One of two good reasons to keep bear spray in the trailer.

[tony.latham]

For as much trailer camping that goes on in bear country this is an extremely rare event, but I thought I'd post it. I certainly keep a big fat can of that stuff in our teardrop for four legged and two legged issues.

Bear tries to break into family’s camping trailer
September 2, 2014

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A determined bear tried to crash a family’s camping trip in the Book Cliffs area this weekend.

Sami Graham tells KSL-TV (http://bit.ly/1qw70lb ) that she and her children were inside their trailer Saturday night when the bear began rocking the trailer and scratching at the door.

Graham and her children made noise hoping to scare the animal off but the bear persisted for two hours.

Graham’s husband, who had been away, returned to the trailer and fired a pistol in the air. The shot scared the animal away.

Dax Mangus with the state Division of Wildlife Resources says it’s the fourth bear incident in the Book Cliffs area this summer.

If you click on the link, you can see that the bear did damage the trailer. They've got a lot of bear footage on the clip, but it's not the same bear.

Tony
———

[DrCrash]

The problem with lighting off a big ol bottle of bear repellent in an enclosed space is you will most likely mace yourself and that stuff is Mean !

[tony.latham]

The problem with lighting off a big ol bottle of bear repellent in an enclosed space is you will most likely mace yourself and that stuff is Mean !

Most likely? There is no way you could inhabit a house that you have deployed OC spray in, let alone a camp trailer. You're going to have to open the door, step outside and let him have it. Youtube it and you'll see how far the spray goes.

I'm a big fan of the stuff.

Tony

[DrCrash]

Oh I have seen it. I can tell you a story about an idiot in a tent who thought they might of heard a bear and decided to scare it off by spraying bear spray. No one slept that night and half the folks there packed it up and left. Funny stuff. Just like no one is going to climb out of a camper if a bear was on your porch and spray the stuff. Just open the window and let it fly LMAO to funny .....

[S. Heisley]

"Yes" to keeping bear spray nearby, in the trailer.
"No" to using it inside an enclosed area. (Unless it is a life-threatening situation where the bear is actually inside, too).
If you use it inside, you'll have a heck of a time, getting it out and off of things, later.
You may have to repaint the entire interior and get new curtains, bedding, etc.
Of course, if a bear gets inside the trailer where you are, you may have to wash your pants a couple times, too!

[lrrowe]

I have had my hunt camp ( back of trucks) raided before. We foolishly left coolers out. But we always did that for 30 something years. Now the Bear population has exploded in my area(George Washington National Forest). I always have bear spray with me and I appreciate the advice on not releasing in any dwelling I am in. I have not experimented with it.

But this year I am going to build a lockable bear proof box on my utility trailer. It will hold food stuff and such. I will tow the CT and my friend will tow my utility trailer.

[48Rob]

Bob,

Such a good friend...to try out your bear proof box...

Rob

[lrrowe]

Oh I am for sure. And I am convinced that it it will work just as sure as I am it will get tested. Maybe I will have a story to tell in November.

[48Rob]

Bob,

I look forward to it!
Someday, I'll get to go camping in bear country...hope it goes well.

Rob

[S. Heisley]

Yeti coolers are expensive; but, they are bear proof.
http://yeticoolers.com/grizzly-proof/

[dmb90260]

Mythbusters did one of their non-scientific but pretty good tests between guns & bear spray. The bear spray one, it does not have to aimed exactly

[wagondude]

A warning I read in a book about expedition canoeing stated that many bear encounters were started in the wild by folks "testing" their bear spray. It seems that peppers attract bears from a distance (food smells). They only work as a deterrent when applied in large doses to the eyes and mucus membranes. So don't test your spray in bear country unless you want to ensure you will need to use it for real. There is really no need to test it anyway. If you need it, it will work and you will most likely need that portion that got tested off. If it does not work when you need it, it won't matter anyway.

[S. Heisley]

.
Oh! That reminds me of something else and this is important to know.... :

In some of the national parks, you are now advised NOT to use bear spray. This is because the bears have learned to recognize the container and to turn their head to the side when they see someone getting ready to spray. Therefore, all the bear spray ends up doing is irritating the bear and making it mad at you. So check with the rangers when you go to a government run park. Regardless, it's probably best to save that stuff for imminent, life-threatening emergencies.

[tony.latham]

.
Oh! That reminds me of something else and this is important to know.... :

In some of the national parks, you are now advised NOT to use bear spray. This is because the bears have learned to recognize the container and to turn their head to the side when they see someone getting ready to spray. Therefore, all the bear spray ends up doing is irritating the bear and making it mad at you. So check with the rangers when you go to a government run park. Regardless, it's probably best to save that stuff for imminent, life-threatening emergencies.

What parks? Is there a link? Anyone that's witnessed a can of bear spray being discharged will realize that turning one's head away from the spray isn't going to work. I doubt there's a bear on this continent that's been sprayed that wouldn't want to go to extreme measures to avoid another shot of the stuff. Here's a quick video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-n51xxF8K8 The stuff is beyond nasty.

Here's a good article on the effectiveness of spray: http://news.byu.edu/archive08-mar-bearspray.aspx

Tony

[S. Heisley]

.
Oh! That reminds me of something else and this is important to know.... :

In some of the national parks, you are now advised NOT to use bear spray. This is because the bears have learned to recognize the container and to turn their head to the side when they see someone getting ready to spray. Therefore, all the bear spray ends up doing is irritating the bear and making it mad at you. So check with the rangers when you go to a government run park. Regardless, it's probably best to save that stuff for imminent, life-threatening emergencies.

What parks? Is there a link? Anyone that's witnessed a can of bear spray being discharged will realize that turning one's head away from the spray isn't going to work. I doubt there's a bear on this continent that's been sprayed that wouldn't want to go to extreme measures to avoid another shot of the stuff. Here's a quick video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-n51xxF8K8 The stuff is beyond nasty.

Here's a good article on the effectiveness of spray: http://news.byu.edu/archive08-mar-bearspray.aspx

Tony

Honestly, Tony, it’s been 2 years since I learned that and I can’t remember if a ranger told me that or if I read it. That’s why I didn't remember about it until the second time (Oops! Excuse me...third time) that I posted in this thread. It had been too long. However, I think it was at Yosemite. Regardless, if you read between the lines, you will see that you need to hit the bear square-on, hopefully, hitting it right between the eyes. It stands to reason that, if a bear gets enough episodes with bear spray, especially with faulty application or poor quality canisters of spray, it will figure out how to avoid a straight-on hit. When he does, the rangers will have to put that bear down. That may be an unwritten, verbally told reason why bear spray is no longer allowed in certain parks. You could think you are safe because you have a good defense; when, in many circumstances, the best defense is proper food and toiletry storage as well as a good education on how to act and react around bears.

For an example of this, under the subtitle, THE STORY, See the fourth paragraph down:

http://www.backpacking.net/featured1.html


USEFUL BEAR SPRAY INFORMATION:
When one searches bear spray on the Internet, most of the information that comes up is to “help” you purchase a specific brand of bear spray and you have to wade through all the manufacturers propaganda to find any useful knowledge; so, it becomes hard to find anything truly helpful. However, below is a bunch of useful information that I found.

Bear Spray prohibited in Yosemite:

http://www.myyosemitepark.com/2013/05/n ... y-allowed/

Yellowstone’s informational advice on using bear spray:

http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/bearspraynot.htm

Proper storage and transportation of bear spray:

http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/b ... torage.htm

I didn’t know about proper storage. Mine is lying loose in a compartment of the camper.

Also, I never thought about the fact that bear spray’s usefulness expires.
My canister is 2 years old and cost around $50 at that time. I’ll have to check to see if it is still good!

Before going to Yellowstone, I did a lot of research on picking the best brand that I could buy. I was not aware that I might be able to rent the stuff. See the Wiki article below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_spray

I hope this helps. Some of you may not read this entire posting; but, I hope you do.