Sitka Gear Turkey Tool Belt

California beginnings

C

Coyotex86

Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2020
Messages
12
Hello all!! This is my first time hunting. I just got my hunting license. I have wanted to hunt since I was a kid(now 33). My Grandfather and dad came home from Colorado with some crazy stories after a big hunt. A short while later it came to an “every other Wednesday” sort of deal. Now that I have a son(4 1/2) I have wanted to get out there and hunt so I can pass on the knowledge I pick up.

I have come to enjoy Fresh Tracks and OYOA’s very much. I have watched all I can. Picked out my rifle (tikka t3x lite SS LH 6.5 creedmoor, vortex viper pst gen 2). I put in for a draw for C zone. If I understand this right it’s 8,150 tag quota per c zone. There are four. Or it’s 8,150 tags total for all of C zone. I don’t know. I also bought a D3-5 tag 33,000 tag quota. I obviously don’t know what I’m doing.

My Father-in-law hunts on a share holder ranch. My C zone tag was a party tag for that reason. I would love to get out on my own in public land. I picked up the D 3-5 for that reason.
I am also very interested in going for coyotes,pigs and maybe even bear.

I came to this forum looking for community and knowledge so thank you for having me and I hope to get to know some of you and get lots of questions answered.
 
Welcome.
When you say you applied for a C zone tag I assume you did that before June 2nd so you should already have that tag. The D3-5 tag is another good choice and allows you to hunt a large area.
I have hunted in C zone as well as D3-5. Opening weekend can be crazy in both of those zones but I usually go anyway. In the last few years I have had more success finding bucks mid season or late in the season. Like any other hunt weather can help a lot. My best advice is to learn an area well and hunt it as much as possible. Right now is a great time to go scout since the bucks are still in velvet and a little easier to find. Finding a few bucks now will give you the confidence to hunt that area once the season opens. Bucks might move a little from where you find them now but in most of those areas they dont move a lot until we get snow.

Pay attention to the hunt seasons in the C zones since they are not all the same. Print zone maps from Fish and Wildlife's web site and make sure you know the boundaries between those zones.
 
brnsvllyjohn said:
Welcome.
When you say you applied for a C zone tag I assume you did that before June 2nd so you should already have that tag. The D3-5 tag is another good choice and allows you to hunt a large area.
I have hunted in C zone as well as D3-5. Opening weekend can be crazy in both of those zones but I usually go anyway. In the last few years I have had more success finding bucks mid season or late in the season. Like any other hunt weather can help a lot. My best advice is to learn an area well and hunt it as much as possible. Right now is a great time to go scout since the bucks are still in velvet and a little easier to find. Finding a few bucks now will give you the confidence to hunt that area once the season opens. Bucks might move a little from where you find them now but in most of those areas they dont move a lot until we get snow.

Pay attention to the hunt seasons in the C zones since they are not all the same. Print zone maps from Fish and Wildlife's web site and make sure you know the boundaries between those zones.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the advice John. And yes I have my C zone tag.
I have the OnX app and gps chip in a garmin. Should I also have paper maps?
I went scouting on Thursday but I took my son and that was not great. I was unprepared for the amount of mosquitoes and my son loves crunchy leaves. I don’t have binos yet so it’s a bit more difficult to see from a distance. Saving for some vortex viper HDs.
 
I have no idea if your OnX map shows the hunt zones or not. I have never used any OnX products. I use an older E trex Garmin to set waypoints and to see general terrain but I always carry paper maps. I have collected almost all of the national forest maps for California and I have a few that I spent hours with drawing in the hunt zone boundaries. It is way easier just to print the ones from Fish and Wildlife. If your electronic maps show all of the hunt zone boundaries then you should be fine.
Scouting without binoculars is difficult at best. I do most of my scouting from high vantage points so binos are a must for me.
 
Welcome to the forum from a WY transplant.
I used to hunt D-7 and southern A-zone plus several military bases many years ago. I know so much has changed since I left Cali game law wise. I remember when a book of 5 pig tags was like $10. I’m probably gonna be zero help now. However I did have a large 4’x6’ map of Cali (got it free/ won it, from the fish and game office) that showed every piece of land and who owned it i.e. state/ city, forest service, BLM, tribal, federal/ military, private, Corps of engineers and so on. Like what onX maps and such would show I guess. I gave it away to a friend when I left. Try contacting the fish and game office and see if they still have a map like that. It doesn’t matter how good an area is if it’s private or otherwise lands you can’t hunt.
 
Sacto refugee here. D3-5 was crazy when I hunted it. Good luck to ya!
 
well I should have shared my story months ago but forgot, D3-5 was a bust. C zone was a different story.

California shut down the national forests, even to hunters, for most of the hunting season due to fires. (something they have never done before. I hate to think of the precedence they have set.) My father-in-law has been hunting c-zone most of his life and he comes home with a deer most years. The 2020 season was rough because of a very large fire the year before and the forests being closed to even driving through them.

After riding in the back of a 2 seater side x side for 5 days I was sick of being uncomfortable. I'm 6'-3'', riding in the small bed for hours at a time was ridiculous. Road hunting is not my thing. On the evening of day 5 I talked my father-in-law into walking a BLM drainage with me. At last light we look up at the skyline and see clear as day a giant of a 2 point rack at 1000 yards with no optics. The first legal buck we had seen. We decided that we would head back to camp and take a walk up there first thing in the morning.

The next morning we did just that. We slowly worked our way up the drainage and didn't see anything. We kept going. Finally we just walked all the way up and stood right where we had seen the buck. Nothing. We just sat up there glassing and finally we spot a bedded buck 673 yards straight north of us on the other side of the butte we were standing on top of. he is a small 3x3. my last day to hunt was the next day so I decided that was gonna be my first buck I'd ever take, if I could get close enough to take the shot.

Here's the problem, its wicked flat from me to him and there is only 1 tree and a big bush between us due to the fire the year before. so I figure I need to take 350 yard off that distance. I take a few strides to my right to put a tree between me and the buck and I start to walk north slowly. Within 50 yards I spot another deer bedded on the right side of the tree. I don't bother measuring or glassing. I sneak to a point where both can not see me and I continue forward. Another 50 yards and I see a third buck on my right and he is looking at me. I lay on my belly and crawl to a point where 2 bucks are hidden behind a tree and one is behind the large bush that is now a factor. I can now stand and walk straight at the tree and no deer will see me. Walking quickly and quietly to the tree I see that it is actually 2 trees in a row about 50 yards apart. I get to the first tree and hide in its low branches. I count 3 bucks but think there are 4 because I cant see the original buck we glassed the first time. I get a range reading and its too far for me to shoot confidently. I get on all 4s and crawl to the next tree and amazingly the bucks are still there. I am now stuck! I cant go anywhere. Nothing between me and three bucks but flat lava cap rock. There is still that bush on the right of them but they are close to it and would see me if I made any attempt to get closer. Range, 327 yards.

Now starts the setup of the shot. My heart is pounding and my breathing is all kinds of crazy. Taking me what feels like 10 minutes to calm my adrenaline. At this time I had not realized the stock had taken over an hour. Finally feeling ready to take the shot, I see the three bucks. one is a forky and the other two are 3x3s I choose the bigger one. He is bedded broadside left. I get behind my tikka 6.5 Creedmoor 130gr TSX and dial in my vortex viper pst gen 2. one more breathing cycle and bang!

Chaos!!!! I cant even count how many deer stand up and scatter. My chosen buck does 3 hops and a drop, the shot right through the heart.

One blur takes off to the right and is never seen again by me. 4 more go left and run about 50 yards to the top of the small hill they were bedded on and stop. they stand there for just looking down at their fallen friend. Two forky's and two 3x3s slightly smaller than the deer I shot. After taking my shot my father-in-law starts walking my way to help out and when he gets to me the deer are still standing there dumbfounded. He raises his rifle and takes the next biggest one out of the group. 2 deer down.

He then tells me about the deer that took off to the right. He said it was Hank for sure, 5x5 at least.

We radio a hunting buddy to get the side x side and come get us and our 2 deer. Luckily there was a small trail were he could drive to within 150 yards of where we field dressed them.

So we head down to camp and put them in the truck and drive to a spot to get validated. One of the wardens starts going through his photos and tells me he has my buck on game camera photos along with the entire bachelor group he was in. It was so amazing to see. There was even a photo of mine when in velvet. Turns out Hank was a 6x7(counting cheaters) 230lbs beast. He was shot 2 weeks later by a land owner near that BLM land I was on.

It truly was the hunt I wished for. even though I could have had Hank for my very first deer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Butcher
No quota area
Replies
4
Views
352
Butcher
Butcher
B&CTom
Trying New Things at 52
2
Replies
22
Views
464
ElkHT
E
Aerosith
NV 151-156 Deer
Replies
15
Views
1K
IdahoBugler
I
D4570
Granddaughter's first antelope tag
Replies
4
Views
366
D4570
D4570
Kiwi
Wyoming Recommendations
Replies
18
Views
897
Bighorner
B
MTNTOUGH - Use promo code RANDY for 30 days free

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
113,675
Messages
2,029,329
Members
36,279
Latest member
TURKEY NUT

Share this page

Back
Top