california hunting

BBB · May 26, 2006

Hey californians,
Just curious, how is hunting in Cali.? I don't plan on movin' or hunting there I would just like to know your overall take as far as management, populations, etc..
Do you even apply for hunts in your home state or are the odds ridiculously poor? I saw that ol' wide buck in the latest Hunting Illustrated and it just made me wonder.

RACKMASTER · May 26, 2006

good stay where you are at...except come to disneyland and support the illegles who work their!
hunting is good here....
The only issue most of us golden spoon fed hunter have I think
are...
1:WE NEED TO KILL MOUNTIAN LIONS....
2:WE NEED CHEAP GAS FOR OUR $50K TRUCKS AND 10K QUADS SO WE CAN GO TO UTAH OR WYOMING AND HUNT!
3: NON RES AND RESIDENT HUNTERS HAVE A NO FILL QUOTA IN A and B zone! so what ridiculously poor odds?
I CAN DUCK HUNT EVERY WENSDAY,SATURDAY,SUNDAY FOR 3 PLUS MONTHS ON A REFUGE OR ANYTIME DURING SEASON (122 DAYS).
ITS WHAT EVERYONE ELSE THINKS ABOUT CA..THAT......BUGS ME!
RACKMASTER

rookieray · May 26, 2006

I have never hunted anywhere else, so mabe I dont know what real hunting is all about. But I am very happy hunting in California. This last season I have been able to hunt deer, pig, turkey and quail all within 30 miles of my house and never saw another hunter besides the ones I was hunting with. I am also considering getting a bear tag this year if I can find some money for a rug.

BBB · May 26, 2006

That's great, I'm glad to hear that you have those opportunities. Who else?

oakbrush · May 26, 2006

You might want to go over to this forum.

http://www.jesseshunting.com/forums/index.php?act=idx

It is mostly Cali hunters. They are some good guys over there and they seem like they don't mind helping someone out with good advice.

Oakbrush

D13er · May 26, 2006

You are not going to kill B&C bucks in CA but residents can get 2 deer tags every year, archery only tags let you hunt from july till november depending on area, lots of pigs with unlimited tags, sheep, elk, and antelope by drawing only and some really good deer area's with special draws. Lots of opportunity in CA.

I put the official B&C score on that buck in Hunting Illistrated. It is a hog !!!

JB

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote."
--Benjamin Franklin 1759

easymoney · May 26, 2006

CA, is a great state with loads of very different hunting oportunities. Many blacktail records are taken every year.
The odds of slamming a book buck are very slim, but there are some nice bucks taken every year... The shear number of hunters keeps the odds down.

Stop Global Whining

BuckSnort · May 26, 2006

MODS,

Pay no attention if you were allerted about a post. Somehow I accidently hit the remove button on D13'ers post #5

deerhuntsalot · May 26, 2006

I enjoy claifornia hunting, been doing it all my life. Only negative thing is too many lions. On my ranch the mule deer/blacktails migrate so there are absolutly no deer during the season.

bobcatbess · May 26, 2006

BuckSnort!!!

NOT ALL OF D-CUPS POSTS SHOULD BE ALERTED!!!

HELL,WITH BADGEBOY AROUND WHO NEEDS TO ALERT ANY OF THE MODS???

THE ONLY bobcat WAITING FOR MORE KALI BOYS TO POST!!!

eelgrass · May 26, 2006

That's OK BuckSnort... it's not like D13er's not used to it! LOL!

If you like the challenge of blacktail hunting it's good. Plenty of opportunity with OTC tags. Not as good as it was back in the 60's and 70's but what's new? I really like blacktails.

Antelope, elk, sheep, mule deer are all draw. I used to apply and get let down every year (except for antelope). I don't apply any more. I would rather save up and go out of state every few years. I couldn't handle having 10 bonus points and no tag. I'm too impatient.

Great waterfowl hunting. Some of the best.

Too many idiots running around on Quads where they're not supposed to, but it's not like Kali has the market cornered on that!

I'm thinking of hiring a bunch of illegals to push the brush for me this year!

Steve

Sheepshooter · May 26, 2006

California is truely a beautiful state and you can pretty much hunt all of it . I've hunted within sight of the Pacific for blacktails and pigs , along the border of Oregon and Nevada for muleys and down in the desert for sheep . Upland game can really keep you busy through out the state . The waterfowl hunting is some of the best in the country .

It's a shame so many left wing lunatics reside here .

7mmman · May 26, 2006

California offers a wide range of territory to hunt. You can hunt high mountain country 9000 - 10000 ft or the middle sierras 5000 - 6000 ft. My favorite area is the low elevation foothill areas of central calif. You can actually get away from most of the people. Our biggest foe is the MOUNTAIN LION. I can' wait for that season to open up again so you kitty cat hunters can come and do your thing. 7mmman

kilowatt · May 26, 2006

California is not what it use to be but still has a wide range of game and birds to hunt through out the whole state.
Those that have posted to this thread are telling you like it is and Sheepshooter nailed it on the head with regards to the "left-wing nuts" we have here that get these crazy laws passed with the their "hollywoodhead" friends.

I don't hunt Deer here anymore, do my hunting out of state and if I should be lucky to draw anything here, it will be Antelope, Elk & Sheep. But I might hit the Lotto before that happens too.

And don't listen to eelgrass try to tell you I'm as old as dirt, because he isn't far behind me either. LOL

Brian

D13er · May 26, 2006

Brian,

You're both a couple of old farts.....

JB

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote."
--Benjamin Franklin 1759

kilowatt · May 26, 2006

And proud of it too.

Brian

Califelkslayer · May 26, 2006

TOO MANY PEOPLE! Other than that everything is great. I live next to the best muley unit in the state and during chukar season, Nov/Dec I see some good bucks. Every year a few 30"ers come out of the unit. There are some 36"-38" bucks hanging in the local bars and old ranch houses. Most of these were killed in the 50's so the genetics are here and just across the border in Nv, huge bucks are taken every year. Honker hunting is great but with a 2 bird limit, it's almost not worth it. Chukar huntin is great early but they get a lot of pressure so I hunt Nv/Ore later in the year. Decent sheep/terrible odds. Good to great elk/terrible odds. Great antelope/terrible odds. Getting to see a pattern?

Its so bad that I have to get my apps in the mail tomorrow.

usa · May 28, 2006

AMEN to all that the guys have said, I love california hunting but I detest being lumped together with the wacko's. If you are into hunting/beautiful scenery and mile's of wilderness than you would love it here , if you expect to kill something everytime you go out you would be dissapointed. The season never end's here with everything already named plus coyote's/bobcat's/ground squirrels. In response to hiring illegals to push the brush for you just get a deer dog and let him work the tough spots its legal in ca to hunt deer with a dog, one dog per licensed hunter I think.

HunterHarry · May 28, 2006

Yep,
I could have exhausted myself describing the awesome outdoor opportunities to be had in the laughable left coast.
I've never been able to figure out why "California hunters" are stereotyped.
I hunt in a OTC pristine wilderness area that produces Booners every year (Blacktails)I have killed at least one buck a year for over twenty years(two buck limit!), while some guys can't draw a tag in their home state for years and years.
I have turkeys coming out my ears.
Our Black bears are some of the biggest around (My best squared 7'5").
World class waterfowl hunting less than an hour from my house.
Great pheasants too.
Yes the Sheep, Elk and Antelope are very difficult to draw , but overall there is plenty of quality outdoor opportunities in the "Golden State" if you do it right.
Oh, Did I mention the fishing????
Who needs Alaska?

freedivr2 · May 28, 2006

GREAT fish, Harry!!!

I've hunted deer in Southern and Central California for the past 20 years, and the central calif. hunts were on a friends ranch, where only 6 guys hunted the ranch all year, so I wouldn't use that as a point of reference (yeah, it was GOOD!).

Our deer populations down here have gone down in the past 12 years due to a couple factors; drought and an increase in Mountain lions. The largest zone we have, the costal A zone, starts up in late July/August when it's hotter than a popcorn fart. Never have understood or hunted that, but the success rate is about 15% in that zone. Where I hunt, the success rate is under 10% annually. Better opportunities for archery hunters (either sex) down in San Diego, and also for archery dudes in the Alhambra area (Northern L.A.).

I have been hunting out of state (Colorado) since 1995 because the deer there are bigger, cleaner (no ticks or fleas!) and there are areas where you can hike in and not see another hunter. Plus they have a muzzleloader season that preceeds the rifle season, and that's so much fun to hunt. So. Calif has so many freeking orange vests out there it just makes me a little anxious to go out and hunt anymore. I've got a couple spots that only have a few hunters, but the brush is thick and the hunting is very, very tough in those spots.

One of my most fun and memorable deer hunts was on Catalina Island, where surprisingly enough, the costal muleys are fairly nice sized (and they have no predators). I have a picture of a deer that one of the guys in our party took, and in the background you can see the casino in Avalon harbor, which I think is a way cool pic.

And of course, hog hunting in Central california is a pig of another color.

easymoney · May 29, 2006

Great post harry...
All this pissing and moaning about CA is just not warranted. Dispite the number of residents(legal or otherwise)Ca has the largest variety of game species to hunt, the most huntable numbers of game, the biggest fish outside of Alaska and some of the most liberal limits available in the lower 48. I have lived here all my 54 years and it may have it's probems, but CA has some of the best hunting and fishing compared to many states combined...

Stop Global Whining

HunterHarry · May 29, 2006

I hear generalizations of California and just laugh.
Look at the map.
Our northern border is further north than Wyomings southern border and Cali runs all the way to Mexico.
Think again if you believe the whole state is LA surfer dude country.
It ain't till you really look at a map that the size and diversity of environment really sinks in.
Good posts boys.
HH

Califelkslayer · May 29, 2006

Harry, Excellent steelhead and on a flyrod. Great. One of the salmon pics looks like the forebay? Thanks for the flicks.

RELH · May 29, 2006

LAST EDITED ON May-29-06 AT 11:00PM (MST)[p]Draw a line from the apex of the point on the Nevada border straigh across the state to the coast and make it the new state of Northern California. This way we keep the good hunting, a food portion of the water and get rid of the loonies that populate S. Cal. and San Francisco

RELH

tylercreek2 · May 30, 2006

have hunted here all my life, lotsa stuff to hunt as mentioned before me, i'll agree JUST TO MANY PEOPLE

its not like it used to be thats for sure but what is ? last year no deer for me in utah , but got one here in ca so it wasnt so bad for me

doves,valley and mt quail, quackers, piggy's, peasants , er chinese chickens er pheasant, bandtails, lots and lots of fishing , great scenery ,,,, if it just wasnt so crowded ,,,, and if all the (liberel nut jobs) oh sorry thats nots politiclly correct ,,,, all the unique and varied individuals the seem to primarily reside in LA & Frisco would move to Altamont

we'd be set ,,,,, sorry bessy LOL