How to build—and hunt from—your own bear box

SAFETY

After sitting in one of the blinds a few times to try it out, I realized the shooting window was a little too large—since I could easily enter the blind through the window, a bear could, too. To make the set-up much safer, then, I added a hinged shutter and created a smaller, one-foot shooting window locked into the wall with a frame. This improvement allows us to easily enter and exit the blind with the shutter open, while protecting us inside when the shutter closed. Now if a bear tries to get in, the smaller opening gives me enough time to fend it off with bear spray or my shotgun, which I always bring along for insurance when I’m bowhunting for bears. For added deterrence, I also bring an air horn, and leave any strong-smelling food at home.