Bear problems in sheep country

[wolfy]

I see bear fences in some sheep gear lists and pictures. How much and where are bears a problem the most when sheep hunting. Also what all precautions are taken. Thanks

[northway]

Never have had an issue. Knock on wood now that I said that! I do nothing special to put things away when we are gone.

[chano]

Never had a problem in camp. But got charged by a grizz last year after the sheep was down.
http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/...ht=#post790305

[tyrex13]

There was a poster here last year whose dad got bit in the head while sleeping in the tent.

[driveacub]

I do my best to get food items away from the plane (base camp) and if possible elevate them by hanging. For the most part I have seen mostly grizzlies and not many black bears when sheep hunting; this does vary with the area though. The bears I have seen while hiking have usually moved away quickly if they sighted me and have never presented a serious problem. I NEVER keep food in my tent and any cooking pans are moved well away from the tent also, after cleaning things up the best that I can.

[Hoyt]

We keep all food and cooking stuff seperate from our tent area. We have never had a problem with bears up to this point. We also keep a clean camp area. I've seen more bear sign, then actual bears.

[Tundra Monkey]

Karelian Bear Dog from Soldotna = no problems :-)

I sure sleep a lot better with my lil' buddy with me.

tm

[Cheech]

I personally have never had a problem with bears while sheep hunting. You still should take basic precautions. The gentleman who was bitten through the tent in Peters Creek still is not sure what got him. He and his son still believe it may have been a wolverine or some other animal. I will say that Peters Creek and Bird Creek temper my judgement when hunting because of the large brownie population and the fact that they are not hunted hard by we humans. Most areas of sheep hunting do not encorporate those two factors.

P.S. I did have a client in Bird Pass that played "ring around the rosie" with a wolverine that was after a sheep cape hanging in the mountain junipers. The packer and I were carrying a load out towards the road, and also trying to gain some sanity away from the client. That was an interesting and unique situation.

[pike_palace]

Saw 5 Grizz in one valley while sheep hunting in 2009. Ended up taking one of them. Only bears I've seen in the Brooks in 4 trips up there.

[LuJon]

I personally have never had a problem with bears while sheep hunting. You still should take basic precautions. The gentleman who was bitten through the tent in Peters Creek still is not sure what got him. He and his son still believe it may have been a wolverine or some other animal. I will say that Peters Creek and Bird Creek temper my judgement when hunting because of the large brownie population and the fact that they are not hunted hard by we humans. Most areas of sheep hunting do not encorporate those two factors.

P.S. I did have a client in Bird Pass that played "ring around the rosie" with a wolverine that was after a sheep cape hanging in the mountain junipers. The packer and I were carrying a load out towards the road, and also trying to gain some sanity away from the client. That was an interesting and unique situation.

We had a fox abscond with a goat hide on Kodiak one night. Key mistake was dragging it out into the tidal flat where he stood out a bit too good still dragging it along the next morning. A 200grn accubond at 200 yards and my buddy had two hides for the wall.

[Alaska_Lanche]

I spend a fair amount of time hiking/hunting/backpacking in the mountains. I guess you could call me irresponsible and just taking life into my own hands, but I cook and store my food in the very tent I sleep in. Never had a bear problem....yet I guess. But if a bear is 100 yards away eating my rations for a week long sheep hunt I'd want to know about it so I can get him to run off. While I may just be lucky I am of the mind set that bears are not dead set on eating you or your food at every chance especially if it means dealing with noisy critters inside a shelter that like to yell and what not when he gets too close. Not suggesting other follow this train of thought at all just sharing my experiences.

[LuJon]

I spend a fair amount of time hiking/hunting/backpacking in the mountains. I guess you could call me irresponsible and just taking life into my own hands, but I cook and store my food in the very tent I sleep in. Never had a bear problem....yet I guess. But if a bear is 100 yards away eating my rations for a week long sheep hunt I'd want to know about it so I can get him to run off. While I may just be lucky I am of the mind set that bears are not dead set on eating you or your food at every chance especially if it means dealing with noisy critters inside a shelter that like to yell and what not when he gets too close. Not suggesting other follow this train of thought at all just sharing my experiences.

As you know I do the same. Honestly I would be more worried about it in a campground like the russian than on any sheep hill. Habituated bears are much more likely to climb in the tent with you.

[northway]

I spend a fair amount of time hiking/hunting/backpacking in the mountains. I guess you could call me irresponsible and just taking life into my own hands, but I cook and store my food in the very tent I sleep in. Never had a bear problem....yet I guess. But if a bear is 100 yards away eating my rations for a week long sheep hunt I'd want to know about it so I can get him to run off. While I may just be lucky I am of the mind set that bears are not dead set on eating you or your food at every chance especially if it means dealing with noisy critters inside a shelter that like to yell and what not when he gets too close. Not suggesting other follow this train of thought at all just sharing my experiences.

My sentiments exactly. I would much rather know when a bear is around then off 100 yards grubbing on my food. Same goes with meat and capes. It is NEVER more than a stones throw away from where I sleep, under a tent or under the stars. I'll deal with the issue when it comes!

[sambuck12]

I spend a fair amount of time hiking/hunting/backpacking in the mountains. I guess you could call me irresponsible and just taking life into my own hands, but I cook and store my food in the very tent I sleep in. Never had a bear problem....yet I guess. But if a bear is 100 yards away eating my rations for a week long sheep hunt I'd want to know about it so I can get him to run off. While I may just be lucky I am of the mind set that bears are not dead set on eating you or your food at every chance especially if it means dealing with noisy critters inside a shelter that like to yell and what not when he gets too close. Not suggesting other follow this train of thought at all just sharing my experiences.

These are my thoughts as well. Only bear problem Ive had sheep hunting is when we used a predator call to try to stop a big ram for a better look at his head gear with a predator call. There was a sow and cub within ear shot that wanted a piece of what they thought we were. It was a hair raising experience to say the least. In this instance she didnt stop with all of the waving and shouting we did when she got close... finally a shot past her head at 20 feet made her come to her senses and realize that we werent what she thought we were. Other than that ive had no issues.

[wolfy]

Chano thanks for pictures and story, Headed sheep hunting this fall. Last time we tried going we took bear proof containers and kevlar bear bags. Seemed like a lot of unneeded weight.