What's your favorite zone for deer hunting in California. My favorite to hunt is D7 because we have a cabin there. I have also hunted A17 and D6 with archery gear.
Last year I hunted all three. Never saw a buck. I didn't hunt very hard in A17. We hunted there in mid August. Some other bowhunters told us they scouted it and there were a fair number of bucks but when the open range cattle were rounded up right before the season started they pushed the deer out of the area. That was near the coyote flat area. The area we were camped in was at an elevation of 9600 feet and the altitude was kicking my butt.
I hunted D6 in early October and it was warm and dry. The only bucks we saw were on the trail cam pictures taken at night. This was at low altitude, about 2000 feet or so.
I then hunted D7 in late October. I usually hunt around 6500 to 7500 feet but we had had a big storm go thru a week or so before and there was nothing up there. No tracks, droppings, nothing. I was going lower and lower and finally started finding sign around 4300 feet. Saw a few does in that area was all.
This year I have put in for X6A, A11 (archery in X6A) and D7. Have to wait and see if I get drawn for the X or A zones. They are draw only, D7 you can buy over the counter.
Jim
I spend a lot of time in D6 and D7. We usually like to put in for the Monterey either sex hunt A24, but if we dont get drawn, then we hunt a lot of different areas with an A0 tag. The high country of D6 between toejam lake and the pacific crest trail is some beautiful country---and I can catch dinner also. Except for special draws, we get A0 tags that allow us to tromp around a big portion of the state.
I get AO tags for the #2 tag sometimes. Have hunted A & D zones with them.
Rxhntr, have you arrowed any deer in D7 or D6?
Jim
D-12 It's right in the middle of the Glamis sand dunes. about 100 deg+, not alot of people, hunt in shorts, this is the area where the CBH record deer came from. Imperial County.....
D6 and D5
My best advice to you is hunt in a tree stand.Pre-hunt areas before season.Also one thing i would do is mount your game-cam after the season has opened.Heres why,its fine to put it up before the season opener.But it will only tell you about whats in the area before they get invaded by hunters and traffic in the area.Then things will change.If you post a game-cam this year in areas after season is open it will show you where and what the deer do for hunting a after opener area next year.rxhntr and our hunting partners have hunted D-6 areas for over 35 yrs.We have shot bucks that some would think didnt exist in California.You may stumble across a buck, but if you want to have a chance to harvest a good one, it will take some work.
First, you got to get off the road.Also dont be afraid to hunt during rifle season.Late season hunting with some weather can be very good.Again,know your area and get off the road.If you want a trophy,let the small ones walk.They will be there next year.I cant tell you where we hunt,but i will say this there are alot of overlooked spots.Dont always go to to well known hunting areas.Find areas along highways without turnouts.Look for overlooked areas.Hope this helps.Treestand hunting will give you the upperhand and put you into close shots.Good luck.
I always get my A buck and pick up a D5 for the dreamin'. Spicer Meadow is just too beautiful not to try.
Jim, I have arrowed several deer in D6. I have a pretty good spot on Nat For land where I put up a tree stand and have done pretty well, but I must say it has been dry the last couple of years. D6 is in my backyard so it gives me more opportunity.
Thanks for your input on this guys. A friend of mine also hunts from tree stands in D6 a got a nice buck last year.
Our cabin in D7 is about 5600 feet. The area's up to about 6500 feet there are heavily forested with Sugar pine, Cedar, Oak, etc and have a lot of buck brush, manzanita and choke cherries and Oak leaves, pine needles and small limbs all over the ground. Very noisy to hunt in. If you hunt these areas about all you do push deer out in front of you. Above 6500 feet it opens up a bit and not so much limbs and stuff on the ground. This why I have started hunting higher in recent years. I see more deer up there but have yet to get one. As much as I like to still hunt slowly thru these areas I have to admit the tree stands are starting look like the best choice.
Have any of you TGer's tried driving or pushing deer thru to a waiting bowhunting partner? Might work in the brushy areas that I mentioned above.
Jim