New guy from California

Justin_Tree

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Feb 24, 2018
Messages
121
Welcome. I’m from the Central Valley. As many have said, there is a lot of opportunity it just take’s persistence in this state.
 

BPAZ223

FNG
Joined
Mar 12, 2024
Messages
21
Thanks. I’m in the SF Bay Area, but open to driving just about anywhere north of Santa Barbara county for good hunting.

I saw a ton of pigs on a big plot of private land last year but almost never see them on public!

I grew up in the bay area yes there are pigs and even goats. There's a spot in the delta where they have limited pig and goat shotgun hunting. There's also the golden ram sporting club.

Now Arizona is my home but I really, really miss California. The sierras, the lakes. Arizona everything is dry and dead it really is the desert.
 
OP
Trevor_Luescher
Joined
Mar 14, 2023
Messages
17
I grew up in the bay area yes there are pigs and even goats. There's a spot in the delta where they have limited pig and goat shotgun hunting. There's also the golden ram sporting club.

Now Arizona is my home but I really, really miss California. The sierras, the lakes. Arizona everything is dry and dead it really is the desert.

My grandparents live near Sedona. I’m planning on hunting near there sometime. Not quite as dry as the phoenix/valley area.
 

Bankem

FNG
Joined
Aug 19, 2022
Messages
7
How did some fellow California hunters do this season? Was some hard hunting in D5 for me.
 

Bankem

FNG
Joined
Aug 19, 2022
Messages
7
Welcome from another Cali hunter. Got lucky and filled my D5 tag on the opener.
The opener was the only day I saw any bucks and they were bumped into us and they never stopped for us to get a look at a shot. 6 more full days not seeing one and this past weekend did not even see any doe’s which I was consistently seeing. 6500-8500 elevation.
 

Bankem

FNG
Joined
Aug 19, 2022
Messages
7
I’m now three years into it and nothing, I would have settled for that yesterday. I passed on a couple of those my first year hunting.
My six year old is giving me a bad time. He thinks it should be as easy as duck hunting.
 

mxgsfmdpx

WKR
Joined
Oct 22, 2019
Messages
5,912
Location
Outside
Anyone who regularly kills bucks on public land in California is a damn good hunter.

What’s interesting is most good/decent CA hunters that I know will do very well in other states when drawing tags.

The opposite situation is a stark difference. Take a guy or gal who has never hunted California and stick them on public land, they almost never kill without help.
 

mxgsfmdpx

WKR
Joined
Oct 22, 2019
Messages
5,912
Location
Outside
How did some fellow California hunters do this season? Was some hard hunting in D5 for me.
I killed a D5 buck. I’m an out of state hunter these days so only had 3 days to get it done. Managed to kill a black bear on day one and a deer on day two. Some old stomping grounds paid off and it doesn’t look like it’s been hunted much at all.
 

Bankem

FNG
Joined
Aug 19, 2022
Messages
7
I may go back out for bear. Duck hunting takes up a lot of my time now but love being out in the mountains. My duck club is in the Suisun marsh and we shoot birds but view sucks compared to the sierras.
 
Joined
May 13, 2015
Messages
3,930
Anyone who regularly kills bucks on public land in California is a damn good hunter.

What’s interesting is most good/decent CA hunters that I know will do very well in other states when drawing tags.

The opposite situation is a stark difference. Take a guy or gal who has never hunted California and stick them on public land, they almost never kill without help.
That is sooooooo true. The old saying applies, the same 10% of hunters harvest 90% of the deer season after sesson.
 
OP
Trevor_Luescher
Joined
Mar 14, 2023
Messages
17
Went up to D6 a few times this season and saw a few does, but no bucks. I went on my first solo backcountry trip and it dipped into the 20’s overnight. Great experience and I plan to continue getting comfortable with longer solo trips. I know I need to spend a lot of time in an area to nail down the bucks’ habits. Still putting the work in 🤘🏼IMG_8255.jpegIMG_8246.jpeg
 

j3h8

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Aug 31, 2018
Messages
159
Location
Bakersfield, CA
Went up to D6 a few times this season and saw a few does, but no bucks. I went on my first solo backcountry trip and it dipped into the 20’s overnight. Great experience and I plan to continue getting comfortable with longer solo trips. I know I need to spend a lot of time in an area to nail down the bucks’ habits. Still putting the work in 🤘🏼View attachment 787242View attachment 787243
You aren't seeing anything because your rifle is pissed at you for leaving it so far away from the warmth of the stove. If you're cold, it's cold.
 
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