Quote:
Originally Posted by drutledge79
CVShooter I think I know what you're saying.
No matter how much experience or skill or cunning you have you'll never be as productive as if you were in another state with more game or on private land, etc. Is that right?
That's probably true but it focuses on the thing you can't really change (the quality of the hunting where one lives) and not on the many, many things you *can* do to increase your odds. Scouting, putting hunting days in, studying the game, getting physically fit or whatever else. I mean -- isn't that what hunting is? The work you put in? The time and energy spent in the act? If it was just grabbing some meat off the shelf I know of a few places a lot closer than where I hunt.
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Yes, that's a better summary. And I agree with your point that there are undoubtedly many things we can do to increase our odds. But the overwhelming factor in my mind is still exposure. Get out. Anywhere. Anytime. Be in the woods. Skill comes in time and I'm convinced that good skill can more than triple your odds (though tripling the base rate is still pretty dismal). If you're wanting to kill something on every trip or even every season, you're going to be frightfully disappointed here.
I guess my point is less about how difficult hunting is here on CA public land and more to give some perspective to newbies who are bound to feel very discouraged as they try out deer hunting. Better to focus on getting lucky by just showing up as often as you can than to focus on skill, which you may never get to use if you aren't out trying to get lucky. This isn't the Midwest, the Rockies or Canada. Our deer numbers and density are horrible in comparison. Our buck/doe ratio is pathetic and we can only shoot bucks. Mulies don't pattern like whitetails. Much of the advice I've heard & read over the years works great for whitetails but doesn't really apply here. But they're still out there. You just have to keep showing up. Even a blind squirrel like me gets a nut every now and then. After all, if it were impossible, I wouldn't keep showing up myself.