Accompanying a licensed hunter - Can I open carry?

[mike1281]

http://bluesteeldemocrats.blogspot.com/2009/09/hiking-with-concealed-firearm-in-oregon.html?m=1

interesting article... seems to me you need a hunting license to carry concealed while on a hunt, if no CHL

 

[druiseeker]

Other than ORS 166.260, There's a ORS 166.170 (State preemption) clarification in Weapons Restrictions: Possession of Firearms. "In 2003, the Oregon Attorney General reviewed the statute and determined the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission (Commission) cannot limit what firearms can be carried or possessed during hunting seasons."

and

"Requirements for weapons used to hunt with are independent of any weapon(s) the individual hunter may choose to carry while in the field hunting"

Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) 166.170 (1) states "Except as expressly authorized by state statute, the authority to regulate in any matter whatsoever the sale, acquisition, transfer, ownership, possession, storage, transportation or use of firearms or any element relating to firearms and components thereof, including ammunition, is vested solely in the Legislative Assembly."

 

[Oathkeeper1775]

Great thread, but I haven't found any regs that say unlicensed concealed carry in Oregon is OK during hunting activities. I'm not aware that the legislature has made that exception.
Can someone post that link if true?

That is correct; a licensed hunter or angler can carry a consealed h/g; during, to, and from the expedition.

Some people get into a situation on OHVs; special rule for having a loaded F/A on an OHV without a CHL. (ORS 821.240)

Best to check with "Johnny-Law".

 

[druiseeker]

Didn't catch the word unlicensed. Am I wrong in thinking that the only place you can carry concealed unlicensed is your place of business that you "own" (State vs. Perry)? Or does ORS 166.250 allow concealed carry in your place of residence as well?

 

[ocarolan]

Thanks for all your info, people! Wonderful.
So, as i understand it, and after checking the links posted,

I CAN open carry loaded any handgun, whether i am a licensed hunter or not, while in any place that it is legal to do so, regardless of hunting season.
My mother CAN open carry loaded any handgun AND concealed carry loaded while engaged in hunting activities, regardless of whether she possesses a current CHL.
I CAN hold my mother's rifle loaded, without a hunting license, as long as i am not intending to hunt with it.
I MAY be expected to have a hunting license and tag to ASSIST with my mother's hunt, but i DO NOT need these things to ACCOMPANY her, and i CAN carry her rifle while accompanying her, as long as i do not intend to hunt with it.

I think i got all these correct, based on all the information i have seen here and elsewhere.

Oh, and yes, she would qualify for disabled hunter cert, but for some reason they turned her down this season, even though she's been certed before as a disabled hunter. They just said ineligible, but didn't say why.

Anyway, thanks again, guys!

Bottom line: it will be the discretion of the OSP game warden (and ultimately court) to decide if you are "hunting" by accompanying your mother. The law defines hunt as follows. Note for some furbearers, merely "pursuing" is restricted as well.

"Hunt" means to take or attempt to take any wildlife by means involving the use of a weapon or with the assistance of any mammal or bird. Informational Note: As per ORS 161.405 "Attempt" described: A person is guilty of an attempt to commit a crime when the person intentionally engages in conduct which constitutes a substantial step toward commission of the crime.

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/OARs/45.pdf

 

[mikemenzie]

Bottom line: it will be the discretion of the OSP game warden (and ultimately court) to decide if you are "hunting" by accompanying your mother. The law defines hunt as follows. Note for some furbearers, merely "pursuing" is restricted as well.

"Hunt" means to take or attempt to take any wildlife by means involving the use of a weapon or with the assistance of any mammal or bird. Informational Note: As per ORS 161.405 "Attempt" described: A person is guilty of an attempt to commit a crime when the person intentionally engages in conduct which constitutes a substantial step toward commission of the crime.

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/OARs/45.pdf

interesting. I hadn't seen that definition of hunting before. I suppose it'd be splitting hairs, whatever happened, and whoever was splitting them. Nice of them to make the laws as ambiguous as possible, as per the usual, haha.

 

[ocarolan]

interesting. I hadn't seen that definition of hunting before. I suppose it'd be splitting hairs, whatever happened, and whoever was splitting them. Nice of them to make the laws as ambiguous as possible, as per the usual, haha.

Yep. One other curiosity is the weapon requirement. If you cornered a doe in your garden and (say) choked it, legally you would not be hunting. Ditto sneaking up on a grouse or turkey and wringing its neck (good luck). You might still need a tag to legally harvest, but it might be legally permissible in a no-hunting area.

 

[Khalsa]

Why not just get a concealed handgun license?

 

[U201491]

Oh, i'm confident. Specially when i don't know what the heck i'm doing. Haha. And i got such a nice smile, who'd get upset with me?

Why don't you do it the right way and call the Dept of Fish and Wildlife and ask the people that will be citing you if you are wrong or take wrong advice off any forum.

 

[Joe13]

Why not just get a concealed handgun license?

If you don't have one (as you mentioned) and CAN get one, do it. With LeO and most other hunters/gun people, it is at least at the least a "good guu" card and proves you can pass a background check.

A guy with a CPL helping his mom hunt because he "isn't a hunter" looks way less sketch then a guy who "may not be able to buy a tag" having his mother buy it and then take her hunting with him.

And I'm no lawyer so I'm sure they could twist that anyway they want, kinda like a mallards pecker.

 

[Koda]

its probably too late to get a CHL before Oregon deer season but if you CC there is no reasonable cause for a LEO to ask if your hunting.

 

[mikemenzie]

Oh, i'll get around to getting my CHL sometime soon. Hadn't had my handgun for very long yet, since relatively recently moving back here from California. But the open carry of my own handgun isn't the issue, and a CHL won't help me with throwing her rifle on my shoulder.

I wish ODFW was actually helpful, bud, but i just haven't noticed that be the case. Either you can get told "yes, that's totally ok!" And then get a ticket anyway, or get tood things are prohibited when the actual guy giving the ticket - wouldn't ticket and thinks it's fine. Or ya just get some bored jack nut on the phone that obviously doesn't like the idea of getting paid, and would rather get ya OFF the phone asap than look anything up or talk to anyone and get ya answers.
I've had a few good ones here and there, but all in all, i've got little love for bureaucratic phone answerers, haha.

Ya'll can keep running with this thread if ya want, but i think i'm done, and i've decided.
I'm not going to pay for a stinkin' hunting license or deer tag, because i'm not hunting. I'm not intending to hunt. Not going to accidentally fall over, sight a rifle, hold steady, and shoot a buck.
I will accompany my mother, for protection, because there ain't a thing wrong with that, and it's completely legal.
I will carry my own handgun, completely open carry, because i will be on public land, and that's legal.
My mother will carry her rifle most of the time, of course, as usual, but if she needs to have her rifle held for her for a while now and again, then i'm going to, because it just doesn't make any sense not to be able to.

Thanks for all ya'll's assistance, all the info and advice!
-Mike