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I like your thinking! Back when I was a youngster, you could get an AO tag and hunt pretty much anywhere in the state. I would put in for X9…. This is prior to it being broken up into all of its present day subcomponents… and if for some reason I didn’t draw, I just got an archery tag and...

I really don’t think you understand what the discussion is supposed to center around… All the zones that nobody wants to put in for as a first choice! Or… Maybe I’m way off base and because of this thread A-zone tags will for the first time in history sell out this year…lol.

Well there’s 10,000 hunters here in my home zone (D-6) so it definitely sounds like a step in the right direction! Oh, the solitude…

Sounds like a great challenge to me! Maybe someday, I’ll have to give it a try.

I’ll be taking my first crack at filling a B zone tag this year. Looking forward to this new adventure…. Already pulled a couple of permits for scouting trips this summer.

Prior to killing my G3 buck last year one of my largest CA bucks was harvested on public land in D5. It’s still one of my favorite places to hunt as it is only a few minutes away from where I work. Over the years, I’ve killed numerous bucks in this place.

Everyone always seems to want to know what the best hunt in CA is. Usually this conversation leads to some sort of an exchange involving the preference point dependent PREMIUM (X, G, & M) zones...and then someone predictably adding the cliché, "Zone (fill in the blank) isn't what it used to...

Personally, I wouldn't waste max points on a blacktail hunt. Trust in your hunting ability and choose a zone that will provide the POSSIBILITY of harvesting a buck of the quality you desire. If you draw, spend as much time as possible researching/scouting before going for it! Best of luck!

True....to be "guaranteed" a tag in the preference point drawing you gotta outlive people with the same number of points or more than you. But dont forget the "random drawing" winners....which in CA is a SIGNIFICANT portion of those successful. in drawing a desert bighorn sheep tag. If the...

Sad but true….It happens!

Deer b tags are for doe hunts…correct?

Not automatically applied? So you get the option whether or not to apply your "banked" points each year? That kinda interesting. Is this for BONUS points or PREFERENCE points? I think I recently heard ol Randy Newberg explaining that MT's system involves both. I should probably rewatch this:

gotcha...I thought you were asking the original question from the perspective of a non-resident where the fees would be substantially higher. No matter....what you are saying is correct, you do have to purchase a hunting license first in order to apply for a specific hunt OR a preference point...

I think the disconnect for me regarding the Montana system is that, if I recall correctly, there is essentially a hybrid/dual system in place. Doesnt their system allow you to obtain BONUS points for general unit deer tags, but also purchase or earn PREFERENCE points for limited entry buck...

do you mean "nonresident" ?

You've captured my interest...so in the states you mentioned you could... -apply -then draw/obtain a tag and go hunting -and then still purchase and bank a point for the next year? If you purchased a point one year, wouldnt it be automatically applied the next year? If so, then you would be...

If its used, you would have a tag....and then be left without a point, right? I think we may have our wires crossesd. I just edited the wording of my original post to be more clear.

I must be missing something....You are telling me that you can put in for a specific hunt/tag in those states, not draw the hunt/tag AND still obtain TWO other buck tags to hunt with that same year AND still bank a point for future draws?

No problem with it here. Re-starting with 0-points for deer this year yet, somehow I KNOW I will still have 2 CA deer tags and ample opportunity to spend quality time in the outdoors trying to fill them with friends and family....all while still building points and increasing my chances for...

Look into Ft. Hunter Liggett (military) and Cottonwood Wildlife Area...near San Luis Rsvr (DFW )

I good catch… I wonder if the “open zone” auction tag holders that hunted the J 12 season and were successful figured into the calculation?

Very surprised to see that DFW only cut the White Mountains sheep tags by 2 (from 6 to 4). Only one ram was harvested last year....with very few "legal" rams spotted. I honestly thought we would be looking at only 2 tags for this upcoming season...one draw and one random. If any of you are...

Where are you hearing/seeing rumors of no more tags for the Eastern Sierra X-zones?

And CA auctions a bunch! To be fair, tule elk and desert bighorn’s have probably benefited some from the money raised…but mule, deer and Pronghorn populations continue to slide.

Thanks for your perspective… I sure hope you are wrong too.

Good question. No way of knowing for sure. What I can say is that his physical appearance looked a bit different that the bucks I have typically seen in the unit over the years. The Inyo mule deer subspecies that are most prevalent seem to be of a smaller (shorter coupled) size and have...

The bulldozer isn’t too much of a climb…but once you cross back over the ridge and start up Sardine Canyon it gets real. Have always wanted to ascend up to Sardine Lake then run the ridge to Dragon Peak before returning via Parker Lakes and down the South Fork of Oak Cr. I’m sure that’s a...

Exactly!!!

A good friend of mine is our DFW biologist for the area. Last year he told me that there was a proposal to do exactly what you explained...add a limited number of "late season" tags for D-6 outside of the the already established Anderson Flat hunt designed to provide access to "park deer" not...

when When you say, "focus on HOW to increase the opportunities without changing tag numbers." I really dont understand how that is possible....other than by killing off a bunch of you hunter bretheran...and I know you dont mean that! The reality is that anything that could be done is to...

The only thing you can really do to increase "opportunity" for those seeking to hunt big game species in California is to increase tag numbers....and the only way you are ever going to see that happen is if big game populations increase significantly. So....how do you accomplish that...

We killed that buck back in 2018. He was killed the same day that he was spotted. Found him mid-morning in his bed...worked in closer and then shot him we he finally stood up very late in the afternoon. This was the second weekend of the season.

You say that now… But wait until you have a friend that draws two or three great tags in a short period of time… and you go for 25 years without ever drawing. It won’t look that appealing to you then!

Ok….here ya go:

Member, highsierra, shared this photo in a thread called, "Post G3 Hunt Pondering".

My buck was spotted in around 10 AM in his bed. There was a group of 6 to 8 does bedded down and to the left of him not visible in the photo posted. I would assume he had been rutting them earlier that morning or the previous night. This is very much the same as what we experienced several...

When you say "the top of the mine road" are you talking about the mine where the old yellow bulldozer is (Little Onion) at the top of the first set of switchbacks or all the way up the "zillions" of switchbacks toward Kearsarge pass? If it’s the latter, thats a BIG hike!

Hopefully you have some friends that are still "in the game" that you could accompany on a future hunt. Personally I still have know of two close friends that have max points and still apply for this hunt. If either draws, you know I'll be there!