Anyone in NorCal doing Elk in Cali?

[Volume Zero]

I moved here to Sacramento from Utah and I am wondering if there's any good spots for elk hunting in NorCal?

 

[JNDEER]

Welcome!

No OTC tags, it’s all a draw for elk.

 

[Volume Zero]

Ah well there goes my plan which units are good for draw? I'm curious which hunt is considered good hunt for this state another then upland bird game?

 

[huntnful]

Ah well there goes my plan which units are good for draw? I'm curious which hunt is considered good hunt for this state another then upland bird game?

They're all really tough to draw with very limited tag quotas. We have a bunch of OTC deer units that you can make a hunt out of though.

 

[jonesn3]

All elk hunts are extremely difficult to draw. It’s a preference point system with some portion allocated to random draw. For deer, it’s 10% of the first choice applications go random but the random portion for for elk, antelope, and sheep varies depending on number of tags available. Generally, NE is Rocky Mountain, NW is Roosevelt (some Tule), and everything else is Tule. Here is a screenshot from the regs

 

[Marble]

CA has some the biggest Rpcky and Rosie bulls in the US. There are 400" bulls killed in multiple units every year.

I have called in bulls for five different guys since 2011. We ga e a healthy population here. Still waiting for my chance.....

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[AM_Hunter]

Looking at 20+ years of preference points for a chance at drawing an elk tag. Best thing you can do is apply every year, pick one zone, and hope you get that 1 or 2 random draw tag out of the thousands of applicants until you eventually pull a tag from preference points. Or spend the 30K+ to hunt a private land tag if you can find one. Unfortunate but reality of elk hunting in Cali

 

[Beendare]

Looking at 20+ years of preference points for a chance at drawing an elk tag.

And thats ^ optimistic starting now.

 

[AM_Hunter]

And thats ^ optimistic starting now.

I was trying to be positive

 

[87TT]

Unless you started applying the first year they started the system and didn't miss a year, your chances of drawing are slim and none. And slim is leaving town.
Cow tags are just a might better odds.

 

[NorCalHntr]

There are always random tags (vs tags that go to the highest point holder). If a unit has only one tag, it goes in the random draw (for example, look at the units off of 395), your points don’t matter (if there is only one tag). For the units that have a handful of tags, I believe 10% go random, as well. If you take the time to read the Big Game handbook, you can figure it out.

 

[NorCalHntr]

I know more than one person that has drawn more than one elk tag in California.

 

[anonymous22]

I know more than one person that has drawn more than one elk tag in California.

While anything is possible, it’s a statistical anomaly.

There are share tags which is a separately lottery, essentially state controlled land owner tags. There are also probably some version of land owner tags in pay to play places like Tejon.

Otherwise, what people are saying about the point system is true. Including the .3% chance you have of drawing a random tag. That choice goes down to just 0% if you apply for a zone that doesn’t even offer random tags.

The chances that someone drew one or the other, or even both of these within last decade is Powerball slim. Barring cheating or paying off officials.

 

[chancey]

It’s rough. I have 13pts and am hoping to draw a COW tag in the next 5yrs for the zone I want to hunt (it’s not highly coveted, I just know it). That being said I’m agreeing to apply as a party with a friend that will take me down 1pt. CA elk hunting is for the rich, lucky, or young and patient, in that order.

 

[Nickman123]

Took 25 years for me to draw

 

[anonymous22]

Took 25 years for me to draw

Tule? Owens area?

 

[Nickman123]

LaPanza tule elk

 

[NorCalHntr]

I hear a lot of those bulls on the La Panza hunt have broken antlers. That is a nice bull. I spoke to a gentleman that volunteers at our local RMEF dinner. He had drawn that tag a few years back and hunted the public (he did not draw the access for the Chimineas unit). He did not find any bulls that were not broken and chose not to harvest, which surprised me. He is a very fit and seasoned hunter (for a man in his 70’s). Nickman123, how many bulls did you look over and how many days did you hunt? Did you draw the Chimineas access?

 

[Nickman123]

I hear a lot of those bulls on the La Panza hunt have broken antlers. That is a nice bull. I spoke to a gentleman that volunteers at our local RMEF dinner. He had drawn that tag a few years back and hunted the public (he did not draw the access for the Chimineas unit). He did not find any bulls that were not broken and chose not to harvest, which surprised me. He is a very fit and seasoned hunter (for a man in his 70’s). Nickman123, how many bulls did you look over and how many days did you hunt? Did you draw the Chimineas access?

No, I didn't see any bulls with broken antlers. That's funny, cause I have run into guys who made the same complaint about the Owens Valley bulls. BUT, there is an early and late season on the La Panza hunt and I was doing the early season. Could be that the late season has more busted antlers.

I did not win in their little secondary draw for one of the 3 "special access" units. I had to hunt on the Carrizo Plains Monument but it turned out to be pretty easy. Weather was hot, in the 90s, and the elk were all in one big ass group of 100 to 150 head, all hanging out right in the middle of monument. There were 2 concrete water tanks out there they were visiting, as a group, 2 or 3 times a day. Out of that giant bunch, there were 3 or 4 good looking bulls. I got there 2 days before opener, kinda patterned out what they were doing, shot my bull opening day. Only real challenge was getting close enough for a shot. As you can see in pics, terrain is very open. Not tyour typical elk habitat. Had to shoot mine from 450 yards, which is long for me.