Does anyone hunt in CA anymore?

[Gawernator]

Obviously some people hunt but I imagine it's less popular now with population growth. I don't know anyone in my networks into hunting, not even from military or firearms circles. My dad was a scout sniper but we never went hunting and he wasn't into it. Going out to fk up some deer then cut it up just doesn't sound super appealing. It would be different if it was the old days and you needed it to eat, then of course I'd hunt

 

[jmpeal]

Love quail hunting. More enjoying nature and great exercise lol. Quail is my favorite meat. Again, more of the experience and so many memories with my son quail hunting. I go dove hunting sometimes if not 100 degrees. Don't like the meat as much so depends if bored and on weather and for a warm up for quail. Done a little chukkar hunting too.

 

[Insert_user_name_here]

I hunt D11 for deer and bear.

Do you ever venture into D14? I use to hunt D11

I’ve always wanted to go hunting. But every time I look it up or try to get more info, everyone online says the same thing: “It’s too crowded to hunt in SoCal..” or “You don’t want to get started now. It’s not like it use to be.” So that kind of kills the desire.

But I think I’m just gonna give it a go. Maybe go with someone who has hunted before or hire a guide.

If anyone has a real world experience of how “crowded” it is, I’d sure be willing to hear them out. Are we talking crowded like hard to get tags? Or crowded like a “search party looking for a missing person walking in a line in the woods”?

The first step is to get your Hunters safety out of the way first.

I generally put in for D14 and they don’t really end up with any extra for over the counter. You can usually get a D11 over the counter.

By crowded it can mean a lot of things but what you have to realize is, you’re looking in pockets of land for animals and then trying to shoot them with a high powered rifle. If you see a group head off in an area, you want to go to a different area. Not everyone takes good shots. People will walk right through an area they see you glassing. That means you’re basically screwed. This is what I mean when I say crowded.

I highly recommend you don’t give up on hunting. I look forward to it all year. It can be a high effort for no gain task but that doesn’t change it for me.

 

[sonofeugene]

A couple of friends and I used to hunt tree squirrels in the Santa Cruz mountains near Palo Alto/Woodside about 60 years ago. We were just kids with 22’s. I haven’t hunted since. But one of my friends who is a retired urologist, living in Alaska still hunts. He makes his own flint lock rifles.

 

[Vtec44]

I hunt D11 for deer and bear.

Also D11. I saw a big black bear last year while doing off season deer scouting. Don't ask me how I know but that thing can run fast for its size.

 

[2muchsoysauce4allthisrice]

Making lunch right now. Rear upper quarter from last seasons harvest; A zone.

Will post later about how I’ve found being in the wilderness as therapy, similar to detailing my car, getting away from the city life; even if I don’t harvest.

 

[Deadcoyote]

I hunt a lot and so does my son. I think there’s not so much a shortage of game up where we’re at, there’s tons of bears and deer. The culture around hunting in society has changed a lot combined with liability so it’s really difficult to get private land access. Combine that with private hunting clubs buying up a lot of land access and it’s had a big impact.

When I was 16 (94) we’d just drive to bars in rural areas and buy a round of beers for all the old timers in the bar and tell them we were looking for hunting access somewhere. Guys would give us gate keys as total strangers and directions to a mileage marker and just tell us good luck and hide the key under a rock on the way out when we’re done. That’s not gonna happen anywhere anymore.

 

[Vtec44]

Making lunch right now. Rear upper quarter from last seasons harvest; A zone.

Will post later about how I’ve found being in the wilderness as therapy, similar to detailing my car, getting away from the city life; even if I don’t harvest.

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I Just had lunch but now I'm hungry again for some unknown reason...

 

[Jimi Jah]

I recall 30 odd years ago the urban LA area forests were so crowded with hunters you were likely to get shot hiking without an orange vest. Pickup trucks full of Latin kings would pull up to the bottom of Pacifica Mtn and hop out with guns a blazing.

Way to dangerous for me, a forest full of urban morons shooting at anything in the woods that moved.

I recall one guy got a big buck up on Frazier Mtn. There were at least 30 other hunters standing around looking at it hung from a tree.

My guess is they were all telling big fish stories about "the one that got away".

That's when I stopped jeeping in those forests during hunting season.

 

[jayson_b24]

I grew up not very well-off in rural VT, so, yeah: hunting was a way of life. Between four of us, we'd bag, process and put at least three whitetails in the freezers every year. Combined with nighttime catfishing and ice fishing every winter, we never wanted for food.

Since moving to SoCal ('99) I've seen exactly one deer. It was the size of a large dog, so... nah. Could I? Yup. Would I? Absolutely. But I'd definitely want to go along with someone who knew the area much better than I. Now that the wife and I have picked up saltwater fishing, we pick the brains of everyone we see tossing in a line. Same principle. Are we both skilled freshwater fishermen? 100%. Do most of the skills and tactics transfer over? Yeah. But does almost everyone else know more than us about saltwater? Also yeah.

TL;DR. I do not hunt here. I would hunt here, with the opportunity and guidance. I guess I need to make friends with more NorCaGunners!

 

[Gawernator]

Making lunch right now. Rear upper quarter from last seasons harvest; A zone.

Will post later about how I’ve found being in the wilderness as therapy, similar to detailing my car, getting away from the city life; even if I don’t harvest.

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Dang do you wanna take me next time haha

 

[jayson_b24]

Dang do you wanna take me next time haha

If he agreed to take both of us, I have a rifle i could bring along for you... just sayin', @2muchsoysauce4allthisrice

 

[Gawernator]

If he agreed to take both of us, I have a rifle i could bring along for you... just sayin', @2muchsoysauce4allthisrice

Can I use an AR-10 in .308?

 

[jayson_b24]

Can I use an AR-10 in .308?

If i had one of those, you'd be welcome to it. I've got a couple of 7.62's you can borrow, but neither ends in "51". They are both proven effective for generations against deer and the like though.

 

[Gawernator]

If i had one of those, you'd be welcome to it. I've got a couple of 7.62's you can borrow, but neither ends in "51". They are both proven effective for generations against deer and the like though.

I got one recently but haven't shot it yet. Has a 3-15x Vortex scope and backup red dot canted. idk any laws or rules about hunting

 

[irongunner]

I have only shot paper, bottles, cans, and clays. I have no hunting skills or knowledge.

It is intimidating to know how to process the animal and identify potential infection/parasite/disease. That's assuming you have the skills and knowledge leading up to the kill to make harvesting happen. Morality is subjective and can range from never killing a worthy being to striving for a painless kill.

Granted, fewer modern people seem interested in hunting but I'd wager it is reduced further by lack of access. I'm in Marin county and I've always wanted to give boar hunting a whirl. To my understanding, for my area it is restricted (impossible) unless you know someone with private land. I did have a potential connect, but I could not accept their use/risk of dogs in the hunt. Add in financial and licensure requirement ... ingredients for a cluster f

 

[Gromann]

I grew up not very well-off in rural VT, so, yeah: hunting was a way of life. Between four of us, we'd bag, process and put at least three whitetails in the freezers every year. Combined with nighttime catfishing and ice fishing every winter, we never wanted for food.

Since moving to SoCal ('99) I've seen exactly one deer. It was the size of a large dog, so... nah. Could I? Yup. Would I? Absolutely. But I'd definitely want to go along with someone who knew the area much better than I. Now that the wife and I have picked up saltwater fishing, we pick the brains of everyone we see tossing in a line. Same principle. Are we both skilled freshwater fishermen? 100%. Do most of the skills and tactics transfer over? Yeah. But does almost everyone else know more than us about saltwater? Also yeah.

TL;DR. I do not hunt here. I would hunt here, with the opportunity and guidance. I guess I need to make friends with more NorCaGunners!

Every trip to Angeles range lately gets a deer wandering in at the 300-400 yard line. They're out there and they're definitely dumb.

 

[PlinkyDinky]

I intend to start larnin' soon; better late than never!

 

[2muchsoysauce4allthisrice]

Growing up in the late 70's as a teen in the South Bay Area was just increadable, I was hunting/shooting Dove, Quail, Duck, Pheasant, Rabbit, Deer & Boar learning from old-timers that had been doing it years before me all pretty much local within a 40 mile radius max.
Zone 7 for big deer was the exception, does anyone actually hunt anymore?

I really appreciate this thread. This is a great campfire talk subject.

I started learning how to fish in my teen years through uncles. I was taught some basic ethics and morals by them; and that you never know when the Game Wardens have already been watching without you even knowing. A story that was brought up while teaching me how to fish, was a great uncle who was stopped as he was coming ashore; he was trying to bring home a live fish to raise in his aquarium. Or stories about how you don't mess with the Game Wardens or the Game Wardens do not mess around; such as so and so, messed up so bad, they had to sit in front of the board.

Anyways, I sucked at tying knots and tying lines. I've tried shore side and on boat for both, fresh and salt water. I felt like it was kind of boring; need to find something to talk about to kill time.

I had a bigger interest in hunting.

I did not start attempting to harvest wild game until the pandemic. It was a time where I was finally able to do something I had a big interest in doing. I knew nobody who knew how to hunt. I knew my first step was finding my way of getting a hunting license which means taking the hunter ed course. I also remembered to read the hunting regulation handbook; and called to ask questions if I did not understand, needed clarification, or asking about grey areas. Yes, I was one of those guys who called the regional office and requested to speak with a Game Warden.

I started learning how to hunt through cotton tail and jackrabbit hunting. Eventually started venturing out.

I still consider my self as someone who needs more experience. I failed for four seasons before I even harvested my first buck. I bagged my second buck last year. I think luck was on my side.

I enjoy listening to hunting podcasts, watching first lite and meat eater episodes on youtube, and reading articles about wildlife biology. One subject I think I should read more about is Theodore Roosevelt and his efforts in wildlife conservation and preservation. When I first seen the show Wild Justice when it first released, a California DFG version of COPS, I remember enjoying watching the episodes; it would be nice if they could release some more current versions.

I could say I do enjoy being out there in the wilderness. I enjoy solo backpacking. It helps me de-stress because I tend to reflect on life. I noticed before a hunt, I've started going back to saying a prayer. I havn't even been back to church since I was in my teenage years. I like how I learned to keep things simple but reliable. It's like the simple life out there. If you need to defecate; dig a hole and bury it. There is no ewwww. There is however; a buzz from a fly. Hopefully, what is buried will serve as a fertilizer or compost. During the summer, if you need to stay the night, just sleep on the ground like hobo; you don't need a tent.

I would not say I'm a good shot when chasing coveys of California Valley Quail; the most I've manage to bag in one day is two. I've been practicing skeet more so hopefully that will help. But I can say I also enjoy the excercise out there. Man, chasing little short distance flying mini chickens, up and down hills, is both fun and a learning lesson.

I'm one of those guys that am trying to find the balance of going out to hunt when I am able to; but recently work has been keeping me busy. I only went out for quail once this last season; during the last month of the end of the season.

I've already bought my deer tag for this year. It stressed me out today thinking about work possibly blocking my schedule of being able to go out for general rifle season. I had the same feeling last year.

I would really like to start bagging more meat so I can stock up the freezer. Carne Asada meat at Costco is $7.99/LB; and they list that as chuck meat.

I've signed up for the elk draws but still have not been drawn yet.

 

[rjww1945]

A couple of friends and I used to hunt tree squirrels in the Santa Cruz mountains near Palo Alto/Woodside about 60 years ago. We were just kids with 22’s. I haven’t hunted since. But one of my friends who is a retired urologist, living in Alaska still hunts. He makes his own flint lock rifles.

"Hello? Is this the urology department? Can you hold, please?"