Hunter’s kill outside Talent could make record books

Talent, Ore. — A Rogue Valley man is celebrating tonight for a kill that may earn him a spot in the record books.

Allan Shepherd shot a black bear about 2 miles outside of Talent.

“This one hit right around 5oo [pounds],” Shepherd says, “but he had an extremely large head, he had a 19-inch head so that put me in the record books for the state of Oregon.”

We spoke with the record keeper for the state. Daniel Morris of Northwest Big Game Inc., says a bear skull of that size qualifies for the books, but numbers aren’t official until 60-days after an animal is harvested.

The largest skull on record for Oregon is 22.5 inches.

The taxidermist Shepherd took the bear to believes the bear was about 21 years old based on its teeth. According to Shepherd, it was missing one paw and may have lost it in a trap.

Shepherd has a valid license, and brought the skull to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife for check-in which is required.

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