Ollin Magnetic Digiscoping System

Lots of left over tags! Any suggestions for units in the South??

HuntCA

Member
Joined
Jun 13, 2017
Messages
84
Not sure how typical this is since I'm a noob deer hunter, but there are apparently lots of tags left at this point. Well, not in the unit I wanted which was D17 but in quite a few. I'm in Southern CA and can't stray too far this year. Any suggestions of the units remaining that might hold something??


AVAILABLE DEER TAGS
AS OF 7/17/2017 9:29 AM


Archery-Only 95,934
Zone 51,364
Zones 422
Zone D3-5 14,915
Zone D7 1,746
Zone D8 5,522
Zone D10 384
Zone D11 4,259
Zone D13 3,171
Zone D15 1,243
Zone D16 492
Zone D19 549
A32 Ventura/Los Angeles Late Season Archery 1
Either-Sex

 
This is nothing new, California unlike the rest of the west isn't a deer hunting Mecca and will always have left over tags with the exception being the C and B and most X zones. There are deer but nowhere near the number that there are in other states. They are tough to find and even harder to kill but every once in a while things come together in your favor and there is quite a bit of public land so get after it!
 
This is nothing new, California unlike the rest of the west isn't a deer hunting Mecca and will always have left over tags with the exception being the C and B and most X zones. There are deer but nowhere near the number that there are in other states. They are tough to find and even harder to kill but every once in a while things come together in your favor and there is quite a bit of public land so get after it!

Well, I was not saying this was earth shattering news, just new to me. Thanks for the info.
 
Hey HuntCA. I have a D8 tag and I have been scouting recently. Like everyone else says, not much deer sign, but plenty of public land and the area is surrounded by "decent" ca units. Hit me up and I will share what I know. Good luck.
 
Closer to OC or San Diego?

D16 has plenty of fork deer. Not sure if My Country Club has a non-member trespass fee, but worth looking. If not look for public in that area.
 
Yes. I'm in N. OC, but my parent lives in N. SD county. Thanks for the info.
 
"Try D10"

Most of that area is owned by the Tejon Ranch it looks like. Very little public land :-( Yellow, blue and green is public.
Screen Shot 2017-08-16 at 12.00.38 AM.jpg
 
Hey wdjames
Nice to see another glutton for punishment, I'm hunting D8 this year as well. I haven't seen much sign up there either , I'm hoping it'll get better as we get later in the year.
 
D15... message me if you want to kill one... because I ain't ever goin back... and I killed one or two every year..IMG_6720.jpg

From where I got this one you could see Disneyland on a clear day..
 
This is nothing new, California unlike the rest of the west isn't a deer hunting Mecca and will always have left over tags with the exception being the C and B and most X zones. There are deer but nowhere near the number that there are in other states. They are tough to find and even harder to kill but every once in a while things come together in your favor and there is quite a bit of public land so get after it!

Actually CA's deer population hover's around 550,000 animals. Which is more that any other western state. Even CO, which has the highest mule deer population in the west, is less than that by over 100K. The deer are there, the hunting conditions are just unfavorable.
 
Do not buy a D10 unless you know someone and can hunt private land. ALL of the BLM is inaccessible due to private roads.
 
OTC 9-7-2017.JPG
No B as of the 7th. Thanks for the tip. I'll keep that in mind for next year.
 
Hi I am new to this forum and this page in general I currently have a tag for d11 rifle and I'm looking for someone else that might be hunting that area so we can talk a bit
 
Hi I am new to this forum and this page, in general, I currently have a tag for d11 rifle and I'm looking for someone else that might be hunting that area so we can talk a bit

Just a disclaimer. I have 0 experience, but just looking at Onxmaps of D11 it's going to be tough going. If I were going, I'd want to get as far from trails/roads as possible. That is tough in this unit as it's so close to the L.A. basin. This unit is very vertical with heavy chaperal in most areas. Bushwacking is sometimes near impossible. Gets better the farther N in the range you go. Look at the burn areas from '06(station fire) as the new growth might be better there. Maybe even the '16 fire in the N. portion. The colored portions are burn areas with year markings on them.
D11 burn areas.jpg

The area NE of Castaic lake and E of the 5fwy(the D11 Western boundry) North to Pine canyon road is almost all Public land. Get away from trails and on a high point and start glassing.
Unit 11.jpg

From the looks of it, there are springs on both flanks of Liebere Mountain(blue dots are springs, but unknown if they are holding water currently). Might be possible water sources. D11 springs.jpg

Again, I have 0 experience here, but just from doing some E-scouting, if I were going to take a stab at it, that is what I would most likely do. Oh, and if you can't tell, I'm a big fan of Onxmaps. Well worth the money imo. Good luck.
 
Don't overlook SD county (D16, A22). I've killed one on Camp Pendleton (G10 tag) right near the border of CNF, and hoping to get one with my bow and A22 tag this year. I'm seeing a lot of does but no bucks yet; luckily A22 is either sex. Definitely look at burns. Those areas when you zoom in on OnX that just look like a see of unbroken green are usually head-high or taller scrub brush that you can't glass into, but if it burns you can! Also, on the forest service website you can find info on controlled burns that don't show up on OnX.

I honestly hunt more like an eastern whitetail hunter since that's how I grew up and haven't really learned western glassing stuff yet, but it seems to be kinda working, just not for big bucks. I find big trees and find trails through it, sit and grunt call. I had two come into rattling a few weeks ago, but not all the way in to bow range as the wind switched and they busted me. Best of luck to ya!
 
Next year I'm probably hitting that big burn above Lake Elsinore. I think that's D15. That area typically sucks, but maybe not with a burn. That's about half way between me and OC. Let me know if you want to hunt it together.
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
110,805
Messages
1,935,062
Members
34,883
Latest member
clamwc
Back
Top