Small bell useful in Bear country (MT), what do you think ?

[cwpayton]

I cant help but to add 1 last post, bears eat lots of berries this time of year especially choke cherries and huckleberries, so their scat doesnt look anything like the pictures you posted ,more like a pile of seeds mixed with brown cake batter.
I also use to use a cow bell on my mule in bear country, it is annoying ,but you get use to the annoying rhyme. But not enough to keep using it, I like the wilderness quiet.

 

[1dirthawker]

a small cow bell actually makes more noise, the whole idea is that you let the animal know you are there so it can avoid you. i am a bear guard for biologists, archeologists, etc. that survey things in AK. i am going to head out on a helicopter in 40 minutes to protect them.

making noise is the best answer. its one of the toughest parts of my job is to keep the crew making noise as they hike thru head high grass and brush. i need to take my own advice and get a small cowbell (maybe goat sized) means you don't even have an interaction, that keeps you from having to spray, shoot, etc.

 

[HankBuck]

a small cow bell actually makes more noise, the whole idea is that you let the animal know you are there so it can avoid you. i am a bear guard for biologists, archeologists, etc. that survey things in AK. i am going to head out on a helicopter in 40 minutes to protect them.

making noise is the best answer. its one of the toughest parts of my job is to keep the crew making noise as they hike thru head high grass and brush. i need to take my own advice and get a small cowbell (maybe goat sized) means you don't even have an interaction, that keeps you from having to spray, shoot, etc.

@tdirthawker - good advice from and YOU have REAL experience vs. just “an opinion” like most of us.

 

[rblum]

Cost of a little bell is next to nothing. Wearing a bell is suggested by more than a few… So what is the risk of wearing a bell vs not wearing a bell vs the cost of both options.

 

[akrifleman]

a small cow bell actually makes more noise, the whole idea is that you let the animal know you are there so it can avoid you. i am a bear guard for biologists, archeologists, etc. that survey things in AK. i am going to head out on a helicopter in 40 minutes to protect them.

making noise is the best answer. its one of the toughest parts of my job is to keep the crew making noise as they hike thru head high grass and brush. i need to take my own advice and get a small cowbell (maybe goat sized) means you don't even have an interaction, that keeps you from having to spray, shoot, etc.

You already have the right answer. Human voice and cracking branches carry in the bush. The bell just won't. You already have the spray and I assume a shotgun (most survey guards I know are required to). Just keep them yakking about some story or another.

 

[fourfive8]

Yak, yak and yak and yak some more, talk, tell stories to yourself. Make human noise. Go slow in the thick stuff so you have a chance to detect them and make way for them and/or to give them a chance to move away and recognize you as the two-legged alien runt genius being you are …. not another bear looking for trouble. I just got back from walking, stumbling around in that thick stuff in possibly the highest brown bear density on the planet. Of course this is the time of plenty because of all the salmon in these high density bear areas but nonetheless, caution, awareness and distance remain paramount. No bear is 100% predictable. Think, proceed accordingly. There is always a place for large canisters of bear spray and proper arms but a real knowledge of how and when to use them is absolute. Bears are cool but best at distance.

FWIW, I’ve seen Snickers bar wrappers and dog collars in bear droppings but never “bear bells”

 

[akrifleman]

Cost of a little bell is next to nothing. Wearing a bell is suggested by more than a few… So what is the risk of wearing a bell vs not wearing a bell vs the cost of both options.

In the bush, the risk is getting overloaded with weight and garbage you don't need. That is a pretty high cost. The issue is prioritizing things that really matter over the superfluous. Bear studies have shown the bells just don't have any kind of adverse impact. So, prioritize the things that do matter.

 

[HankBuck]

Yak, yak and yak and yak some more, talk, tell stories to yourself. Make human noise. Go slow in the thick stuff so you have a chance to detect them and make way for them and/or to give them a chance to move away and recognize you as the two-legged alien runt genius being you are …. not another bear looking for trouble. I just got back from walking, stumbling around in that thick stuff in possibly the highest brown bear density on the planet. Of course this is the time of plenty because of all the salmon in these high density bear areas but nonetheless, caution, awareness and distance remain paramount. No bear is 100% predictable. Think, proceed accordingly. There is always a place for large canisters of bear spray and proper arms but a real knowledge of how and when to use them is absolute. Bears are cool but best at distance.

FWIW, I’ve seen Snickers bar wrappers and dog collars in bear droppings but never “bear bells”

@fourfive8 - oh come on !!! I’m doubtful of any “dog collars” in Bear droppings…but I believe the Snickers wrapper

 

[Ryan]

As an Alaskan who walks in bear country on a regular basis, forget the bells. They won't hear them, or at least not from a useful distance. I have pretty good hearing and I walk past folks with bells on their packs and dogs all the time. I don't hear the bells until I am well within sight. If you are going to use noise to alert bears to your presence it needs to be a lot louder than your average "bear bell* sold in shops. Talking works just as well. Please don't bring a radio as noise, it happens now, and it's the last thing other folks want to hear outdoors. And follow everything everyone else has mentioned.

 

[1dirthawker]

You already have the spray and I assume a shotgun (most survey guards I know are required to). Just keep them yakking about some story or another.

i don't carry pepper spray, the crew i am protecting does. i have enough to worry about with using a rubber slug, bean bag OR a brenneke slug. i certainly don't want to worry about running the bear spray too.

 

[1dirthawker]

Yak, yak and yak and yak some more, talk, tell stories to yourself. Make human noise. Go slow in the thick stuff so you have a chance to detect them and make way for them and/or to give them a chance to move away and recognize you as the two-legged alien runt genius being you are …. not another bear looking for trouble.

you are not wrong. the problem is, people get tired of making noises, and when they actually negotiate a tough piece of real estate, their brains disconnect from their voices and they stop making noise. then when they get to the work area, they focus on digging, sifting, measuring, etc and STOP making noise. (that is one of the things that i do when watching over them) a bell will make noise whenever you move, that has some small value.

 

[akrifleman]

you are not wrong. the problem is, people get tired of making noises, and when they actually negotiate a tough piece of real estate, their brains disconnect from their voices and they stop making noise. then when they get to the work area, they focus on digging, sifting, measuring, etc and STOP making noise. (that is one of the things that i do when watching over them) a bell will make noise whenever you move, that has some small value.

I definitely get the challenge. And everything is easier to say than do. Just prod them to vocalize what they are doing and why. Impress the reason behind it. It's tough as hell negotiating tough terrain sucking for oxygen, so I do sympathize... but Ryan is right, a bell just doesn't carry. You can hear folks yakking their ass off 3/4 or a mile off.

You've got great layers with them carrying spray and you on the 12. It's really just a matter of you always moving towards a threat and getting even shoulders to your engineer and a threat.

 

[HankBuck]

As an Alaskan who walks in bear country on a regular basis, forget the bells. They won't hear them, or at least not from a useful distance. I have pretty good hearing and I walk past folks with bells on their packs and dogs all the time. I don't hear the bells until I am well within sight. If you are going to use noise to alert bears to your presence it needs to be a lot louder than your average "bear bell* sold in shops. Talking works just as well. Please don't bring a radio as noise, it happens now, and it's the last thing other folks want to hear outdoors. And follow everything everyone else has mentioned.

@Ryan, I think you’re right about “talking” while in Bear Country as bears (and many Wild animals) take notice of the Human Voice - it is an Unnatural sound, they take note of it because they rarely hear it and often get spooked off by it. I don’t have good hearing anymore but I can hear many of the “jingle bells” that hikers wear well before I can see them (unless the area is Wide open, no trees etc.) and especially the Cow Bells. My Wife’s hearing is much better then mine (actual tested “exceptional”) and she’ll hear the bells even before I do….but still there is No comparison between any Human hearing and a Bear’s hearing - they are Off-the-charts and above average even compared to some other animals. I can’t see how wearing a Bell couldn’t be helpful except possibly in a Park where Bears might have become habituated to Human sounds and associate it with food (Pavlov’s dog response?) But, even if thats true it would apply to All human sounds and therefore the “Bell” wouldn’t be anymore of an attractant then human voice and other associated human noises. You live in Alaska and must get much more exposure to Griz then I ever will, I’ve hunted Alaska once and Montana, Idaho, Wyoming many times —- only saw 3 Griz…..You are fortunate to live in Alaska, you can live the Life that most of us must “travel to” and vacation at

 

[HankBuck]

In the bush, the risk is getting overloaded with weight and garbage you don't need. That is a pretty high cost. The issue is prioritizing things that really matter over the superfluous. Bear studies have shown the bells just don't have any kind of adverse impact. So, prioritize the things that do matter.

@akrifleman - I’m not sure I understand your Post - are you Against wearing a Bell? per your quote “the risk is getting overloaded with weight and garbage you don’t need”…. Or do you Agree wearing a Bell is a good idea per quote: “Bear studies have shown the Bells just DON”T have any kind of Adverse impact”. [[“adverse” to the Person? ]].
I don’t know of any Bell that weighs enough to “overload” a person - other then the Liberty Bell

 

[fourfive8]

Not speaking for @akrifleman, but I think the idea is to NOT rely on some “magic potion” in lieu of using your brain and known mitigations like avoidance and safe habits. Bear bells probably don’t hurt but blindly relying on them is asking for trouble.

I’ve spent countless days/nights over the years Floating or tromping around through and camping in bear country with nothing but a fly or dome tent.. over half that time in areas of high brown bear density. Never going to be 100% safe from a real bear problem if one is so inclined to be ornery- for that you have to stay home. On a lot of these trips, before going to sleep, my nephew and I would take turns reading chapters from books like Alaska Bear Tales. That’s how irreplaceable memories are made

 

[HankBuck]

Not speaking for @akrifleman, but I think the idea is to NOT rely on some “magic potion” in lieu of using your brain and known mitigations like avoidance and safe habits. Bear bells probably don’t hurt but blindly relying on them is asking for trouble.

I’ve spent countless days/nights over the years Floating or tromping around through and camping in bear country with nothing but a fly or dome tent.. over half that time in areas of high brown bear density. Never going to be 100% safe from a real bear problem if one is so inclined to be ornery- for that you have to stay home. On a lot of these trips, before going to sleep, my nephew and I would take turns reading chapters from books like Alaska Bear Tales. That’s how irreplaceable memories are made

@fourfive8 - yes obviously Nothing is better then using your brain, it’s always our biggest advantage

 

[akrifleman]

Not speaking for @akrifleman, but I think the idea is to NOT rely on some “magic potion” in lieu of using your brain and known mitigations like avoidance and safe habits. Bear bells probably don’t hurt but blindly relying on them is asking for trouble.

I’ve spent countless days/nights over the years Floating or tromping around through and camping in bear country with nothing but a fly or dome tent.. over half that time in areas of high brown bear density. Never going to be 100% safe from a real bear problem if one is so inclined to be ornery- for that you have to stay home. On a lot of these trips, before going to sleep, my nephew and I would take turns reading chapters from books like Alaska Bear Tales. That’s how irreplaceable memories are made

@fourfive8 pretty much nailed the spirit of much of what I was saying overall.

With respect to @HankBuck's question, so many guys bring so much baggage up here (mental and physical). Just bring the sh!t that works, and keep your mind and pack light. Every other trinket just adds weight to both, and it all adds up.

lol Of course, I also see guys running around without a knife or piece of string in their pocket. They are usually the ones you find on the trail shivering because they didn't prepare at all. But, that is another can'o'worms.