SoCal mule deer

[CALIF Caveman]

Hi me Calif Caveman
Me need info on hunting deer in SoCal like around San Diego or San Bernadino or anywhere in between. Any input appreciated.

 

[BOHNTR]

Have you done any scouting/driving trips into the Angeles or San Bernardino National Forest? That would be a good start to get the lay of the land and the differences in the forests themselves. There's deer there.......it depends on what weapon preference you have as well.

 

[CALIF Caveman]

I forgot to mention that I have a D16 tag so right now I'm working on San Diego but I also want to check those areas for future trips. Thank you for your input.

 

[Zach]

It's gonna be crowded, but Palomar Mt. is a usual spot. To get a decent buck you're going to have to steer away from the crowds.

Get your Nat'l Forest Maps and look for spots around Pine Valley. Biggest buck I ever saw in person when I lived there was down by Barrett Lake.

For San Diego, you're really gonna have to put the time in and scout.

 

[muleybowhunter]

I live in Big Bear Lake, and hunt D14 and D16 every year in some manner or another, this year its with an A22 and a AO tag which I plan to use in D17 since I did not get drawn for it(Anyone who knows D17 knows I am a gluten for punishment to hit D17 with my bow. I Know I Am)

If you need any info on this area or the SD area just shoot me a PM or email.

Daniel

 

[CALIF Caveman]

I've camped on top Mt. Palomar back in Jan. and there were a lot of deer running around the campground. So I want to go hunt around the mountain this fall and see if I can get anything during probaly a three day hunt. Who knows where to access and park your vehicle in that portion of Cleveland National Forest? Also want to try it for quail.

 

[SDHNTR]

Be careful of the state park boundaries on top of Palomar.

 

[RJH]

I grew up hunting in Southern CA a hundred years ago and where I killed my first buck is condo complex. Guess things change. San Gorgorino wilderness, near Big Bear has always been good and my sweet spot back then was in the Cleveland National Forest off the ridge line on 74 overlooking Elsinore Lake. Go south and make your way to Fisherman’s Camp - sometime you can get there and other times you cannot. Once at Fisherman’s Camps proceed west towards the Ocean in the San Mateo Canyon and in about 3 miles or so you hit the Camp Pendleton border - Have not been there in 10 years but have always taken a nice buck out of there since I was 16 years old and that is about 40 years - do not go on the Marine base - that will ruin your day. About 30 years ago my OC sheriff hunting buddy and I were sitting half way up the canyon and watch a squad of marines come up the creek in full garb - it was cool watching do their thing - never saw us though.
PS Watch out for the rattlesnakes

R

 

[CALIF Caveman]

My dad was raised in San Diego and hunted Camp Pendleton, Mirmar, and his long gone uncle's property down in Santa Ysabel. Unfortunately the property in Santa Ysabel is built up and we all know about civilians hunting military bases after 9/11. We live in OC. He showed me on the map that the San Mateo part of CNF borders the hunt area of Camp Pendleton. Sounds pretty good but first I need to fill this D16 tag and I'll try it. Also looking or quail. Great advice RJH.

 

[CALIF Caveman]

Came back from the big scouting trip I'm putting on every reply and looking at the backside of Palomar Mt. cause this place is game rich. Now I'm just figuring out how to access that section and a safe place to leave my truck. Drove by Lake Elsinore and saw the parts of the national forest by Camp Pendleton (as mentioned above) and remembered the steep canyons covered with brush as thick as a wall that my dad told me about when I was a kid.
I'm definitely looking forward to that hunt. Seriously I am.

 

[GETTERDONE]

Tried it last year with a archery doe tag, first day out a mile from the truck came across 4 illegals. decided to burn that tag . not to safe only carrying a bow and I like my new diesel to much to leave on some remote dirt road. Good luck.

 

[CALIF Caveman]

Tell me about it. The illegal immigration problem is getting worse every year. I see a lot of posts on other websites about that problem while hunting SD but it wasn't always like that. I've had them piss on my bumper while out looking for upland game. I'll try not to let that get in my way but I'll bring a backup weapon for safety.

 

[CALIF Caveman]

The illegal immigration problem is getting worse each year. Had'em piss on my bumper while I was hunting one time. I'll try to avoid them and not let that get in the way of a good time but I'll bring a backup weapon for safety.

Anyway Palomar Mt. is looking pretty good for D16.

 

[CALIF Caveman]

Sorry wasted another reply on that. It's another glitch on Hunt Talk when I tried to post the first it didn't work so I retyped it and now both are up. My mistake. Now let's take our focuses off this subject.