And fall bear begins

[fishhog24]

The start to fall bear starts at sunrise in Oregon. I am looking forward to getting out and spotting the not so elusive bear. Found a honey hole that holds a ton of bear. The last 3 years has brought me great luck with harvesting 3 bears within a 1/2 mile of each other with the last 2 being within 150 yards of each other. If you get a chance share your pictures or stories of your bear hunts.

[jenbickel]

Good Luck!!!!

[sjsmallfield]

Hope you knock one down. I have to wait another 3 weeks.

[OR Archer]

Just need the berries in my area to ripen and theyll be out like fleas on a stray dog!!

[fishhog24]

Went this evening and did not see anything. They sure are tearing the heck out of the stumps though. As soon as the huckleberries come in it will be amazing. Best day last year was 9 and managed to take one out of the gene pool.

[fishhog24]

Been seeing lots of bear in the last 2 weeks. Yesterday decided to put up a tree stand. Nothing last night, but this morning was awesome. After sitting in the stand for 5 minutes had 3 bears around us. The kid I was with was able to connect on a decent color phase bear and made a great shot at 200 yards. Awesome watching the look on his face after getting a hold of the bear.

[fishhog24]

100_0813.jpg

Here is a pic of the bear my little buddy got today (yesterday)

[Leveller]

DSC00676.jpg My black bear (sow about 2.5-3.5yrs old) I shot on the Oregon Coast range with my Rem 300 UM...weighed in at 150lb and shot at 180 yds.

[elkslayer4x5]

DSC00676.jpg My black bear (sow about 2.5-3.5yrs old) I shot on the Oregon Coast range with my Rem 300 UM...weighed in at 150lb and shot at 180 yds.

Has Oregon sent your tooth information back yet, just wondering how old your sow was.

[Leveller]

Has Oregon sent your tooth information back yet, just wondering how old your sow was.

Still waiting on that one elkslayer, but the bear was taken in to the ODFW office and they aged it at the 2.5 3.5 yrs. They also said that the bears are staying smaller at the moment and this is a good size for a sow on the coast range. I missed a nice big boar at 365yds a couple of weeks earlier.

For me, this was my first bear. I'm still learning a lot about bear hunting and while it may not be the "trophy bear" that everyone gets excited about, I am proud of this kill. It was not easy. I took time to research the area I was hunting, find the spot that I believed would hold bear due to food source, water source, cover and protection, and then I hunted this draw on 4 separate occasions. I could hear the bears tearing stumps up on a couple of occasions but never got to see them. Finally this sow revealed herself and I was successful. It was a steep downhill shot, with a new gun I was unfamiliar with at 180yds. So for me this is a trophy. No one showed me where or how to hunt this unit; I learned a great deal and maybe next time by "trophy" will be bigger. But to me it was still a successful hunt.

Add to that, on the coastal range bears have become much more prolific, as have cougar. The deer and elk population are impacted as their young can often be the food source. I feel I've also been doing my part of effective and ethical management. I know people who have been hunting bear for many more years than me who haven't even had the opportunity of a shot this season yet. I'm delighted with my start and growth in learning about successful bear hunting