A food sack on the end of a rope over a high branch. NEVER take food in the tent with you, and dont sleep in the clothes you ate/cooked in. Shoot the first 5 rounds at the bear, but save the last one for yourself!

 

drop a 6.1L HEMI in ur rig, wont have to worry about no bear getting ya then!!!

 

 

That is true for any bear. You need to get a whole pile of that stuff into their eyes and (more importantly) nose/throat/lungs to be effective.

On a person who's not full of adrenaline, just a quick shot of bear spray anywhere in their vicinity will get their attention, and probably get them coughing and their eyes watering. After all, it is OC, which is what the cops often use on drunks/rioters/otherwise unpleasant people. The problem is that bears are nowhere near as "soft" as humans. By the time that they are riled enough to charge a human, you've got to hit them with a freight train for them to even take notice of it.

 

Hanging your food up a tree is fine. Find a thick branch, and hang it far from the trunk. I've also used modified ammo cans, large ones. I bolted a couple of heavy gate latches on them and padlocked them shut. I watched a decent sized black bear take his best shot at it. The food was a little shaken up but the can never got opened.

Also, pick your camp site well. Look at what's growing around you. You want to stay away from berry bushes and other food sources. Unless I'm in a big group, I say stay away from water. Every animal needs to come drink, and your camp site becomes a target of oppourtunity for everything, not just bears. One of the best ways to keep animals away is to make noise. While your awake and traipsing around they probably wont bother you. You can tie some lines around your camp with your CLEAN cookware hanging from them. They'll rattle and bang if anything comes in contact with them. It'll usually scare off animals, and wake you up in the process.

If you see a bear, make noise, don't be aggressive, watch it carefully, look for cubs, and back away slowly.

A short double barrel 10 or 12 gauge with slugs, as a LAST RESORT aint a bad idea. Two barrels are all you need, because if things have gone that wrong, you won't have time for a third shot.

Have fun camping! [

 

It may seem obvious, but I thought I should mention it....

A shotgun can also make a very effective noisemaker to warn off a curious bear, moose, or other large critter.

As far as not having time for more than two shots...that all depends where your first two shots go. If you're dealing with a grizzly, you want to aim for the shoulder - you're not going to penetrate it's skull with a shotgun. Breaking a griz's shoulder will stop the charge. You then need to finish the job, because a wounded griz is VERY dangerous.

A lever action or bolt action rifle in a serious cartridge will also work...but whatever you choose to carry, spend some time at the range and become proficient with it. A gun that you can't use with you (proverbial) eyes closed will do you no good when you're under stress. Charging bears tend to create a fair amount of stress in humans.

 

I carry a 12G with (3) 3 1/2 lead slugs. We keep our fire burning all night, keep our food in a tree or in vehicles, and sleep quite comfortably. Ive dropped black bears (all we have here) with a single slug side on, so im putting big dollars on the fact that I can drop one with 3 slugs when its up on its rear paws.

 

 

HEY!!!!!! I happen to resemble that remark!!!

 

Well I'm not really a fast runner anyway!