Advice on Detecting in Bear Country

[Steve Herschbach]

I was a die-hard headphone guy. JP tried to convert me to external speakers in Austrlia but I did not want to do something new on such an important trip. Now that I have converted I wish I had done so sooner. It really is nice being headphone free.

The only issue is external noise, and you still need headphones around running water or wind in the trees. I am going to check into fitted in the ear phones for those really windy days as headphone earphone cups seem to do as good a job picking up and amplifying wind noise as anything also.

[Hard Prospector]

Most of my prospecting is in the Sierra Nevada or Mojave desert and the big cats are the biggest concern ( 2nd; rattle snakes followed by ticks) I've seen them and had one trail me several years ago. California is just infested with lions these days and many outdoor enthusiasts that disappear in the California wilds every year  I just know are cat related.  Sacramento, being very sensitive not to upset extreme environmental groups in this state continue to turn a blind eye and deaf ear to a building public safety issue. OK, no more politics. 

I've been wearing Rattlers a long time now but would like to go external speaker as well. Many of my machines are Whites and as we all know they come somewhat "speaker challenged" to say the least. There was a thread on this site about the Radio Shack "mini amplifier speaker" working well for this application so I bought one and liked it so much that I'm in the process of fitting out all my Whites with  them.

[fredmason]

This was 2003 in Western Australia... notice the headphones

 

My first choice for audio is Jonathan Porters enhancer and dual speakers,

my next is a set of these Sony mdr-j10 

 

and if very cold-with no wind I will use my Gold Pros...at the beach I alway use the Gold Pros...in parks I use the Sonys. 

 

i tried other light-weight headphones but I like these bestest!

 

fred

[Steve Kiesel]

I've seen ticks mentioned several times in this thread.  I use to prospect around Sumpter in Eastern Oregon.  I seemed to always have ticks on me.  I was using the 100% Deet.  It helped, but not totally.  Since I started using Permethrin, no more ticks, haven't seen one on me since.  Took the following from another website.

 

"Permethrin 0.5% based sprays (on clothing only, not on skin, always follow manufacturers directions) for clothing, especially: shoes, socks, pants cuffs or on other fabrics such as mosquito netting, tents.  It is a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide rather than a true repellant, and works primarily by killing ticks on contact with treated clothes. It lasts up to 2 weeks and provides high levels of protection against ticks and mosquitos."

[Norvic]

Not a tick problem but last couple of seasons, every bush with green on it seems to be loaded with green ants in NQ OZ, and they just love protein. Give you hell, not deadly unless you have an allergy. They are also tasty and thirst quenching but kill em first or they`ll bite all the way down.

[Featherdfishead]

As i've said before i hunt with one earphone up (cause i'm to cheap to buy rattlers and i love my Grey Ghosts) and always have a dog but i virtually never carry a gun. Were i live everywhere is cat or bear country, many of my buddies would never feel comfortable spending any time out in the woods without a gun. When i do carry a gun its if i'm cleaning a highly productive area and am worried about some tweeker trying to rob me on my way out or when going deep into the wilderness for many days - this is mostly to acquire food if need be and of course animal protection too. I have encountered hundreds of Black Bears and have never had an actual close call but I've also stood intrigued when others would have shit and likely ran - maybe gotten malled. Mountain lions are definitely the most dangerous animal out there but unless your really quick on your draw its unlikely you'd even touch your gun if a cougar decided you were going to be dinner. I have been tracked along a ridge a few times while deer hunting. I was able to look back over the open steep slope and see the cat a good 1000 + yard back scenting along my trail and cruisen my way. I sat watching for a while and then sent a shot into the dirt of a hillside some what close to the cat. It disappeared instantly. I back tracked and fallowed my trail and its trail along mine a while before i lost it. Another time i didnt even know the cat had tracked me until i crossed the trail i had come into the area by in the morning. just aside my tracks were cougar tracks all the way back to just below the ol county road. No dog this day but my closest to being a snack "that i know of". I say carry what makes you feel safe but also be safe with your weapons. If your not the most proficient and confident gun handler you may just wound your target and really just escalate the situation. I've heard bear spray work very well and have debated about getting one for the Tweekers - Lol. I always carry a KBar D-2 Steel Fighting Knife (Great Knife!) were ever i go. Its my own survival security weather it be urban or wilderness.

 

Thanks for info on Permethrin - steve

Dogs are the best 

AjR

[deathray]

Permathren works!Im a damn tick magnet. Hate those nasty suckers...they jack me up!

FFH ...tweakers and dope growers,thats why I carry. The areas along the American river canyon Mokelumne and Stanislaus canyon is infested with them too! Walked up on couple lld grows...last year one was right where we found an old cabin site. It was November,and harvest was over,so we hit it and my first signal was a nice wreath buckle.Honestly,thats why I wish they would legalize weed everywhere..to put the illegal grows out of business.

[Rick Watkins]

Im pretty sure my TDI called in a coyote one late after noon in nevada, cougars are populating everywhere,

now thats the only one i used to worry about but now the introduction of wolves are growing here in the northwest big time,i would hate to run into a pack of them for sure. I use pistols also in certain areas.

[Hard Prospector]

Not a tick problem but last couple of seasons, every bush with green on it seems to be loaded with green ants in NQ OZ, and they just love protein. Give you hell, not deadly unless you have an allergy. They are also tasty and thirst quenching but kill em first or they`ll bite all the way down.

Man eating ants huh, sounds like a great place to send my brother-in-law