Bears are where you find them

[cascadianliberty2012]

Does anyone have any experience finding bears in the mountains or along the coast? Is it generally better to move around or to just sit and overlook a clearing at a distance? I have yet to see one in the couple of times I've went, but I am fairly certain I have heard two of them at different times.

I'll take any wisdom I can get.

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[Joe13]

I've lived in SW WA for 28 years now and been up in the forests so many times that it feels like my back yard.

I have seen 2 bear bums high tailing it off the road as I drove way up in the hills to go shooting.

I've never ever run into one while walking but have seen plenty of signs they are there.

Went hunting with a guy that said "if I see a bear I'm going for the shot and then running back into town to buy a tag...", not the way I would do it but we never saw a bear so it was a non issue.

 

[Caveman Jim]

I have seen them while hunting deer but never got the bug to hunt them.... although I heard my neighbor killed one Sunday.
Good luck.

 

[MilitantBEEMER]

I spent probably 70-80 hours this spring hunting bear and never saw more than a few piles of bear scat, one so fresh the liquid was still running down the road, still no bear to be seen...
My friends that bear hunt say that you simply have to locate the area of bear activity and wait....

 

[edslhead]

If you leave your food out when your campin, they will find you

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Look for areas that has lots of bear poop or signs of them feeding.
Then pick out a spot where you can watch that area and wait for them to come around.
This has worked the best for me.
Andy

 

[Quartermaster]

If you go down to Oak Ridge and park above the dump, you'll find some.

 

[The B]

Black bears are like black tails, only worse. Ghosts of the forest.

In several seasons buying bear tags and even going out to hunt them specifically a few times, I have never seen a bear.. Any bear.

 

[aflineman]

I have had my best luck seeing them when it is lightly raining, after having been dry for awhile. Seems to mess up their senses of smell and hearing.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

Bears in western Oregon are easier to find than bucks.

Find the black berries and camp out.

 

[The Heretic]

Been to the Kenai, area east of FB, Ketchikan, GNP and various other parts of Montana, ID and all over Washington and Oregon, hunted the Oregon coastal range and the Blue mountains and around Bend. Been through the redwood forests and Trinity Alps areas and the N. Calif. coast from Napa Valley up to the Oregon Border. Been along the coast of Oregon for years.

I have had bears on my property and less than one hundred yards from my house if the scat is any indicator. Neighbors have seen them. I've seen the scat all over the place.

I have never seen an actual bear of any kind in the wild in 6+ decades of my life.

Not once.

Coyote, raccoon, skunks, bobcat, lynx, elk, moose, bald eagles, fox, hawks, vultures - but never a bear.

Good luck

 

[Oregonhunter5]

You can shoot 3 a year in the state.
Cause there's a lot of bears.

Once you learn from someone o. How to hunt them, it's much easier.
Look for that thing that look like a stump.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

there's a lot of bears along the oregon coast range. everytime ive gone elk hunting in the trask unit ive seen bear skat or the actual bear.

 

[clearconscience]

Gowhere people aren't. Berry fields. And have a long range gun and scope.
Bears are like bigfoot around here.

They smell and hear extremely well. Once your within a mile they will be gone.

Stop by crispy creme, get a couple dozen donuts, smother them with blended up berries and top it with a jar of honey. Get in a tree stand 60ft up and wait for a week or two.
MAYBE you'll see one

 

[Walter Sobchak]

I've always heard that a pic-a-nic basket will bring them in, but that may be just on park land...

 

[jbett98]

When I lived in Parkdale, OR. (upper Hood River valley) there were black bears all over the place next to the pear/apple orchards, especially after the harvest where we dumped the rotten fruit.

 

[The B]

When I lived in Parkdale, OR. (upper Hood River valley) there were black bears all over the place next to the pear/apple orchards, especially after the harvest where we dumped the rotten fruit.

More than once I've come home from a day shivering in the rain with my rifle in my numb hands and no buck, only to find 6 pointers eating apples in my back yard.

They're there alright. I see furry berry sh¡t all over the place. Problem is they're just never where you can shoot them.

 

[STUKA]

I saw my first bear in " downtown" Ilwaco,WA at 3am-he ran right out of the city park toward the river.
2nd time was in the upper Washougal River area- mom and 2 cubs crossing a gravel road about 20 feet ahead of us.. Of course I stayed in the car.
3rd time was last year in the Mt Hood Natl Forest,on Hwy 48 headed toward Rock Creek/Wamic area.
Again, Mom and 2 cubs, but this time when we stopped to look, my
buddy jumped out to chase a cub.
I screamed " Did you just see how fast that mama bear ran up the hillside? She can run down even faster!"
At that moment,I realized my buddy was a mental midget.

 

[CamoDeafie]

my best friend shot and killed one in his yard out in the Kings Valley area today, he already had a tag for it, but he was alone at home with his two very young sons, so self-defense of home was priority for him.

 

[John Gault]

Saw one on top of Table Mountain in the gorge couple months ago.. Last place I ever expected to see one.

Saw one run past our Engine once in Estacada when on a call.

Moral is just get out and enjoy yourself and they'll find you...