet from camp. Any snacks in your backpack will also draw bears.
 
Just curious about what other backpackers are doing in griz country as far as sleeping at night. This will be my first year hunting in griz country and normally I just sleep under a tarp if anything, usually just bag ontop of pad and call it good enough. but I have a 2 people tell me now I should sleep in an enclosed tent. The idea being the bear would just sniff around and then leave as opposed to maybe seeing me move my head or arms and figuring I was an easy meal.

I know that a piece of paper thin fabric won't stop much of anything, but I was just curious what other backpackers do.
10 mm pistol, bear spray, some sort of sleep aid
 
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