I tie/hoist up my food when spike camping...and piss around my elk quarters when I hang them.
Best of Luck, Jeff
oz
I have called in some mountain lions over the years though and they made me nervous.
Some of the redneck trash at the trailheads has made me more nervous than any 4-legged critter. I sometimes pack my Glock .357 Sig.
Called in my second lion while Turkey hunting a couple weeks ago...the first was in Colorado and came in to about 15 feet...I took this last picture at 8 feet...(I still don't carry) :)
Like Mike said...I'd be more concerned about the two-legged problem...
Best of Luck, Jeff
It's all about the memory.
oz
See the link. I had a interesting situation with a bear two ago and now carry spray.
This link should work.
My partner & I rarely, if ever carried.
Last fall I killed an elk and headed out to take care of some things at home, telling him that I'd come back to help him pack his out if he got one.
Next day he called a herd nearly to him, but they kept acting funny and skittish: backing off, then re-approaching him several times.
They finally left & he stood up. A lion sprang into the air 10-feet away from him, just as shocked to see him as he was to see it. I was the one with a lion tag in my pocket, of course.
The lion hissed and snarled at him while he hollered and threw rocks at it. He ultimately didn't think that it was wise to shoot it with his bow, not having a tag and thinking the lion could still be on him even with a vital shot. He backed off, still hollering and throwing things. Lion followed him for nearly 30-mintes within 20-yards before he finally got far enough into the flats & wide open while the lion stayed behind.
We'll be packing all the time now...
As mentioned earlier, it does no good to have whatever protection you carry buried in the bottom of your pack or not easily accessible.
Carl
As stated, be more weary of 2 legged varmits and the occasional lion.
Spray is fine but has some drawbacks. If you get charged by a cow moose and she's coming from the same direction as a 20MPH wind, spray could be tricky. When you are 60 yards from camp on your way in for the evening and a guy exits your tent and starts shooting at you...
Driving through town is more dangerous than hunting so most guys don't carry anything. The thing about a sidearm is you very, very rarely ever really need one. Most folks go their whole life never being in a situation where it is a need and not just a want. But, if that need arises, not much else makes a good substitute. If you are a little spooked about bears, lions, cow moose or meth head campers and having a sidearm makes it easier to stay with the elk until shooting light is gone when you are 2 miles from camp, I would bring one.
Those griz are another story all together.
If it makes you feel better, carry a pistol. More likely to need it coming or going to the woods, though.
The encounter that sticks with me most was when I was cow calling and heard timber breaking out in front on me and figured an elk was on it's way. When out of a patch of timber comes a sow and cub run full bore toward me and my buddy who was calling behind me. She stopped about 5 feet out an stood up looking over me for my buddy still making the elk sounds. Once she realized I was there she immediately treed her cub and turned and started popping her jaw at me. I yelled at her and luckily was able to back out. I look back now and think she could have just chewed me up and moved on.
Even a skittish sow black bear with a cub popping at less then 10 feet is no bueno in my book. I carry now and don't give a crap about the weight anymore.
I will probably never use it (hopefully) but at least I have it if I need it.
The last few years I have had more bear encounters that ever before. Most of then just run off, but some don't.
Like fisherick I too must be a bear magnet!
I like to pack my .357 noise maker when I'm out and about just because it feels good to wear a gun.
But if it makes you more comfortable, then go for it. As for spray -vs- sidearm? Has been debated on here a zillion times. Just do a search and enjoy the opinions. You'll read plenty...
i've hunted Co for over 30 yrs and never needed a pistol once
A bear, very likely the same one, also destroyed a foam bed and part of a tent the previous weekend when they were setting up the targets.
We regularly call them in on the elk hunt, and they are looking for dinner, I tell you. It only takes one bear circling closer and closer and closer to change your mind about the intentions of the bear.
As a matter of fact, the bears have helped change my elk hunting strategy over the years. Those cow calls of mine get less and less use every year, and I'm careful not to sound like a young lost calf!
NOBODY in our hunting group goes out without sidearm in this unit (not unit9).
.44 mag for me, thank you very much.
One year while trying to regroup a small herd I used a lost calf call near dark alone. The elk busted and I looked behind me to see a big bear hauling ass towards me. I turned shot him, then a few more times to finally turn him.. I picked up a bloody arrow and chased into the black timber after him.. My mistake.. Because he was waiting.. After reusing that arrow and the rest of my arrows while trying to keep a tree between him and I.. he laid down a few feet away. In all he had 13 broadhead holes, all but one arrow passed thru.
Maybe it was a bluff maybe he wanted calf..I don't know but a wounded bear is no joke. Wild animals are unpredictable and dangerous. Especially ones that are bigger than you. I left my 44 in the truck that night.. I now carry a .40 and have a nice full mount and more respect for how quickly things can go very wrong. Dozen years carrying a bear tag finally came in handy. Never happens until it does.
Though IIRC, he only needed to defend himself from that bear because he had already wounded it... I'm sure I recall reading something to that effect some years after the incident, but was not able to turn up anything on a quick search.
Thing is, though... Ever since they changed the law on hounds and baiting, the Big Predator populations seem to be taking off... So not surprising that encounters are on the rise. There's at least one bear in the home drainage that has developed a real fondness for human food and seems to ransack several camps every year. One time he got into a food pack during the day while the hunters had it down to make lunch. They said he seemed a little indignant about getting runnoft without scoring a bite to eat. Multiple handguns in that camp.
I keep wondering about the pepper-spray guns... Not rated for use on bears, but it's less of an aerosol and more of a liquid stream, so you don't have quite the concern around blow-back... It's also a lot lighter than a hog-leg, a lot handier than a spray can, and not terribly expensive. They even make a kit with a camo holster. Again, it's not expressly intended as a bear deterrent, but I think it'd be ill-advised to make it so attractive to outdoorsmen if they really think it wouldn't work. I'm sure there are all kinds of liability issues around using "bear-strength" spray on a person or even making it attractive for urban carry....
Probably better than nothing at all, except maybe in New Mexico... But most people down there seem to prefer Green, so maybe the Bears do, too...
I recall that Ed Wiseman was charged with killing the bear illegally after an outcry from PETA types. He went through a long legal/court battle that ruined him financially and took a huge tool on him emotionally. The end result there was no real evidence that the bear was wounded before it attacked him. In the end he was found Not Guilty. Again, this his how I recall the incident. If you have anything that indicates he was found guilty of any wrongdoing please post it. I have tried to find some info on his court case and have not been able to do so.
A side note I had friends that did a bear hunt with him prior to this incident. They held him in high regard.
Here's another perspective: What's more effective fending off an apex predator attack, 2-3 lbs of sidearm or body fat?
And since you are much more likely to accidently shoot yourself or someone else with your sidearm (than shoot a charging bear), make sure you practice with it throughout the year - even take some classes.
I bet that there will be 39.7% more sidearms in the woods this fall because of The Revenant.
How much extra gear would you need to carry to prevent unwanted death in the woods from things more likely than a bear mauling? Granted, some things could protect from more than one danger (sidearm could also be used to ward off the ever present syphilitic prostitute, etc).
You would start out with an AED for sure. Camo football helmet for head trauma - eye shield for spitting cobras. EpiPen for anaphylactic shock. Body armor for sound-shooting idiots. Portable lightening rod (not sure how that is supposed to work).
You would look like this!
Tell mnarcher or South Cox that they have nothing to worry about statistically with regard to bear or lion attacks. There is also another Bowsiter who was attacked by a grizzly last year. Yes they didn't die but the threat is real. Would you even have a chance to use a sidearm or even spray? In many instances NO. But, you definitely have no chance of using it if it is at the house. I say if it makes you more comfortable to pack heat or spray, have at 'er.
I shot myself with bear spray once. It was strapped to my pack and some aspen brush somehow found the trigger and it got my left side. That was enough to convince me that bear spray will get the job done on a bear or lion.
Bowfreak - South Cox said that he knowingly put himself in a dangerous situation when he was attacked. Think he was photographing a sow with cubs and wanted to see how close he could get.
I've lived my whole life in the mountains of Colorado. I'm not scared of lions or bears. I'm more scared of the 2 legged creatures that you might encounter. Black bears are harmless in my opinion. Majority haul ass when they see you.
But then I've been married 39 years......
Bug spray.
Bee stings kill ~50 people annually while bears/lions combined kill less than 2.
Or should you just pack a mother-in-law and hope for the best????
Try having the Lions as your home team.
No but there is rubberized paint. I see a Bowsite field test thread out of you this fall, TD.:)
As for your latter suggestion, I thought the point of this thread was to negate bodily injury from vicious creatures.
I know there is a huge push by the wildlife depts to recommend spray over a firearm...and I think its primarily to conserve the resource....maybe not so much what is best to save your life- its debatable. I've read every bear attack, every study....and yeah in perfect conditions the bear spray works.
I'm not convinced we always hunt in perfect conditions!
I don't think spray is the best choice in every case. In areas of high wind like Kodiak, I chose my .44 with hardcast bullets over spray. I can see an advantage to the spray in the lower 48 on Black bears...but a guy that can shoot a pistol loaded with hardcast bullets is going to be one heck of a tough snack for a bear.
How many of those bear attacks that you read about were hunters going after firearm wounded bears?
I believe the thinking is twofold:
a) Most bear attacks are either bluff charges or surprise charges (sow swatting a person that surprised her and cubs). To throw out a cloud of repellant might disrupt that. b) It is very hard to hit the spine or brain of a charging bear with a 1/2" sphere of metal - even for someone that practices all the time.
But, if the bear or the big guy decide to do you harm, the fact that the odds say it was extremely unlikely don't matter much. You may or may not come out of it ok, but either is very capable of causing a lot of harm. I had the misfortune of being involved in one of those situations with a bad guy that are extremely rare. Two innocent people died.
Its a personal choice and I never carry spray and rarely a sidearm while bowhunting in Colorado, but I would never fault someone who does. I generally have something in camp where two legged interactions are more likely. I don't worry about it or fear something happening just like I don't fear getting a flat tire. But when you do get a flat tire, not much else takes the place of a jack and a spare.
-Thats a great analogy, Youre SOL when not prepared. :) -I carry in the mountains and for two legged critters in Ohio but I was harrassed by two loose pit bulls . Didn't need to shoot them ,,,, I ran after them swinging a folding chair from my blind. LOL
