Going on a spring bear hunt in Alberta...everyone is recommending the termacells...one guy said stay away from them if you want to bag a monster...do these things scare away the big ones???

I don't know about staying away from it...I would put it out a few days before hunting to get the bearsusedto it.

RMA...The Outfitter is the one the absolutely recommends these things...have shot 5 bears here in Washington state and never even used one. I would assume that the Outfitter who is VERY reputable knows his stuff. However, now that we are gettin close...i am getting nervous about using something that i have never tried before...

A friend who is a PSE staff shooter told me to stay away from them because of the residule odor. he has shot several in Manitoba that were in the 500# classs...20" + bears.I listen to him.

The way I look at it is if they can smell the thermacell, they can smell you.You may be doing the swat dance making a lot of un-necessary movement if you don't have one and they smell a whole lot less and work a whole lot better than any spray you're going to find.

i've seen them used on a lot of bear hunting shows.....seem to work pretty well..

I've used them infact last spring in Canada my son and I were hunting the same stand and had 2 going at once and still had shooter bears come in...

Anyone else?

I believe the bugs will be much WORSE where you're going...I also agree without it you will be swatting at flies all day. Just my opinion but use them all the time even hook one to my pack while on spot and stalk hunts.

Anyone else?

I didn't use it on a bear hunt, but I did while deer hunting last season. I had deer around me everytime I was using it, and no bugs! I did a review on them you are more than welcome to read:

Mosquito Free Hunting with ThermaCELL - 03/16/2006
http://www.huntingnet.com/fieldjournal/fieldjournal_detail.aspx?nID=626