Thoughts on bears while backcountry hunting

Lukegarrett2002

Lukegarrett2002

Active Member
Messages
161
On Tuesday I’m going to be hiking into a area deep in the backcountry for the Utah muzzleloader hunt, i scouted the area earlier this summer and saw bucks everywhere! But I also saw bear sign everywhere…and also a sow and Cubs. Should I worry about bears at all while I’m up there? Should I take any precautions with food? My experience with bears is non existent so any info would be much appreciated!
 
Absolutely separate your food from where you sleep and preferably you can hang your cache of food away from your camp. Other than taking that absolute precaution, enjoy your hunt and if possible, buy a bear tag.
 
I’m a far kid so I keep all my food in my tent. I ain’t risking no late night snacking due to a few frickin bears. And it’s Utah so they are black bears. They are the Rodney dangerfield of the bear world.

you could be all responsible and store your food away and up high, or you can lay in your sleeping bag and fat kid four snickers at 11pm. You can’t have both.

snicker on!
 
SS is on fire with the comments today! ? Generally, I have never had any problems with black bears, they usually run like crazy when they spot a human and they have never messed with my camps day or night. They really avoid people UNLESS they have become acclimated to people like bears that live near campgrounds.
Utah bears may be different though. I could imagine that they might be a little more self obsessed and arrogant, wear flat brim hats, they might not steal your food but the real danger is that they keep you up all night with their incessant bragging about all the things they have killed, they poach antlers especially from other states, and they probably prefer a 6.5 creedmoor and 800+ yard shots.
But they are just bears so they are probably just like bears in other states. ;)
 
I always have my food in my tent. Grizzly county I might not but black bears are scared of there own shadow. I set up a new bait one time in an area thick with bears. Food every where, bacon hanging in trees and a dead beaver in a barrel. It took them two weeks to find it so I don’t worry much about the hunting down my wrapped up snickers bars...
 
JPickett said:
I always have my food in my tent. Grizzly county I might not but black bears are scared of there own shadow. I set up a new bait one time in an area thick with bears. Food every where, bacon hanging in trees and a dead beaver in a barrel. It took them two weeks to find it so I don’t worry much about the hunting down my wrapped up snickers bars...
Click to expand...
THIS. Get your snicker game on!
 
I’ll probably just take a stuff sack and hang my food in a tree nearby and OD on melatonin so if anything try’s to eat me ill be half way down it’s throat by the time I wake up:LOL:
 
Just keep a clean camp, food far enough away you'll want to put shoes on to go for a snack. I've had both black and grizzly bears in camps over the years (while I was away). If there's not much to smell there's not much damage.

Honestly, I've had more trouble with Ravens than bears. 3-4 ravens can wreck a campsite quickly and they can open zippers to boot!
 
if you find yourself near or above tree line with no good hangs stack rocks over your food bag and out your pots and pans on top and that’ll scare the bear away and hopefully wake you up.

yea ravens are far better at getting the food hang
 
Bears are way more likely to come into your camp while you're not there. That's when you need to protect you food.

We were hiking in the wilderness one time and we met two guys hiking out with just their fishing poles and their camp that was destroyed. A bear visited while they were out fishing. That ended their trip.
 
If I was backpacking in bear country, whether hunting or not, I would most definitely PROPERLY hang my food. Bear canisters also work well if you don't want to hang food or are at or above the tree line. They are bulky and heavy, however.

If you don't know what "properly" hang means, I'd suggest spending some time learning. How you hang, how high you hang, where you hang (and cook) in relation to the rest of your camp, etc. There is lots of information out there to help you learn. If you're going to spend the time doing it, you ought to at least do it properly. Otherwise, chow down on that snickers in your sleeping bag...

(for the record, that is a bad idea)
 
eelgrass said:
Bears are way more likely to come into your camp while you're not there. That's when you need to protect you food.

We were hiking in the wilderness one time and we met two guys hiking out with just their fishing poles and their camp that was destroyed. A bear visited while they were out fishing. That ended their trip.
Click to expand...
In the 1990s, I brought along a writer friend from Ohio to hunt elk in the Selway-Bitterroot WA in Idaho. Before we got there, my outfitter buddy had set up a spike camp for us along a creek in a forest of huge cedar trees. It was a very strange place where little sun made it through the forest canopy.

Supposedly, everything would be ready to go when we rode into camp. Well, everything was except for the ice chest full of our food. It was about 75 yds away from the tent with the lid torn off. All the pieces were filled with punctures from a bruin's teeth. Oh, and all the food except one piece of bacon left on the ground was gone.

There was some can goods still in the tent, & we did have some extra perishables on the packhorse we brought with us. We still had to ride back to the main camp to resupply the larder after two days, tho.

Of course, the whole time we were concerened about another visit fom Yogi. Surprisingly, however, we had no other problems with bears for the remainder of our stay.
 
Last edited:
Was canoeing in Boundary Waters up by Ely MN with 3 friends who smoked. They had sworn off and had only brought 1 pack for the 3 of them for 5 days. We were sailing ( friends were engineers and had made a canvas sail) across a big lake when we ran into 4 guys going the other direction. Bears had gotten into their camp and ate all of their food. BUT they had cigarettes didn't take long for the BIG trade. I had to fish like h@## for the several days for us to stay alive....ah the follies of youth. Bears are smart and creative. Another friend killed one with an ax when it got into their camp and would not stay away. ( he had stayed in camp and he and the Jack developed a little false courage.
 
I recall an incident in the 1970s where three kids were killed by a single black bear. They were fishing at a lake in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ont.

Sort of humorous...when I spent many days over 3 years camped or wandering while guiding hunters & fishermen in the Colorado high country, I never once had a problem or even saw a bear until one summer when we were moving the camp of a USFS trail maintenance crew. It was 100 yds. away, though.

In contrast, I had two visit the dumpster at our resort during those 3 years. One never returned but the other was persistent. So we finally trapped & relocated it before our guests were about to arrive for the summer season.
 
Last edited:
I left my tent on the mountain for a couple days and came back to this. Bear tore it up good. I’m hoping it was just a black bear. I’ll have my rifle really close tonight!!!!

B9860715-9EEA-4E4A-B9FF-618C50CEA4E5.jpeg
 
Coffee creamer is obviously something they like. There wasn’t much for food type stuff in the tent, but coffee creamer and probably a small amount of coffee left in my cup.
elkassassin said:
What Kinda Bait did You Leave the Bear?

A 40" Muley Hiding in there?
Click to expand...
 

Similar threads

D
Beware of Guided Mule Deer Hunts in Huntsville UT
Replies
97
Views
5k
wstrntines
wstrntines
J
The Wake-up Call….
Replies
26
Views
3k
cgmoonsky
cgmoonsky

Click-a-Pic ... Details & Bigger Photos

Member Gallery Photos and Videos!

IMG_3692.jpg
IMG_0680.jpeg
IMG_20201112_185540_867.jpg
New buck 3.jpg
P1040297.JPG
First High Country Scouting Trip 2018
Screenshot_20231013_165218_Gallery.jpg
1000017700.jpg
Screenshot 2022-04-13 20.43.58.png
20210811_231149.jpg
Screenshot_20191022-195002.png
STC_1297.JPG
Back
Top Bottom