Next month I am going tent camping in Northern Idaho. It is a large commercial campground (read as: large, non-fenced perimeter) sixty miles from the Canadian border.
Today I was in Sports Chalet. One of the products in the camping section was a spray bear deterrent. The information says the chemical will shoot out “up to 35 feet”, and you should aim for the eyes.
The cost is $39.95 + $3.39Tax =$43.34.
It did start some thinking: Do I need this ‘mace for bears’? If I’m < 35 feet from a bear I’m probably dead anyway, and certainly wouldn’t have the stability to stand quietly so that I could shoot his eyes anyway.
The little bit that I have read says Stand BIG and make a lot of noise. I was thinking more in terms of a coach’s whistle.
Is the spray a reasonable idea?
Fill
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If you're confronting a black bear and you're not between a Sow and her cubs the bear will most likely just turn and walk away. No bear spray needed nor advised. If it's a Grizzly and you decide to spray it you'll probably just make it mad and it'll go back and tear down the factory where the spray was manufactured after he finished with you. Practice good campground food storage and campsite cleanliness and you should be fine without harming the bears. Good luck / Skip
It's a small price to pay for some security/safety.
I have a cousin that took 6 monthe off from life to explore the wilderness of the upper northwest of the country including Canada and Alaska....in the winter. He had bear mace with him. After reading every piece of literature he had with him on a very cold night, he started reading packaging labels and noticed the bear mace would not work below a certain temp. He gave it a squeeze to see what it would do and only shot out about a foot. The label was right. Just an FYI if the weather gets cold.
Pete Mohr, Whitehall, PA
'97 Suburban 454
'06 Jayco Jay Flight 29FBS Jayco 29FBS Mods
Bear spray has made charging bears veer away. Obviously nothing is fool-proof. I'd much rather have a rifle with me than bear spray. As the matter of fact, I wouldn't go into wilderness like that without a rifle, but that may not agree with your views and beliefs. I'll say this - if a bear is charging me, I'd much rather have bear spray than nothing at all.
Bear spray works, but it doesn't always work. It is widely used by hunters in tree stands that aren't hunting bears. Give 'em a squirt and they will go away. Some get PO'd and keep comin' though. Then you need a large caliber gun.
Tom
Wife, 2 girls 12 & 9, 2 mini schnauzers
2005 Toyota Tundra Double Cab SR5 4x2
2005 Toyota Sienna XLE 2008 Rockwood 2701SS
F/A-18 Hornet 0-175 mph in 2 seconds
In bear country follow these safety rules:
Never cook in or near your tent.
don't sleep in the clothes you cook or eat in.
Use a nonscented hunter's or camp soap for washing.
Have no food or anything with an odor to it in your tent. This includes sunscreens, chapstick, deodorants, etc. And don't use any fabric softener on your clothes or gear. Bears don't know the difference between foods or anything else that might smell good to them.
Wash all utensils and burn or bury any food scraps at least 100' from your camping area.
hang your food, utensils, etc. from a tree out at least 5' from the trunk.
IMHO bear mace is a waste. The odds you'd be able to get it out, aim and use it in a huge hurry are small. Keep a shrill whistle in your pocket at all times; the shrieking will startle even a grizzly.
These tips work just as well for a wilderness campsite as they do for a campground where the bears can wander at will.
1993 Minnie Winnie
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Bear spray is also good for the two legged variety of vermin too and doesn't carry with it the legal ramifications of discharging a gun and possibly killing the low life.
Scott, Grace and Wesly
2003 Dodge 3500 4x4 Cummins (lightly bombed),
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We carry it up here in black/grizzly country and it is recommended by the rangers we know. Mine is called Counter Assault and it cost about what you stated. It makes me feel a little safer from bears and a WHOLE lot safer from two-legged predators!
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A number of years ago, Backpacker magazine reported that there was no record of a case where the bear strength pepper spray had been used on a bear and failed to work. Now, that was several years ago and it had only been out for a few years, at that time. I'm sure by now there have been some cases where it didn't work. However, it, apparently, is quite effective.
I did hear, when the spray was fairly new, that a few people misunderstood what the spray was. It is a bear deterrent. Some people thought it was a bear repellent, like OFF is a mosquito repellent. They say it's effective used that way too. The bears leave the area to get away from all the noise.
downtheroadIgo
2005 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
Eureka Sunrise 11
Eddie Bauer canopy
mockturtle wrote: We carry it up here in black/grizzly country and it is recommended by the rangers we know. Mine is called Counter Assault and it cost about what you stated. It makes me feel a little safer from bears and a WHOLE lot safer from two-legged predators!
Ditto for me. Always carry it camping or hiking no matter where. Oh, and boating.
Rob Solomon
Buffdale, UT
'07 Crossroads Cruiser, CF30QB 5th.
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