Oregon fall bear info

[glennjones]

Guys I am thinking about taking my wife to Oregon this fall to get her a bear. Oregon is the choice because I have some friends out that way that hunt and have some private land and good knowledge of public land but they don't hunt bears. Any advice on the best time of year? I know it opens in August but I was thinking more like September or October would be better for me. How big are the bears out that way? I have been around bears in South Florida and East Tennessee so I have a very limited knowledge of them as we have very few in Alabama. Any gun restrictions I should know about? I read where some new laws were being passed. Thanks for any help in advance.

 

[Taudisio]

Guys I am thinking about taking my wife to Oregon this fall to get her a bear. Oregon is the choice because I have some friends out that way that hunt and have some private land and good knowledge of public land but they don't hunt bears. Any advice on the best time of year? I know it opens in August but I was thinking more like September or October would be better for me. How big are the bears out that way? I have been around bears in South Florida and East Tennessee so I have a very limited knowledge of them as we have very few in Alabama. Any gun restrictions I should know about? I read where some new laws were being passed. Thanks for any help in advance.

Where in Oregon are you planning on going?

 

[glennjones]

Where in Oregon are you planning on going?

South around Medford, Applegate but if there's another place I should be looking nothing is in stone yet.

 

[Taudisio]

South around Medford, Applegate but if there's another place I should be looking nothing is in stone yet.

There will be bears around. Probably starting on acorns right around that time of year. I was seeing bears in November while out deer hunting. And I had bears on my elk carcass the next day after a successful archery hunt. Good luck! Hope you kill all the bears you can!

 

[ORJoe]

If you're considering October or early November, you should know that to hunt for bears (or mountain lion) with a rifle during rifle deer or elk season, you need to have a rifle deer or elk tag. It's in the rule book, but it's a small paragraph and could be easy to miss.
Not a huge obstacle for residents as most of them on the west side are general tags, but the non-resident price could be a deal breaker.
No such issue in September even though there are archery seasons.

Edit: There used to be an exception that this rule didn't apply in the Applegate area, probably because there were a shitload of bears there. But now it looks like the rule doesn't apply to the entire Western Cascades deer season, probably because there are a shitload of bears everywhere. Still gotta watch out for the elk seasons though.

 

[glennjones]

If you're considering October or early November, you should know that to hunt for bears (or mountain lion) with a rifle during rifle deer or elk season, you need to have a rifle deer or elk tag. It's in the rule book, but it's a small paragraph and could be easy to miss.
Not a huge obstacle for residents as most of them on the west side are general tags, but the non-resident price could be a deal breaker.
No such issue in September even though there are archery seasons.

Edit: There used to be an exception that this rule didn't apply in the Applegate area, probably because there were a shitload of bears there. But now it looks like the rule doesn't apply to the entire Western Cascades deer season, probably because there are a shitload of bears everywhere. Still gotta watch out for the elk seasons though.

Thanks man this is the kind of info I needed as it seems like wildlife departments make the rules as convoluted as possible so that if you don't read the book cover to cover twice you are bound to break some law

 

[ryanator86]

Wow, thank you. I have a deer tag for Eastern OR and I bought the OTC bear tag. I was going to have my buddy get a bear tag too and come with me. I would not have thought to look at the regs for such an odd regulation.

 

[roosiebull]

South around Medford, Applegate but if there's another place I should be looking nothing is in stone yet.

First rattle out of the bag in southern Oregon you have a likelihood of having a lot of black caps around which is a great food source to target bear, then shortly after, blackberries will be in abundance.

Some years by Aug the black caps are burned out already, but it shouldn’t be hard to find that out

Any bear over 300# is going to be a solid boar, but they can get 500# but that’s a very rare animal, the problem with stating the size of bears in this context is that people overestimate the size of bear more than their reproductive organs, so stating how big bears get is sort of moot

 

[glennjones]

First rattle out of the bag in southern Oregon you have a likelihood of having a lot of black caps around which is a great food source to target bear, then shortly after, blackberries will be in abundance.

Some years by Aug the black caps are burned out already, but it shouldn’t be hard to find that out

Any bear over 300# is going to be a solid boar, but they can get 500# but that’s a very rare animal, the problem with stating the size of bears in this context is that people overestimate the size of bear more than their reproductive organs, so stating how big bears get is sort of moot

You have to dumb it down for us rednecks from the south. A black cap is a mushroom? The bears I've been around have all been here in the south so if it's bigger than 150# it's going to look huge to me. I'm not trying to kill a giant just a decent representative. What kind of weather should I expect in September?

 

[Taudisio]

You have to dumb it down for us rednecks from the south. A black cap is a mushroom? The bears I've been around have all been here in the south so if it's bigger than 150# it's going to look huge to me. I'm not trying to kill a giant just a decent representative. What kind of weather should I expect in September?

No, a black cap is a black raspberry. They look very similar to blackberries unless you know the differences.
Most bears around here are in the 120-250 range. Getting one outside of that is less common. I must see 20 dead bear photos from buddies a year, one or two are over 250.

 

[limpet]

You have to dumb it down for us rednecks from the south. A black cap is a mushroom? The bears I've been around have all been here in the south so if it's bigger than 150# it's going to look huge to me. I'm not trying to kill a giant just a decent representative. What kind of weather should I expect in September?

These are black caps. The bears love them and so do I but they’ll catch and tear you up pretty bad if you aren’t careful. If you’re still planning on coming later in September they’ll probably be done by then. Late September can be anything from 90’s to snow. Probably expect it to be on the warmer side than cold but be ready for both.

 

[Taudisio]

View attachment 912636View attachment 912637These are black caps. The bears love them and so do I but they’ll catch and tear you up pretty bad if you aren’t careful. If you’re still planning on coming later in September they’ll probably be done by then. Late September can be anything from 90’s to snow. Probably expect it to be on the warmer side than cold but be ready for both.

There is a very slim chance you will see any edible ones by September. The blackberries are already turning black here. Another week or two and they will be ready.

 

[glennjones]

View attachment 912636View attachment 912637These are black caps. The bears love them and so do I but they’ll catch and tear you up pretty bad if you aren’t careful. If you’re still planning on coming later in September they’ll probably be done by then. Late September can be anything from 90’s to snow. Probably expect it to be on the warmer side than cold but be ready for both.

Thanks a little cool will be a welcomed change hopefully

 

[limpet]

Thanks a little cool will be a welcomed change hopefully

Agreed. After last year when it was mid 80’s in mid October a cool fall is very welcome.

 

[gonhunting247]

I'm not in southern OR, but in September the black caps will definitely be gone here at home. We usually are looking in the oaks, manzanita or snowberries.