Tips and pointers for an Oregon spring bear newbie!

[NJ2OR]

Hello all!

First, if I am barking up the wrong tree with this post kindly point me in the right direction! I am new to Rokslide and this is my first post.

I am new to the west coast and this upcoming Oregon spring bear season will be my first big game hunting other than the east coast. I drew a tag for the SW portion of OR. While I am an OR resident, I am working in CA for the next few months so I would like to stick to the southern half of the SW unit to save a little drive time. This season will surely be a huge learning experience, but I was hoping some people may be willing to share some tips, perhaps a list of top things they wish they knew when they started bear hunting, and most of all, general locations to start exploring (without giving away any specific spots of course!).

What I know (not much):
Focus on clear cuts, meadows (suggestions for access to timber land, etc. (w/out a permit) or public that isn't quite all a thick jungle?).
Focus mornings and evenings
Focus on food, spring green up
Get behind gated roads (Suggested gated areas?? I simply haven't spent enough time in the woods to have a list of gates/areas i'd like to explore)

I understand I will learn the answers to most all of these questions simply by spending time in the field, but I am trying to give myself the most information I can before setting foot out there. As much as i'd like to walk around the woods scouting everyday, working ~7 hours away has made that difficult.

Right now my plan is to essentially pick a spot (almost randomly) and go.

Thank you in advance for any info, and best of luck to anyone hunting this spring!

 

[Rogue Bay]

Hi and welcome to Rokslide!

Just a friendly heads up, information requests are usually better received after a member has posted and contributed to conversations for a while. It’s nothing personal, there’s just a lot of help requests from members who take the info then never post again LOL.

That being said, I live in southwestern Oregon and would be happy to help you out as much as I can. There can be quite a learning curve and having limited time to scout and hunt can make it difficult.

If you’d like, go ahead and shoot me a PM with the general area you are looking to hunt and I’ll see if I can help you narrow down your search. I don’t really bear hunt anymore but have hunted them extensively all over the southwestern part of the state.

 

[Hayduke541]

We have a ton of snow and more expected. Bears will be out but it may be difficult to get to some areas until later in the season.

 

[DaleW]

You should be able to find the rules for most of the companies that allow access to there lands. For instance Roseburg Resources generally allows non-motorized access and all of their roads are gated. Drive around and check to see what's gated. Find cuts that aren't too fresh but aren't grown in too thick with reprod either. Glass morning and evening. Bear hunting is 90% finding the food source. Good luck.

 

[NJ2OR]

Hi and welcome to Rokslide!

Just a friendly heads up, information requests are usually better received after a member has posted and contributed to conversations for a while. It’s nothing personal, there’s just a lot of help requests from members who take the info then never post again LOL.

That being said, I live in southwestern Oregon and would be happy to help you out as much as I can. There can be quite a learning curve and having limited time to scout and hunt can make it difficult.

If you’d like, go ahead and shoot me a PM with the general area you are looking to hunt and I’ll see if I can help you narrow down your search. I don’t really bear hunt anymore but have hunted them extensively all over the southwestern part of the state.

Thank you for the information and I apologize for the delayed response. I would like to stick to the Grants Pass area and avoid going too much further north because of drive time. I know there are access programs to the north east on Jackson Travel Management land and some private timber that offer access, but beyond that I don't know much.

I am so new that I still need to figure out how to PM you!

 

[Hayduke541]

Thank you for the information and I apologize for the delayed response. I would like to stick to the Grants Pass area and avoid going too much further north because of drive time. I know there are access programs to the north east on Jackson Travel Management land and some private timber that offer access, but beyond that I don't know much.

I am so new that I still need to figure out how to PM you!

I'm in GP as well. We live in a great place for bears. You can go pretty much any direction and find them. South slopes in burns or cuts and glass. I have thought calling when fawns drop might be a good time. I have called them in with distressed rabbit calls in AK. Tried here a few times but no luck. Last fall I saw 7 different bears 45 minutes from town while deer hunting. Still lots of snow not very high. I can tell you a couple spots to check out a little later when the snow recedes.

 

[NJ2OR]

You should be able to find the rules for most of the companies that allow access to there lands. For instance Roseburg Resources generally allows non-motorized access and all of their roads are gated. Drive around and check to see what's gated. Find cuts that aren't too fresh but aren't grown in too thick with reprod either. Glass morning and evening. Bear hunting is 90% finding the food source. Good luck.

Thank you! The gated roads are exactly what I am looking for. I think I will likely spend most of this season just finding what roads are gated and which aren't.

I'm in GP as well. We live in a great place for bears. You can go pretty much any direction and find them. South slopes in burns or cuts and glass. I have thought calling when fawns drop might be a good time. I have called them in with distressed rabbit calls in AK. Tried here a few times but no luck. Last fall I saw 7 different bears 45 minutes from town while deer hunting. Still lots of snow not very high. I can tell you a couple spots to check out a little later when the snow recedes.

I appreciate the info! I do not have the capability to PM yet because I haven't made enough posts, but if you'd like to send a message over Facebook i'm Evan Yunker. Profile pic is me holding a drake Widgeon.

 

[Rogue Bay]

Thank you for the information and I apologize for the delayed response. I would like to stick to the Grants Pass area and avoid going too much further north because of drive time. I know there are access programs to the north east on Jackson Travel Management land and some private timber that offer access, but beyond that I don't know much.

I am so new that I still need to figure out how to PM you!

Hayduke541 is right, it’s hard to pick a bad area down here. Snow is definitely going to make it interesting this year. My favorite place is about 5,200 feet in elevation so it’s probably going to be a while before that’s accessible LOL.

It sounds like you have the right idea. I’m a huge fan of gated or tank trapped roads and if I find sign on that road I’ll keep going back to it. They stick to a pretty small area early on so if you find sign that bear will be in the same area. That all goes out the window the last couple weeks of May once the boars start cruising for sows.

When you can send PM’s give me a shout and we’ll go over some spots.

 

[NJ2OR]

Hayduke541 is right, it’s hard to pick a bad area down here. Snow is definitely going to make it interesting this year. My favorite place is about 5,200 feet in elevation so it’s probably going to be a while before that’s accessible LOL.

It sounds like you have the right idea. I’m a huge fan of gated or tank trapped roads and if I find sign on that road I’ll keep going back to it. They stick to a pretty small area early on so if you find sign that bear will be in the same area. That all goes out the window the last couple weeks of May once the boars start cruising for sows.

When you can send PM’s give me a shout and we’ll go over some spots.

Will do! Thanks so much!

 

[NJ2OR]

I was able to connect on a nice boar for my first bear the other night. I appreciate all the advice from folks here on Rokslide, it certainly contributed to a successful hunt.

 

[roosiebull]

I was able to connect on a nice boar for my first bear the other night. I appreciate all the advice from folks here on Rokslide, it certainly contributed to a successful hunt.

We need pictures man!

Congrats, that’s a great feat your first spring season

 

[Qholum37]

Congrats, that’s awesome! Definitely need pictures!