Am I too late to get into deer this year?

[gsxr600]

Hey guys,

I won't have my license ready until July

I'm not sure how deer tags work. I'm looking to just get my feet wet, unlikely to be successful (just a guy trying to teach himself how to hunt). Do the deer tags 'dry up' after a certain date?

Dumb questions, I know, but I'm confused by the regulations and lack of info. If it's too late, it's all good I'll just go for small game this year

Thanks!

edit: I'm in the SF Bay area, but ready to travel for hunting/camping. Got a 308 for deer (can find nonlead) and a 12 gauge with steel if I try smaller things. Ready for long hunting/hiking/scouting and expecting to be empty handed- but eager to try.

[MJB]

Oh grass hopper.....it's not something you do it's something you live for otherwise you'll give up.....and it's not a hunt it's a season.....maybe a few.

I have the best newbies now.....they go for 15-19 mile hunt for 2-4 days carrying everything thing on their back.....if I can't hit UT every year I gotta make it count here.

Good luck.....might want to tell us where your from if you want any non troll help.....most are new hunter shy after being burned

[JagerDog]

No shortage of A zone tags last I knew.

[gsxr600]

Oh grass hopper.....it's not something you do it's something you live for otherwise you'll give up.....and it's not a hunt it's a season.....maybe a few.

I have the best newbies now.....they go for 15-19 mile hunt for 2-4 days carrying everything thing on their back.....if I can't hit UT every year I gotta make it count here.

Good luck.....might want to tell us where your from if you want any non troll help.....most are new hunter shy after being burned

Hi there,

Yep, I have no shame- I'm a grasshopper. I'm in the SF Bay Area (Oakland). I wouldn't mind driving around the state, camping out in unfamiliar woods, though. Don't know anyone that hunts, don't know much else other than it's something I am interested in trying. No idea if it's something that I'll live for- I'll need to give it a go to find out

Long hunt + hike is very appealing, and what I was aiming to do. If I end up empty... that's fine, I think scouting will be fun.

I have a 12 gauge and a 308. Good with both; I like shooting trap with the shotgun, and paper as far as I can with the rifle.

[blueman]

There are many deer zones which have over the counter tags that never run out, even during the season (usually due to historically low success rates). Try to narrow your search down to a zone you want to try out and look on the CA DFW website and see if that zone is a premium draw which you have to apply for by June 2, or if its a zone that you will be able to purchase a tag for after you obtain your license in July.

[Thefeeder]

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Unless you have private land to hunt, give up big game hunting if you live in the Bay Area. This advise comes from a 40+ year Calif hunter. Your lucky to get a shot at a deer every 4-5 years...hunters that get deer on public land live near that public land.

But if you want to hunt, bird hunting is where its at in Calif. You can hunt from Sept 1st to Feb.......I joined a unique club 4 years ago and can hunt every day from Sept-Feb. I just drive up, get out of the truck and start hunting as if I owned the land. Dove, Pheasant, Goose, Duck, all within a 2 hr drive from Oakland. And the club costs are very reasonable, none of that thousands of dollars to sit in the worst blind on the club or make reservations weeks in advance to hunt an area

Pm me if you want more details

[njineermike]

Unless you have private land to hunt, give up big game hunting if you live in the Bay Area. This advise comes from a 40+ year Calif hunter. Your lucky to get a shot at a deer every 4-5 years...hunters that get deer on public land live near that public land.

But if you want to hunt, bird hunting is where its at in Calif. You can hunt from Sept 1st to Feb.......I joined a unique club 4 years ago and can hunt every day from Sept-Feb. I just drive up, get out of the truck and start hunting as if I owned the land. Dove, Pheasant, Goose, Duck, all within a 2 hr drive from Oakland. And the club costs are very reasonable, none of that thousands of dollars to sit in the worst blind on the club or make reservations weeks in advance to hunt an area

Pm me if you want more details

As a lifelong hunter, I agree with the above to a degree. Your first issue is timing. You missed the 2018 draw because you weren't eligible anyway. Best option is to get on the draw list, which you can't do until next year. That's where you choose the area, and the state draws names. Do it every year, because each year you don't get drawn, you accrue points. The draw order is most points to last points. You'll eventually get a tag in the area of your choice. Do your research. Study the game maps. Learn where the highest success rates are. Scout the areas. Look for trails and other signs your target frequents an area, and learn the patterns. This ain't something you do as a 1 month hobby in CA and have success. This takes work. Where I live the deer literally walk through my fields near my livestock and I can hunt several properties around me as well. I can just walk out and kill mule deer at will. Urban CA isn't as conducive to that.

As was mentioned by JagerDog and blueman, over the counter tags are available in some areas, but odds are they aren't close to you or don't have high success rates. Keep one thing in mind about tags. The state has a limit on how many you can purchase, even if a LOT are still available. Do not exceed that limit if you want to keep hunting.

Out of state guided hunts are also a good start. Most of us learned to hunt from our families. You evidently didn't get that early start. No shame in paying a guide to show you the ropes and help get you started. People will tell you to pack and go and not pay a guide. You can do that, too. Just be prepared to learn all the lessons we've all learned over the years from family and freinds, and spend several years learning what someone could teach you in a weekend for a few $$s. Plus. You'll have a lot of fun.

And bird hunting is the best. Big game you walk for miles, shoot once, then the fun part is over and you get to haul it out. This is not the fun part. A good deer weighs about 150 lbs or more field dressed. You drag it out. Carrying it is a great way to have some idiot shoot you. Dragging a deer carcass is work. I mean, real work. Your first time you'll wonder what the hell you were thinking. You'll get it out of the woods, and then get it ready to butcher. If you were in the field before dawn, and shot late, you'll be pushing 14 hours or more before you even start to skin. Then you have to get it prepared for cooling or the meat will spoil. If its above 40 degrees, you'll need to get it skinned, cut into smaller pieces, then in at least a refrigerator before you get some sleep. After cleanup, there are times I've been awake 24 hours with hauling it out, loading it up, driving home, skinning, showering, etc. Your first time skinning you'll be learning everything from scratch. Which is why you should pay a guide. Let him teach you all of this so the next time you know what to do.

Bird bunting is better because you walk for miles, shoot a LOT, carry a MUCH smaller animal in your vest game pocket, and cleaning a bird takes a few minutes per bird. Shooting pheasants with a good dog is the most fun you'll ever have that doesn't involve a woman and whipped cream. Once again, do a guided hunt the first time. You'll enjoy it a lot more.

Either way, welcome to the fraternity. We all wish you success and safe hunting.

[Divernhunter]

You can find some tags in July for deer. D3-5 comes to mind as well as A zone.
Your best bet would be to save your money spent on an armed hike and go on a guided pig hunt.

[pieeater]

Get an A zone tag and bear and pig tag and hunt the A zone portion of Mendo national forest or Knoxville/ cache creek.

[stonefly-2]

As a lifelong hunter, I agree with the above to a degree. Your first issue is timing. You missed the 2018 draw because you weren't eligible anyway. Best option is to get on the draw list, which you can't do until next year. That's where you choose the area, and the state draws names. Do it every year, because each year you don't get drawn, you accrue points. The draw order is most points to last points. You'll eventually get a tag in the area of your choice. Do your research. Study the game maps. Learn where the highest success rates are. Scout the areas. Look for trails and other signs your target frequents an area, and learn the patterns. This ain't something you do as a 1 month hobby in CA and have success. This takes work. Where I live the deer literally walk through my fields near my livestock and I can hunt several properties around me as well. I can just walk out and kill mule deer at will. Urban CA isn't as conducive to that.

As was mentioned by JagerDog and blueman, over the counter tags are available in some areas, but odds are they aren't close to you or don't have high success rates. Keep one thing in mind about tags. The state has a limit on how many you can purchase, even if a LOT are still available. Do not exceed that limit if you want to keep hunting.

Out of state guided hunts are also a good start. Most of us learned to hunt from our families. You evidently didn't get that early start. No shame in paying a guide to show you the ropes and help get you started. People will tell you to pack and go and not pay a guide. You can do that, too. Just be prepared to learn all the lessons we've all learned over the years from family and freinds, and spend several years learning what someone could teach you in a weekend for a few $$s. Plus. You'll have a lot of fun.

And bird hunting is the best. Big game you walk for miles, shoot once, then the fun part is over and you get to haul it out. This is not the fun part. A good deer weighs about 150 lbs or more field dressed. You drag it out. Carrying it is a great way to have some idiot shoot you. Dragging a deer carcass is work. I mean, real work. Your first time you'll wonder what the hell you were thinking. You'll get it out of the woods, and then get it ready to butcher. If you were in the field before dawn, and shot late, you'll be pushing 14 hours or more before you even start to skin. Then you have to get it prepared for cooling or the meat will spoil. If its above 40 degrees, you'll need to get it skinned, cut into smaller pieces, then in at least a refrigerator before you get some sleep. After cleanup, there are times I've been awake 24 hours with hauling it out, loading it up, driving home, skinning, showering, etc. Your first time skinning you'll be learning everything from scratch. Which is why you should pay a guide. Let him teach you all of this so the next time you know what to do.

Bird bunting is better because you walk for miles, shoot a LOT, carry a MUCH smaller animal in your vest game pocket, and cleaning a bird takes a few minutes per bird. Shooting pheasants with a good dog is the most fun you'll ever have that doesn't involve a woman and whipped cream. Once again, do a guided hunt the first time. You'll enjoy it a lot more.

Either way, welcome to the fraternity. We all wish you success and safe hunting.

That was solid work mike.

OP d3-5 offers a better change of scenery and a good reason to be out in it if nothing else.

Plus it is without question there are some real monsters up in the sierra.

They are smarter than you or i and few and far between but they are there.

The good and bad is it's all about the weather if it isn't in your backyard.

The rain as Don pointed out (that was a major knowledge drop) but also the snow.
My own silly fascination is with trying to guess where the deer will come through when pushed down by a sierra storm, pretty exciting.
Actually stupid if not prepared to spend 3-4 days snowed in.

The downside is that about half of the time there is no snow or rain to speak of till after the season is over.

[JagerDog]

Some good stuff above. Gonna be tough starting out without training, but there's a lot of reading available. A guide could be money well spent.

I grew up hunting deer, pigs and birds. Had access to club land and we did pretty good. But none of the clubs which offer big game are really worth a hoot anymore. Now I mostly hunt upland birds as deer tag soup got boring.
Even that's not easy but usually get some shooting and spending days with the dog, afield with a shotgun is rewarding even when the shooting is sparse.

[JackEllis]

Your first issue is timing. You missed the 2018 draw because you weren't eligible anyway. Best option is to get on the draw list, which you can't do until next year. That's where you choose the area, and the state draws names.

IFIAK the 2018 drawing closes on June 2. If the OP hasn't spent enough time in California to be considered a resident, that's one thing. If he's been around a while and just needs to purchase his license, that's another.

[Divernhunter]

^^^ I believe he meant he will not have the hunter safety cert and thus hunting lic until July so he cannot get a tag until then.

[MJB]

Op you sound like you have the right attitude. Besides learning the area your hunting, first learn about deer mule deer to be exact.

There was a video of some exhunter turned deer whisper, Nature channel I think. The documentary explained mule deer behavior to a tee.

We are lucky down here we get to hunt the rut so that makes it easier.....up north the weather is key or going high early season can also work.
When I hunt x9a or d7 I go high 8-11k and hope for snow but I know the deer migration patterns so I can narrow my hunts in to just a few pockets of deer.

Learn to do the gutless debone and your hike out will be much more enjoyable.
I always have a smile on my face when my pack is full of meat and I have a filled tag. Even if it takes two or three trips to get everything out. But that's me I love BG & upland and yotes with the dogs.

[edgerly779]

Why no license till july you can get a license to put in for draw on tags now.