Portable electric fence in Bear country?
Elk
I'd be interested to hear from guys who have deployed lightweight electric fencing while backpack hunting in bear country. I'm on the cusp of drawing a great elk tag in Wy. Hopefully it will be this year but I'm 2 under max in points so it will depend on point creep. Ive decided on one of the NW units that are grizz infested. I plan to backpack hunt to try and get away from others as best as I can. I'm considering the one from UDAP that only weighs 3.7 pounds. I'm not overly afraid of bears but I certainly respect them and want to be able to sleep soundly at night without worrying about one sniffing around in my camp. Id appreciate any info or experience that anyone has on the subject. Thanks much
I have used the UDAP "kit" here in AK with good results. I have NOT tried to backpack it around! I'm too old for that now!
I sometimes haul 2 of them around. One for sleeping area. One for around the meat pole.
Tips:
1. Try setting it up at home first.....!
2. Bribe a child into "checking" it instead of grabbing it yourself!
Pete
LOL!!! Thanks for your post Pete. Did you find the small grounding stake to be adequate? That and the flimsy poles look to be the weak links to me.
I believe they provide a false sense of security. However I also believe it’s better than nothing. I have a bee yard and the bears used to just go right through the fence. They learn real quick that if they run through it they don’t get shocked or the food was worth it. So a traditional strand fence won’t stop them. I made the fence into a net so they could no longer run through it. That has worked for a few years now.you can look up how to weave a fishing net and just make it out of standard ploy strand wire. Make the mesh about 1’ square. You would probably need to have stronger poles to hold the weight.
I think there was another thread on this just recently, but may have been on another site.
I used one all summer in Wyoming when ever in a tent. It definitely will shock you a bit. Never had a bear touch it or I can say we never heard a bear touch it. Not sure it would ever stop a bear, but would definitely snap the bear on the nose and wake you up so you could defend yourself. Definitely worth dragging around IMHO. Here's a couple pics of how we had it setup. Cheers, Pete
I have one, but hate the poles; definitely a week link. Some day I will have to figure out a better pole setup that is more robust. As it will only work on level ground with the right consistency to push the poles in. I guess its better than nothing, but far from perfect.
I use a UDap here in BC. It gets turned on whenever we leave camp unattended. I don't back pack it, so I cut down some of the regular fiberglass poles and use those in the corners and the supplied ones in between.
The ground is usually quite moist in the spring and fall and often snow, so there is good ground contact for the circuit through the bear. We have seen tracks in the snow that show bears have visited, but none have gotten in. Wolves once too.
I use a fence tester now because all my hunting buddies are wise to the "... umm, could you just grab that wire to see if its warm?"
Remember the bigger surface area of your grounding pole/poles the better it will work.
I made my own. We used fiberglass driveway marker poles. I don’t know if they’re any more sturdy than the Udap poles, but they worked fine. We used guy wires (string) on the corners to strengthen it and take any sag out of it. The downside of the poles I used is, they aren’t collapsible.
Used mine on Kodiak this November and also my hunting partner put his around our capes in a tree somewhat near camp, never had an issue with the bears in camp.
They did consume the meat to the goat and a deer we couldn’t locate before dark. We had several Bear encounters out hiking and at kill sites.
We never had meat at camp just ducks, fox cape and goat life sized cape and skull cap.
I could tell you that there are numerous big bears between Olga bay and Frazier lake where we were. Killing a giant bear after taking a mountain goat or deer would be a sure thing.
I have used the UDAP setup in Wyoming, and last week had my camp setup for five weeks. Bears never bothered the tent. I use some extra plastic fence poles from tractor supply, and it helps if you can use a tree or two with screw in fence post isolaters in a corner. I've had gear chewed on in the past, but not since I started using the electric fence. Bill
I have used the UDAP setup in Wyoming, and last week had my camp setup for five weeks. Bears never bothered the tent. I use some extra plastic fence poles from tractor supply, and it helps if you can use a tree or two with screw in fence post isolaters in a corner. I've had gear chewed on in the past, but not since I started using the electric fence. Bill
The metal couplers on my collapsible poles have all come apart, not the end of the world because they still sleeve together but poorly adhered.
Ground rod works fine on the ground I've put it in. Just make sure there is no grass or brush shorting out the +/- wires or the D cell batteries will burn out fast. My kit came with WAY more wire than I need. I haven't cut it but one of these days I'll trim it so I don't have so much extra fence wire.
You can cut it as the line can be tied in a knot and has the same strength. It’s not like a wire with casing around it.
I think there is a big difference between long term habituated bears at a food source and having the fence up for a few weeks a year at camp. We used it in Ak. Nothing bothered our camp. It ain't fun when you grab it to see if it is working!
