Remote Scouting - Oregon Clearcuts?

[dihardhunter]

Been kicking around the idea of a early-mid May spring bear foray to SW Oregon and was curious what others think on the following subject.

Disclaimer: I have successfully hunted spring bears in Montana hunting in combination of wilderness areas in NW portion of the state as well as public access industrial timberlands shading more towards Kalispell, so I know the general rules of thumb when scouting for spring bears and have seen those principles guide my own success.

At the landscape (bird's eye view) level, is it better to find isolated clearcuts that provide some of the only concentrated spring forage within a large area or is it better to concentrate on large clusters of multiple clearcuts that are theoretically a much bigger source of quality forage/habitat? And I'm also thinking about this from a bear's perspective, but also a hunter's perspective...more clearcuts, more collective pressure, but more bears? Fewer clearcuts, less collective pressure (or perhaps because they are more isolated, they are actually pressured harder), but more bears since it's concentrated forage (or perhaps fewer bears because the habitat surrounding is lesser in quality).

Anyways, food for thought and would be curious to hear what others think on this.

 

[i count eye guards]

Did you get the SW spring bear tag? I understand it's closed now - so if not you might want to consider that you can't get a tag :/

That said, south of Roseburg is prime time for spring bear

 

[dihardhunter]

I knew the draw had passed, but I was under the impression that it was usually late February before the SW limited bear tags sold out. Upon closer inspection, they sold out in January this year. I suppose that gives me another year to kick this idea around. That is the exact area I was staring at. Had a friend remark how many bears she had seen while doing some bird surveys in areas in and surrounding the Elliott SF last several springs.

 

[orelkaddict]

Elliott forest, so are you thinking more of coastal area to hunt? or more mid valley area hunts? In my experience the 2 area's are different hunting styles. I'll be glad to help with any advice I can