I'm a CA guy. I hunted X3a last year. Scouted it twice before the season. Saw some pretty nice bucks while they were in the velvet.
There is very little pressure in the area I hunted, saw only one other camp and the only other hunters I saw were road hunters. And only two of them at that.
Deer numbers are still down in this zone. Some blame the lions, I did see some lion sign, and the biologists blame the habitat. If you aren't to picky about how big a buck you'll be happy with just road hunt, a quad would work best, and you'll kill a buck. Now if you are huntin horns you'll have to work hard or get lucky, more than likely both. I hunted hard for 5 days and shot the biggest buck I saw on the hunt. He was a heavy and tall 23" wide 3x2. My uncle shot a 21" 4x3 on day six. We got a tip from a cowboy and shot the buck just off the road where he said it was.
If you would like to know the spots I hunted PM me.
MIKE