Doe Hunting in California

[pieeater]

Taperxz I'm with you I just want to shoot bucks too lol. If certain herds in areas could handle it I wouldn't be against some youth or landowner or limited entry doe hunts. Same with some limited entry rut hunts. But as a whole this state needs less tags,more burns,and a 24/7/365 lion season like Nevada. Lol

[DanM]

There may be a few places where the doe population in California is too high, however in my opinion California doesn't have a large enough population overall, and has too many predators already to support doe hunts. In other places it's the lack of predators that allows the population to get out of ratio. You can't improve deer population here by adding doe hunts.

[Toptuna]

$$$$$$$ that's pretty much what it comes down to....and the worst part is very little goes back into the resource.

Don't be fooled adult does are smart as well. There's just more of them. As there should be....and you're not the minority. Many people only shoot antlered animals but proper GM means selective harvest but I've seen very few operations out here that have the means to do that.

I like the antler limitations out here though.

If I had control.....I would break everything up into smaller zones similar to X-zones. Then manage each zone independently working with private landowners to ensure the stability of the herd. Vastly reduce buck tags...and allow some doe management hunts in areas that need it.

Another large problem in this state is poaching....this state is plagued by poaching operations and marijuana farmers. Until the state really gets tough on DFG laws there is no hope. Most poachers/trespassers get a slap on the wrist and are back at it in a day or two. We don't have nearly enough wardens and like I said the enforcement is laughable. I don't blame the wardens....they are greatly outnumbered and DA's won't take half the cases.

I go out to state wildlife refuges and see simple laws completely unenforced. Many people can't even understand the simple concept of LST.

The DFG needs more funding for projects and a leader that can get rid of the vast amounts of fraud waste and abuse. I crunched the numbers on how much just waterfowl drawings made the state...plus access fees equal millions of dollars. Add in everything else we pay for and there is a lot of money hunters put into the economy yet the state only puts a fraction back into the DFG.

Now factor in politics and liberal thinking and it just gets worse.....fact based research is gone and people are paying to get the "science" they want.

Oh and by the way....another year of draught will add even more issues to our game.

I could go on and on but I see hunting going away for the general public in the next 20-30 years. I reccommend saving every penny you have and buying property otherwise it's going to get very tough for the everyday hunter.

Fire suppression is yet another plague....but the state lacks the funding for controlled burns.....don't even get me started on fire fighting....I'm all for people getting paid to put their life on the line but fire fighters make a fortune in this state....in my home town firefighting is all volunteer with the exception of a few paid guys. Some stations work 2 days and off 4! then the overtime! Holy crap. Once again another story for another day. LEO's and FF should have similar programs to the military....you make respectable money but overtime is a part of the job from time to time.

There ought to be more transperency with the way our tag money is spent. Just like our president was going to have a website where we could see where every tax dollar went. What happened to that.

There have been a lot of long winded posts but I'd like to specifically mention mountain lions as well.

[center_x]

Id rather see tags for mtn lions, allow the houndsmen to hunt bear, and limit deer tags until the deer numbers are better.

[njineermike]

Id rather see tags for mtn lions, allow the houndsmen to hunt bear, and limit deer tags until the deer numbers are better.

Hope you're not holding your breath, cause it might be a while before something resembling an intelligent thought comes from California voters or politicians.

[gregskin]

In Idaho where I hunt the area is packed with does. In 4yrs I've seen 2 bucks and at least 50 does. Though last year at the check out station I saw pics of about 5 bucks. And being from Ca. Non res. Tag and lic. Is outreagous$$ and I don't think I can even draw for a doe tag.

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[Toptuna]

In Idaho where I hunt the area is packed with does. In 4yrs I've seen 2 bucks and at least 50 does. Though last year at the check out station I saw pics of about 5 bucks. And being from Ca. Non res. Tag and lic. Is outreagous$$ and I don't think I can even draw for a doe tag.

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I saw 25 does for every buck this year in San Diego. It's just simply shot up and you have enviro nazis buying up tags and I'm sure dfw is stoked about it since it's run by people who hate hunting (not all of them).

[DSMeyer]

So can I break out my 5.56 for doe hunting?

Joking aside, proper management is the key. Let's face it california and management is a contradiction. Cannot have those two words in the same sentence for this state. Now I've been to states where they have a doe tag for special situations, youth, disabled hunter etc.. And they work out for the hunter with the tag, but in some of these states the doe population is huge, like 25-40 doe/fawn to one buck. Then in others parts a two to one ratio. Then you go to Wyoming where you have OTC doe tags and you can see why, they are everywhere.
Now with California, that's a tough call for managing, the hunt zones are huge, you got every Tom,Dick,Jose, Quan all in the same area with their countries hunting habits, generally not following this states laws. About the only place where DFW makes an impact is in parks, refuges and piers where they have a captive community, outside of that it just too much real estate to cover.
The forests are sick and need a good enema, but again california management deemed it bad for business and has killed off natures food plots with manzanita and old growth vegetation. Now it's a bit too late in the game as any fire that happens will burn too hot and scorch/sterilize the topsoil. Then just like our jail systems, they implement a protect the predator condemn the victim clauses. This doesn't make since or help one bit.

So what to do? Hound the snot out of DFW at commission meetings for better management processes, vote out anti politicians, but this is a real hard road to travel that most people will not do.
I for one try to spend as little of my hunting dollars here, it's just not worth it for me. Yes I give up the convenience of going two hours away to local spot, just to walk around and see fifty other guys with guns. Or drive a bit further, pay a little more for a tag to a better managed state.
I've seen way too often what this state does with income slated for one thing, lumps it into a general fund and spends on its own pet project. Not anymore!