Does California have any public big game hunting left that is a value?

Hogs?

Tule Elk, IF you can draw a tag (I have, twice ). Rocky Mountain and Roosevelts Elk if you can draw a tag. Deer in northwestern California if you are willing to work for it. Pronghorn and sheep if you are incredibly ucky and get a tag. And, the already mentioned wild pigs if you know where to find them on public land.

Sure, over the counter tags for 2 black-tails and black bear with a Hell of a lot of public lands to hunt on. Be prepared to work for it though.

Lot of big burns coming into prime condition that will produce some very nice bucks in various deer zones up and down the state.

And B&C black bears if you seriously hunt, all on USFS land too.

Actually a lot of good hunting opportunity in CA if you do your research. Add in waterfowl, upland birds and varmints and you can stay busy year round.

When the Navy had me stationed at Concord Naval Weapons Station, I hunted north of Napa. I took my fair share of blacktails and hogs off Cache Creek Wildlife mangement Area and the Mendocino National Forest north of Calistoga. Also took a few deer off the National Forest around Placerville. The deer were there, but I had to work for them.

I also got a lot of hogs off the vinyards in Napa. The hogs really played hell with the young grape vines. I found that if I talked to the head groundskeeper, access was fairly easy to get. Not really public land, but a good bet if you can talk to the right people.

All the above info is based on when I was there, which was 1992-1995. Obviously, things may be different now.

Mac

Depends on what you consider "big game" Generally speaking, most of the real trophy quality stuff is north of the LA county line. There are some decent deer in Riverside, and even orange county (Cleveland National Forest), however you really need to spend a good deal of time on scouting missions before you find them. There are some fairly unique opportunities on Catalina Island, however this is not truly public land hunting, since the conservancy requires you to be guided while on the hunt. If you want to whack coyotes or bobcats...then you can have a field day out here. Especially if you want to head out to the desert.

Far Northern California (Shasta, Siskiyou, Modoc Counties) all have good big game hunting, although the deer herds (especially the mule deer) have been severely hurt by mt. lion predation. Still very good black tail, mule deer (some by draw) , Black bear, Elk (by draw), pronghorn (by draw), sheep (down south) and wild pig are all around and provide good hunting. Especially in the Northern part of the state, there are vast areas of public land and wilderness open to hunting.

Lots of reasonable leases for deer, elk are a draw, hogs are a lease but there are hogs on public, and black bears with hounds. How cool is that?

MAC,

Interesting to hear that you hunted Cache Creek. My brother and I hunted deer and quail there for several years back in the mid -eighties. I had a near-death experience there that involved high heat, dehydration and a rattlesnake. It was very hard work hunting there, but a beautiful place to hunt and camp.

There are lot of places in California with pigs, deer and turkeys. Pig hunting is year round, too!

Anybody hunt in the San Diego area? Any recommendations?

quote:

Originally posted by Ackley Improved User:
Anybody hunt in the San Diego area? Any recommendations?

Just dove and coyotes.

On the plus side, the best sportfishing tuna fleet in the world runs out of there.

There is starting to be some good turkey hunting in the Southern Cleveland National Forest and the deer have been decent around the recent burn areas.

quote:

Originally posted by loud-n-boomer:
Tule Elk, IF you can draw a tag (I have, twice ). Rocky Mountain and Roosevelts Elk if you can draw a tag.

Pardon my very poor language but GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE! you drew CA elk twice?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

I found the drawings very hard to succeed at when I lived there better than 12 years ago. The over the counter tags usually come with intense pressure.

Since moving away from CA and hunting several other western states I have found far better hunting opportunities. I'd advise avoiding California all together.

In 2008 Deer in the "B" zone was very good for Blacktail because of early weather in Northern California. Very tough without early rain, which is the norm.

For deer, all of Northeastern California is by draw, with lousy odds. I have maximum points for elk and have never drawn a tag. Odds for antelope are a little better, I have drawn once in seven years with excellent results.

In Northern California 99% of all hogs are on private property.

Scott, to make it better (or other hunters even more jealous and peeved), my daughter drew a junior tag for La Panza the year after I drew my second tag. Here is a picture of her with her elk (taken on public land). Of course she had a world class guide (me ) to help her. Her Tule Elk qualified for Boone and Crocket and made mine look like a midget.

Unbelievable! Thats fantastic! I'm very happy for you!

I tried for the elk tags for years with no luck.

I did draw the antelope tags twice. Once for buck and doe. Great hunt in wonderful country.

If only everyone would move out of that state and only return occasionally to hunt and fish.

Say! I've got an idea, since CA has banned everything else what about banning concrete and asphalt, both new and existing? Seems like that'd be a good way to get the place back to some good wildlife habitat!

quote:

Originally posted by loud-n-boomer:
Scott, to make it better (or other hunters even more jealous and peeved), my daughter drew a junior tag for La Panza the year after I drew my second tag. Here is a picture of her with her elk (taken on public land). Of course she had a world class guide (me ) to help her. Her Tule Elk qualified for Boone and Crocket and made mine look like a midget.

Must be your great karma, or my total lack. Any way, good for you guys, maybe this year!

quote:

Originally posted by Ackley Improved User:
Does California have any public big game hunting left that is a value?

You have to know where to look, locals don't blab.

Hopefully this year, I'll be able to pull a La Panza Tule elk tag. Your daughter got a very nice one.
California still has some good public land hunting, but if it's easy to get to, there'll be a lot of pressure.

JMeier

Draw results will be available in another week. Always positive, maybe this will be the year

I put in for Elk, Antelope, and X3B for deer. The part that really hurts this year "C" zone has become a draw zone. I put it down as a second choice because I live there. If I don't draw the "X" zone, don't know the odds are of getting your second choice. Good news, "B" is just a few miles away

Fat liberals?

I grew up hunting blacktails in Trinity and Humboldt counties, lots of public land to hunt, but it aint easy, pretty steep country.

quote:

aint easy, pretty steep country.

As in huge understatement.

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Originally posted by JBoutfishn:

quote:

aint easy, pretty steep country.

As in huge understatement.

But its worth it.

JMeier:

If you get your La Panza tag, let me know if you want help with the hunt.

Dave

quote:

Originally posted by Ackley Improved User:
Does California have any public big game hunting left that is a value?

That is an extremley vague question.

Hunting here in California ranges from nonexistant to incredible.
It all depends on your location and your connections
This is a huge state, look at it's borders. Hell, it runs from southern Wyoming to Mexico if you were to carry the borders further east.
I hear all too often on these message boards the common phrase "CALIFORNIA SUCKS".
Well, if you live in the suburbs of southern California or have no access to private land or aren't willing to put on a backpack, or utilize horses it can be very difficult to have success on a regular basis.
I live in rural northern California and know several landowners that grant me access to large parcels of private ground with good deer populations.
I also hunt national forest in the northwestern part of the state.
I've always seen bucks on the public ground, but I backpack miles away from access points.
It is really no different than hunting any other western state.
If you don't get away from the roads you are assured to have company.
The more effort you put into your hunt, the more you will get out of it.

does the regualtion book still look like a small law office wrote it ?????? I left ca. 29 yrs ago never been back. and dont miss it (:

no it most certinly does not-- it looks like a phlidelphi law firm wrote it-- on time and materials -- which by the way is about what happened -- and happens in ca

quote:

Originally posted by Salmonella:

It is really no different than hunting any other western state.
If you don't get away from the roads you are assured to have company.

What you said in your post was mostly true except for this part I think.

In most every other western state I have experienced much more accessable land, better game qualitiy and numbers with less hunter pressure.

Certainly California is a magnificent state. The original diversity of flora and fauna I would think is second to none. Native Americans pre white contact I think may well have been able to hunt waterfowl, tule elk, blacktail deer, grizzly, black bear, upland birds, and fish for salmon, shell fish, sturgeon and steelhead trout all in the same day!

My last California resident hunting license was purchased in 1997. At that time competition for hunting property and game was keen. Sure, private land that allowed hunting is around, and my families farm in Ukiah provided some fantastic room to roam. For the average Californian I don't believe the opportunities are nearly as good as for the average Montana, Idaho, Wyoming or Alaska resident.

Sorry for being contrary, but as a former Californian I just hate to read others writing that figuratively speaking its no greener on the other side of the fence.

Scott,
Yes, you may be right.
I've had a tremendous time in the outdoors in California.
Spectacular fishing for salmon & steelhead, Great waterfowl, turkey & pheasant and exceptional deer hunting.
You may be right though when you say "average" sometimes I do forget how priviledged I am to have connections to private ground.
I've taken lots of bucks over the years on both private and public and could easily tag out every year if I weren't looking for something special.
I do have some hardcore friends that backpack and use stock animals to access remote national forest and my my the bucks they shoot.

Again, the key word you use is "average" like the guy that hunts maybe a week out of the year then hangs up his rifle.
There is just so much California bashing on message boards, I feel it is impossible to generalize a state as big and diverse as this one.
I live & breath hunting & fishing and go to great lengths to tilt the odds in my favor I'm sure there are many more here that share that passion, but again I concede to your reference to the "average" hunter.
If the avid hunter channeled the same energy into the states you mention I am sure his success would be markedly superior to what he could acheive here.
It is just the blanket "California Sucks" statements that strike me as uninformed and not completley true.

Hey, what a place Ca is!

As you say though, if the same energies were applied in other states,........

10 years ago, less than 20 miles from my doorstep here in Dillingham I could buy or pickup for free over the counter tags for and pursue truly trophy moose, caribou, brown bears, wolves and rainbow trout. Today the only difference is the subtraction of the caribou. I leave several species of salmon out of the equation as their trophy size doesn't match their run strength. It is common for the silver or Coho salmon run to surpass 50,000 fish per 24 hour period passing the Fish and Game sonar station on the Nushagak River. Documented 50,000 fish per day, year after year after year.

When I hunt Montana and North Dakota for big game and waterfowl I am no longer suprised at the generosity local land owners show tourist hunters like myself, but the first few years I was flabergasted!

Salmon, when was the last time you had a complete stranger to you offer to dig pit blinds for you in their field with their backhoe after you asked them for permission to hunt waterfowl on their property? I had that exact thing happen to me in Malta Montana.

No, California doesn't suck, but why put up with "Graylodge" or "Honey Lake" when you can hunt the Yellowstone River or Williston North Dakota? Why hunt deer in the B zones when you can hunt the Kaibab, Missouri River Breaks, or Steens Mountains? Why fish the American River or Golden Gate for salmon when,........

No, California doesn't suck. I used to just have the best time hunting deer, pigs, turkeys, waterfowl, and varmits right on the farm in Ukiah. The downside was the heavy traffic getting in and out of there and the increasing pressure from poachers and tresspassers coming off of the public ground and neighboring farms surrounding the place. Why put up with it? I just like to and want to hunt!

I suspect some of the other members here would agree with me when I say its much easier, much more comfortable, much more enjoyable outside of the California border. I am certainly glad you are enjoying a successful hunting career in CA. I hope you will be able to continue to expand to new and different areas just to see them if nothing else.

For the fortunate few who draw a California pronghorn tag, there is some outstanding public land hunting. Fortunately for us, my son just drew a first period Lassen pronghorn tag, which is a premier trophy buck unit. There are 80+ bucks in that region every year, and on some wet years, there is the occasional 85"+ buck. This is a wet year, the unit is pretty green and we're hoping to hang his tag on a monster buck....right after we get done doing the same thing over in Nevada, since he also drew a 041,042 tag over there.

We haven't drawn anything else this year, but he has 2 excellent pronghorn tags for '09.

Some just as pretty but none prettier than zone 4 antelope country. I got drawn and was lucky enough to take a buck in there in 89 or 90 or something like that. I was east of hywy 395 in the "Painters Flat" area. Used to be some pretty good sage grouse hunting out there too. Are they still drawing tags for the grouse hunt?

Painters Flat is a favorite area of mine. We've only grouse hunted a little out there, as we have a pretty good spot off of the smoke creek road a bit further south. Now that my son has this tag, we'll be spending a fair bit of time out there this summer.

The only complicating factor is that he's about to start a job on an offshore party fishing boat out of San Diego, and his time to hunt out there might be a bit limited. Even with that in mind, we're going to make this hunt something special.

The hunting on public land in California is generally PATHETIC. Private land all over the World offers good hunting, but that doesn't do me much good, since like the overwhelming majority of humans on this Planet, I don't have access to private land. That leaves public land for the vast majority of us.

California wildlife has been badly and ineffectively managed - why? 1) The State is run by anti-hunting democrats who pass laws restricting hunting and wildlife management, 2) habitat destruction by 36 million people and growing (likely includes a large number of illegal alien poachers), and finally 3) a inadequately funded and staffed, and hence ineffective, Game & Fish Department.

If you want to see where the USA is heading, check out California – YOUR FUTURE!

Regards, AIU

Public land deer hunting is not that good, you could pack in to one of the wildernesss in B zone for would class blacktails. Antelope hunting is great on public land just have to get a tag. I'll find out this October how goo the elk hunting is on public land, I've got a tule tag.
Jay

some of the private waterfoul clubs on the delta and north of sac are world class