Bears have been on my mind lately, and one hunt that Justin and I have tossed around doing for a while is a blacktail hunt on Kodiak Island, Alaska. A hunt like this would mean living among grizzly bears for an extended amount of time, and when doing this a way to keep food and gear away from a grizzly’s reach is not only the law, it is necessary. Even hunting in states like Wyoming where there are grizzly bears food storage is required and I think electric fences would be one of the best all-around choices to meet the storage requirements. If hunting in Wyoming and nearby states there would most likely be trees around to make a bear pole, but if you have ever tried to make one you might know it can be kind of difficult, especially if by yourself. On Kodiak there probably wouldn’t be any trees large enough to do this, therefore an electric fence is about the only option.

After looking around for a little I cam across the Bear Shock fence by UDAP. They make both a camp fence and a food fence. One thing I was impressed with was they are trying to make them lightweight for easy travel and also if you have to backpack them in somewhere.

The food fence is the heavier of the two at 9 lbs. It is a mesh net fence and includes 30 feet of fence which should be plenty to circle your gear and food. While guiding elk hunters we use a fence like this around the cook tent and have never had a bear get through it so they definitely work. The cost for the food fence is $379.95

If you are the kind of person that is a little paranoid about bears or just want a little insurance the camp fence would be a good idea. It is very lightweight at 3.7 lbs with batteries. It encloses an area of 27×27 feet, and will run on one set of batteries for five weeks. The camp fence will run you about $249.95, but you will be able to sleep easy at night.

-Ethan Starck
starckbros@adventurousbowhunter.com