cmahoney
WKR
I think that's the point. CA manages for opportunity, which is what OP is complaining about. If OP just wants venison for cheap, without western style hunting, try archery in suburban New Jersey.
You also need to compare like-for-like. There are plenty of residents taking home forkie mule deer in the mountain states that we just never hear about, but are comparable to what we hear lots of guys taking in CA. That being said, all my buddies who put in the time scouting and do week-long backcountry hunts are rewarded with quality deer in OTC units, and carry and fill bear tags, too.
CA manages for revenue, I know there are good buck to be had if you really work for them, but the minim quality is sub par compared to other states. 2 tags is ridicules and those units have been mismanaged to the point they have diminished the opportunity.
Does CA still reevaluate every 3 years? Did they change any of those quotas after the massive fires burned half those units?
I’ll bet they would sell you 10,000 tags for a unit that had 0 deer on a survey.
I get what you are saying but I think CA has gone too far down the opportunity spectrum.
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