http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_54y7o7P0PP.../bearspray.jpg
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ef=oss_product
Ordered some today. Way too many bears and dogs out there when I fish. There has been cougar sightings also.
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http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_54y7o7P0PP.../bearspray.jpg
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ef=oss_product
Ordered some today. Way too many bears and dogs out there when I fish. There has been cougar sightings also.
Very good idea, though I have not seen any cougars here in Northwestern Indiana the DNR has confirmed sightings as well as trail camera photos.
I saw this at the local Forest Service office a while back....
WARNING! When going into bear country one should always carry pepper-spray and wear cowbells. And when you are in bear country you need to know what species of bear you may encounter. In Black Bear country you will see small footprints with short claws, and occasionally a torn up bush. In Grizzly Bear country you will find large footprints, with long claws, and there will be stumps uprooted and torn apart. The easiest way to tell what bear you may encounter is by looking at the droppings. Black bear droppings have small bones, berry seeds, and sometimes fur. Grizzly bear droppings however have cowbells and smell like pepper spray! So PLEASE be careful!
Have seen the same family group (sow and two cubs) numerous times near my home and have run in to three other bears while fishing in southwestern wisconsin. We have NOT had bears here in the past. I am way too fat and old and SLOW so bear pepper spray was in order.
I would hate to see what would happen if you were in a tent, a bear entered, and you lit off your bear bomb. It'd get you as bad as the bear, although being in pain and temporarily blinded probably beats hell out of being a component of bear poop.
The chances are that the bear has already shredded the side of your tent to get at the munchies inside before the bear bomb gets set off. That is if you remember where you put it while said bear is munching on your leg, arm, or head after you had been sleeping in your bearito wrapper.
I saw a photo of a camp site in Alaska last week where they put up an electric fence around the camp. I have it on good authority those thing are very unpleasant to encounter but a portable system seem like a low cost solution for a campe site. I think they can be fairly portable with planning, solar/battery powered. You just have to remember where it is when Mother Nature calls in the middle of the night.
While fishing Alaska three years ago and we packed back to a remote lake for some cutthroat action - the "we" being myself and three others who live there, I'm the guest and depending upon the "natives" for everything - and they were armed, a .44 mag and a 12 gauge plus a couple of air horns. They were adamant about bears really not liking surprises so the air horns were a big part of the arsenal; and the sharp, loud sound would send them scampering should they get too close. Now, we saw bear, but at a distance, and so I never got to see the effects of the air horns would have. The cost of the air horns are considerably less than the bear spray and a little easier to carry. Now, I should point out my personal experience with either the bear spray or the air horns is zero, so I'm certainly no judge of either, but was impressed that the locals had that much confidence in the horns.
Remember that Bear Pepper Spray has an expiration date, so if you do not get to use it on a bear, just use it on your bland dehydrated Food. But before the expiration date..