Bonus Points

[MuleyFreak72]

Maybe I will get lucky and draw something decent this year! Have been applying for premium draw areas for 30yrs in Ca and have never been lucky. I have Max (12) Points going into this years draw for deer, elk, and sheep. Come on baby, show me some love!

Muley

 

[jester]

Better to be lucky...I drew everything but sheep with
less than max points...
Good luck!!
not going to get any easier with cuts in tags...
and loss of prime habitat because of fires, drought and development.
Jester

 

[sageadvice]

Did you draw out on antelope or just not apply? lopes have been a model success for the point system i believe. Most everyone that i know that has had max points has drawn.

Deer, you can draw if you want to. There are some great hunts to be had with max points. Maybe not the "best" hunts but some very good ones.

Sheep and Elk? maybe some day max points will mean something. In he mean time, those of us who have been putting in every year, in some cases do have a better shot at drawing a tag, even if it's still long odds.

Joey


"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

 

[Bossbrott]

A few decent options considering you have max pts! Commitment,,,tough game

 

[Deerdon]

I'm thinking you are looking for the one or two supposedly TOP zones in CA. If you have 12 points....you could have drawn a great tag already. Granted, you may see a whole bunch of 24-26 bucks in those zones (with an occasional larger one.) However, there are some zones that produce equally large bucks and you can draw them with far fewer points. Plus...you get to hunt almost twice as often.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[Deerdon]

>Better to be lucky...I drew everything
>but sheep with
>less than max points...
>Good luck!!
>not going to get any easier
>with cuts in tags...
>and loss of prime habitat because
>of fires, drought and development.
>
>Jester

Drought and development yes....fires? Fire is nothing more than mother natures cleansing agent. Give it a few years and there will be more deer in those areas than before. That is...as long is there is a viable winter ground available. Case in point, what is traditionally one of the best places to hunt in any state and in any zone..."old burns." If nobody gets hurt, and there is no property damage...let it burn, fire is a good thing!

 

[MuleyFreak72]

Sage, I have never put in for antelope, thats one species that has never peeked my interest to hunt. Don't know why, but never really had much interest in them. Big Mule Deer are my passion!

Muley

 

[sageadvice]

MF72, OK, i can understand that. I too was never much interested in hunting other than Birds, Blacktails and Muleys. Back in the early eighty's though, i was hunting Muleys out of state every year but put in for my first Cali sheep tag, i'm still waiting on that front.

I've had a few pretty good antelope hunts though. I don't do them like a lot of guys do, i do them like a great deer tag in a good area, looking long and hard for maybe the best buck in the unit before i ever think of shooting.

So many guys shoot the first decent buck that they see, good on them if that's what they want but i much prefer to look them over first and i'm finding a lot of enjoyment in that, especially as big muley country is now harder for me to access and hunt the way i used to hunt it.

Looking back. maybe i should have taken more interest in Elk too. Right now though, happy as i am with the fruits of my efforts, i'd love another good lope hunt.

Good luck in your Draw!!!

Joey


"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

 

[jester]

Tell me the area that burned in what X5 ( and well into Nevada) will
be back in a few years....looks like Moon landscape.
The tags were slashed... I know that zone is the exception!
My point is fires ruin good habitat that may in our lifetime
Will never recover..
Jester

 

[MuleyFreak72]

Deerdon, I am not looking for someone to tell me how to apply my points, and that I could have already drawn a great tag! I am simply expressing that I have Max points for three different species and have never been lucky enough to draw a coveted tag. If I wanted to burn my points on some other unit that isn't known for its trophy quality I would. I have hunted all over the western states, and have wiped my a$$ more than once with a tag, because I didn't see anything that was worth pulling the trigger, I would rather let them grow up and hopefully make it to be a mature trophy class buck someday. But to other guys they may be a true trophy, and that's great. I don't think there are any zones left in Ca to where you are going to see a Whole Bunch of 24-26" class bucks, even though I did kill a 32" Mule Deer in Ca in 2001, scored 184"

Muley

 

[sageadvice]

MF72, you make some good points. My impression of the draws that a guy could get, the one's i know some about, are not as optimistic as Deerdon's either but then most of my serious big buck hunting is past me. I'm willing to see some decent bucks with the chance at a really good one and these lesser units do potentially have that.

Good luck on your draws!

Joey


"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

 

[jester]

My opinion California does not have a trophy zone...
nothing!!
Deer
Elk
Lopes
Sheep

All zones have trophy animals....
you have to do your time... research, put the leather
On the trails..and know the zone your hunting.
And have luck on your side.

 

[oilcan]

"My opinion California does not have a trophy zone...
nothing!! "

Not so sure about that they Kill some great Sheep in California and i can think of one Antelope unit in particular a guy has a chance at a really good Buck.Nothing like Arizona but what i would consider a really good buck.

 

[jester]

LAST EDITED ON Apr-17-14 AT 06:50PM (MST)[p]Avg Joe hunter unguided won't take a book
Ram in Ca unless he has a cule! Maybe 10% of max pts
holders know about trophy quality animals. .and how
to hunt, judge and take!
Just my 2 cents
jester

 

[Deerdon]

Sorry, I wasn't trying to tell you how to apply. What I meant was...I don't think you need max points to draw a coveted tag in CA. Most of the Max point holders in CA are probable looking at the Goodale or Doyle hunts. If you can just get around, you WILL see many 24-26 bucks during these hunts. IMO...the Goodale hunt is the most over rated hunt in the state. You give me a statewide tag and I will be hunting one of two zones and the Goodale or Doyle hunt would not be one of them.

In short, all I'm saying is you have enough points right now to draw a "coveted" tag in CA. There are 200 inch bucks in CA...and most of them are farther north.